The Swell Season-Strict Joy

Every once in while, an impulsive purchase pays off. Last night I was in Starbucks and saw this CD & took it home with me (yes, I paid for it). Have you seen the movie "Once"? Loved it--great story, awesome music. This is a terrific CD. Lovely harmonies, very nice music. My new favorite.

October beauty

I was completely taken by surprise last Sunday. I started cutting back the garden, dried stalks and withered leaves--when I came across this......2 iris buds. We've already had a killing frost, I wondered how did these 2 make it this far.

Oh, the iris. The beautiful, full-figured beauty.

She is struggling to open. Anais Nin said, "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in abud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom". That quote always reminds me of the iris. The buds get so big they look like they are about to burst just before they open. This strong willed beauty is reaching toward the October sun and sky, she knows her time here is short. That's not stopping her from trying her hardest and making the most of the time she has.....

Last weekend

Last weekend, my friend Marci and I took a workshop at VRAS with Misty Mawn. Firstly, VRAS is a truly magical place. Out in the middle of nowhere, miles and miles of rolling hills, cows, gorgeous trees, peace, and Kathy & Bill. Unbelievable hosts. So welcoming, so caring, very delightful people. I've been an admirer of Misty's work for a long time. Her painted faces are quite fantastic. That's what she was teaching. She started the class by giving us exercises in drawing a face. I could not believe how quickly we were all drawing faces....and they actually DID look like faces. I love blind contour drawing. The above drawing is exactly that. You draw while not looking at your paper---no peeking.Next, we traced a face and painted her using just white and the black of the pencil (Stabilo Marks All). When I showed my paintings to Paul, he said this one looks afraid and very sad. Art is great therapy, isn't it?

Misty gave us packets of collage materials. In this exercise we were to put together a composition using collage. This is not quite finished......the head is too prominant. Maybe because my Dad recently passed away and that was (and still is) heavy on my heart.

This painting isn't finished either......Misty showed us two ways of working. One was to create the background first and then add the figure, the other was to paint the figure first and paint the background later. Misty works very fast. One thing that you get from a workshop that you don't get from a book....watching the artist work. Misty will dip her brushes right into the tub of paint--from one color to another. Not concerned with red getting into the yellow. I realized I'm far too anal. Dipping my palette knife into the tub so I don't contaminate it with another color....crazy. Misty uses her hands...bare hands for spreading mediums and paints on paper.

Here's a background that I was able to finish. Metallic gold shining through the layers of paint and collage. I think I'm going to paint a still life on this one. Possibly one of my beloved pears.

At work on Friday, I found a piece of square bubble wrap. I've never seen it before. What a great find.....there are art supplies everywhere!

Thank you so much for your encouraging words and prayers regarding my Dad's passing. I appreciate you all so very much. xo