Tuesday, July 31, 2012

workshop and retreat Day One

diagonal design, 15 x 15, acrylic on paper

I am with the Portland Women in Abstract Media this week at a very special workshop and retreat.

First day off the starting blocks we played with composition. My challenge was to create a painting with a diagonal abstract design. My personal challenge was to keep it from zipping off the edges.

This piece reminds me of the beauty of space and some of the images we've gotten to see because of the Hubble telescope.



Tuesday, July 24, 2012

plein air from the stern: Center Island


pastel on UART 800 red
First a water soluble graphite sketch, overpainted with black watercolor washes for the Notan. Then a pastel painting.

I am intrigued with the nearness of these two land masses and the way that boats slip between them.

We have been on the boat since the beginning of June and have not yet seen any whales. I think that the time will come soon and I am patient with the waiting. And grateful that, for the most part, whaling is a thing of the past.




Sunday, July 22, 2012

sketchbook: land shapes

July 21, 2012 sketchbook page
In some ways, this looks like a comic book style of sketchbook. The black lines add to that effect. As do the series of panels. I enjoy breaking up the larger land shapes into smaller pieces. It helps me consider the possibility of multiple paintings to convey the idea of the vast landscape. Of course, it's all experimental and I have no commitment or obligation to do anything further with these sketches if they don't excite me. 

It's pure play and playfulness is the rich compost of artistic growth. Don't you agree?




Monday, July 16, 2012

from the water

Hunter Bay, Lopez Island

waterlilies, Italian Garden, Butchart Gardens

Roche Harbor buttermilk sky

Salt Spring Island sunset

Turn Point Lighthouse, Stuart Island

Thursday, July 12, 2012

plein air from the bow: Saddlebag Islands



Started out as a foggy morning, but the fog lifted and cleared as I was painting. As I worked, I could hear the sporadic tones of the nearby fog horn, the splashing and wet exhalations of a seal, and the chirping call of Bald Eagles. An irregular but beautiful symphony.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

sketchbook: Roche Harbor

Park your boat
wherever you like
mariner chaos
then the float planes
land in a game of
Dodge Boat!


A little unnerving to see 
a Kenmore Air Otter
landing right at us -- 
light from the plane
shone in our pilot house
window. He stopped short
and turned, but only after
my husband coached, "TURN! TURN! TURN!"

Every evening in Roche Harbor, this:



Saturday, July 7, 2012

sketchbook: time to think


in the quiet
I hear my fears
and wishes
hopes and
imaginings

and wonder
why not do 
more?