Pastel on sanded board 24″x18″
I jumped out of my seat the other day when I saw this beautiful, sprite of a woman charging across the alfalfa field. I loved the abstract shape that the sunlight was making connecting her hat and blouse and I knew it would make a beautiful painting. So…I ran and chased her down the road trying to snap a photo. Don’t let the walker fool you, she was trucking. I was inspired and touched. I loved that she returned to the ranch with a walker instead of staying home. I enjoyed watching several elders interact with their families last week. Three different families were here with someone who was in need of special care and it was a joy to watch them nurture and help. I hope that when someone in my family has a stroke, or goes blind in one eye, or whatever ailments age or life bring I will be there to help them continue to do what gives them life. I also hope that when my balance falters I will buy a walker, ask for the help I need, and keep on trucking!
Rain Fall
“Into each life some rain must fall.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Frolicking Sisters
“You know full well as I do the value of sisters’ affections: There is nothing like it in this world.”
― Charlotte Brontë
Gathering Yellow
The spring has been filled with wonderful moments at the soccer fields. I have loved watching all the games: from my daughter’s team which started the season running like a gaggle of ducks all together, to my sons who play such intense games I can’t sit down. We have frozen and burned up, nearly have been blown away by the wind, and in between, watched spring unfold all around us. We have made new friends and reconnected with old ones, and enjoyed many yummy picnics.
I planned on painting a picture of the kids playing soccer, but this little girl was next to us in an overgrown field during my son’s last game. She was singing softly and gathering yellow flowers. She was such a distraction, I loved watching her as much as the boys’ game (which was a close one). The wildflowers and purple satin dress won out, I will paint the soccer players next season.
P.s. thank you to all the moms who take their daughters to soccer games in full princess regalia.
Farm Girl
If you aren’t in a rush, I find almost all chores are enjoyable.
Go Jump
“Go jump in a puddle. You’re all complaining about the rain. You can’t change it so you might as well have fun with it.”
-J. Anderson
Splash into 2014
Hope you were ready to jump in with both feet, ready or not…2014 is here! Happy New Year!
The Gift of a Perfect Afternoon
We decided this year before Christmas to focus on giving each the gift of our presence to each other. We tried to slow down, and enjoy our time. I am grateful to my husband for creating many moments to do this. Sometimes the idea of packing another picnic made me groan, but it was ALWAYS worth it.
Here was a perfect afternoon, our schedule was full of nothing in particular. We visited one of our favorite parks to do nothing. there was no trail to conquer before dark, or sports game to watch or practice…just time to be. Be together. We strolled, played a little ping pong, we snuggled together under a blanket and read a book, snacked on an apple, and my favorite…people watched. I waited for the light to land on this reader, who was wearing a suit, had wonderful posture, and a beautiful head.
Karate Girl
I distinctly remember the cold, rainy afternoon that I met this delightful, young lady. She was very much a little girl at the time. We were camping in Leadville, CO and she spent an afternoon playing in our campsite with our two year old son. He left no puddle un-splashed and she skipped and frolicked and sang in the loveliest soft voice. She seemed so tall and full of poise. I attributed these traits to the 5 year age difference and the fact that she is a girl not a rowdy little boy. Here we are a decade later, and it turns out she still sings like a bird and she turned into a very beautiful, very tall teenager who is still full of poise. She can also sweat, and spar and hold her own in a martial arts fight against any rowdy boy. My guess is by the end of the day I will need to change the color of this belt from brown to black. I am so proud of you Taylor, good luck today.
3/4 Study of Wesley
I have the privelidge of taking a three day portrait workshop with Judy Carducci this week. Watching her bring life to a portrait is amazing. Light and shadow, lost and found lines, warm and cool tones stroke by stroke create life and dimension where formerly there was just a sheet of paper. It better than watching a symphony or play, it is nothing short of remarkable. The structure of the workshop is simple, watch Judy do a demo from a model in the morning, and then paint (or draw) a portrait of that model in the afternoon.
I understand color, I can paint landscapes, so I should be able to translate that to the figure….right? I have had an overconfidence problem my whole life. When I was 8 years old, I watched Olympic diving on TV, and made big plans to awe everyone the next time I was in a pool. My thought process: my ability to do gymnastics + my ability to swim = Olympic diving. After smacking the water and driving it up my nose a couple of times, I was humbled. Perhaps my ability to swim and aptitude for acrobatics might make it easier for me to LEARN to dive, but it did not replace a lifetime of training and practice. And so, after watching magic take place on Judy’s paper all morning, I was reluctant to go to the easel myself, I knew about people who made things look easy.
Then, Judy said something that buoyed me forward, “it is better to fail miserably, than to have lost an opportunity by not trying, or produce a weak outcome because you were timid.” Fail miserably, well, that, I was confident I could master. So I set off…standing at my easel with a 19″x26″ piece of canson paper, and a stick of vine charcoal. I was going to capture a likeness through light and shadow and lost and found lines, or fail miserably trying. So I boldly attempted to capture the gesture, and then it was a process of erasing and correcting, over and over again. All you have to do is wipe vine charcoal off with a chamois and it gone, so it is a wonderful medium for landscape artists who are giving Olympic diving a try. After 3 hours of 30 min. posing sessions, and comments and suggestions from Judy’s skillful eye I captured Wesley:
paintandsimple 