Sometimes it is a struggle….

It’s been more than a month since I’ve posted on my blog, not because I haven’t been sketching, drawing and painting, but because daily life has it’s way of taking over.

Since late October, my husband and I have  traveled to visit with our children and their families, finally found some property in New Mexico (more to come on this), and all the while I’ve done my best to keep up with the EDM Challenges (not always managing well) but drawing, sketching or painting on most days.

I’m pretty sure now that the changes that come with fall (including the time) really do tend to get me off track. In between the grey skies and storms I’ve spent a lot of time walking & being with the colorful leaves, crunching them beneath my feet (like a child) and sometimes painting them. At my worst, I hole up with a book and read the day away. Now here’s where my struggle comes in; the drawing, painting, reading and walking around the neighborhood doesn’t get the laundry and / or household chores completed and then I feel guilty (for a few minutes), and follow that thinking with a good ‘oh well, spring is coming’. So, the thought doesn’t last long.

I’ve also been busy (stuck) doing faces, only this time they are showing up as fast as the leaves are falling, so I just do my best to catch them in my sketches. I never know where they’ll end up at, maybe in a large format acrylic. Who knows? They must be popping into my head for a reason.

Along with all the other activities (like Christmas Cards, etc.)  I’ve taken time to play and experiment with all kinds of mediums that I don’t work in often as I break in my new journals from Stillman & Birn. I wonder just how long the childlike fascination will keep me in it’s grasp, and then giggle to myself because I know it’s part of the journey of life and the best way to get out of a rut is to let yourself play right through it thinking all the time, WOW! I should get some more watercolor pencils, and colored pencils….this is really fun!

And, of course –just in case I don’t get back until after the first of the year here’s a picture of ‘old St. Nick’ to wish you all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Read Full Post »

Travel Journaling: Reno or ‘bust!

Just completed a short trip into Reno, NV! I of course reverted to my standard ‘dairy style’ of journaling the tid-bits of the day on the fly. I love documenting the daily minutia, and thus started out with a 2 page spread with a hand drawn map to fill in as we drove along.

Page 1 of map

Page 2 of map spread

During our stay at the Grand Sierra Casino & Resort, I did several sketches in the early morning hours near the Starbucks 🙂 of course, while I sipped on my morning latte and listened to the great background music! I had fun sketching folks, but often they catch on and try to cover their faces….so, I gave up on the folks and just did sketches of the immediate area. I painted them in watercolor after we returned home.

Casino Sketch

AM walk for latte 🙂

I was thrilled to stop in Boomtown on the way back. I actually recouped my previous losses. Then, on the way back home a bit of sketching in the van while Norm drove. We really had a great trip, nice & relaxing and by the way if you ever make a trip there make sure you do the National Automobile Museum. It’s awesome!

Have a great day, and keep sketching my friends!

Read Full Post »

Rainy Days of Winter

'Going Coastal'

This piece (old) kinda represents how the cloudy rainy days are affecting me, since the past several weeks have brought little in the ‘sun’ department, so I’ve been working in the studio on a fun new project on postcards. I make postcards out of my studio watercolor rejects. Constant playing to keep my self sane. Its just that there are times I find it difficult to get into anything serious when the days are just plain droopy. Today is no exception. So, I am following my own advice – just play, and play, and play. The more you play, the more you learn. Observation is a great way to keep your SEEing skill sharp. Today I walked to Starbucks, got my latte, did a bit of sketching in my journal and walked back in the rain. And now I continue my learning in the blogosphere. I assume that I’ll get better at it, and learn more about formatting & stuff as I go along.  Hopefully it won’t take me so long to post the next time.  Billions of blessings to all. Donna

Read Full Post »