When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

summer

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Northern Delights 02, finished

Saturday, April 5th, 2008


 

Northern Delights 02, 24 x 36 inches Acrylics on wrapped canvas

Northern Delights 02, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on wrapped canvas, finished this morning.

Northern Delights 02

Friday, April 4th, 2008


 

Northern Delights 02 started, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas  Northern Delights 02, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, phase 02

Northern Delights 02, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, started this morning (left) – work in progress – above: after a few more hours…hope to keep brushstrokes and colors fresh and uncomplicated in this one.

Eastern White Pine

Friday, February 1st, 2008


 

Eastern White Pine, 18H x 24W inches oil pastels on paper

Eastern White Pine 18 x 24 inches oil pastels on paper, professionally framed, total size 21 x 27 inches. Sold.

Finished today, and the first drawing in a long time that I didn’t stop to document along the way…that breaks the momentum of work sometimes. This one kind of flew out for a change! It can be viewed in Arlington, Texas at AVAA’s 32nd Annual Regional Juried Art Exhibit, February 15 – March 28, 2008.

Nature Insists

Sunday, January 13th, 2008


 

Nature Insists, growth through rock, North Carolina - 9 x 12 inches Graphite, W/C pencils, Dry Pastel

Nature Insists, growth through rock, North Carolina – 9H x 12W inches graphite, watercolor and graphite on 40lb cold-pressed premium watercolor paper. Framed size 26H x 22W inches.

Polypore Fungi finished

Thursday, November 1st, 2007


 

Polypore Fungi, 58H x 41W x 2D inches acryilcs, modeling paste on canvas, wrapped sides painted, narrow frame

Polypore Fungi  finished – 58H x 41W x 1.5D inches, acrylics, modeling paste, plaster on canvas, wrapped sides painted, narrow frame

One of the goals for this painting was to see if a composition could remain balanced with the main subject offset to the right. With Petra’s suggestion there is more contrast, also scrubbed some paint away for more background to show through.
Mushrooms, bacteria, molds, lichen and other non-flowering plants are lesser appreciated life forms that help maintain the healthy life cycles of forests by aiding the decay and conversion of plant and animal matter into nutrient-rich soil.

Polypore Fungi, detail #1 - fungi are carved modeling paste, plaster

Polypore Fungi, detail #2 - fungi are carved modeling paste, plaster

Changes to Polypore Fungi

Monday, October 29th, 2007


 

Polypore Fungi created with modeling paste, sanding, scrubbing, scraping and carving

 
Polypore Fungi - detail 02The 3D fungi idea was fun to try. The canvas absorbed moisture from the modeling paste, so the faux fungi are permanently incorporated and will not fall off. It was carved after drying, being too goopy to manage while wet. The paste was applied then built gradually, dried before applying more, sanded, scraped and carved to define areas. Commercial modeling paste does not sand well, so a tiny bit of plaster helped to tidy it.

Polypore Fungi, work in progress

Monday, October 22nd, 2007


 

Modeling paste creating 3D effects

Polypore Fungi, 59H x 41W x 2D, acrylics on canvas, work in progress. Started in June, hung and studied in the loose-phase state; cautious about overworking it. Plans this week: most everything will stay out of focus, with details only on the fungi using a little modeling paste to sculpt. Modeling paste is applied in layers, drying in between, becoming permanent and adhered well to the canvas. Applying too thick at once creates cracks and unstable structures.

Milkweed Melody

Thursday, September 20th, 2007


 

Milkweed Melody finished, 27H x 33W inches oil pastels on 140 lb cold pressed premium watercolor paper, brassy-gold frame

  Frame detail images:      
         
  Milkweed Melody, upper left frame detail   Milkweed Melody, upper right frame detail  
  Milkweed Melody, lower left frame detail   Milkweed Melody, lower right frame detail  

Milkweed Melody finished. Oh, the joy of color! 27H x 33W inches Oil Pastels on 140 lb cold pressed premium on WC paper. Has brassy-gold frame painted with an extension of the drawing, frame detail images above. Below: work as it was in progress.


 

Milkweed Melody - stage 1 Milkweed Melody - stage 2

Milkweed Melody - 22 x 30 oil pastels on watercolor paper - in progress

It’s the sky’s turn

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007


 
Sky detail, Dancing With Trees

It’s the sky’s turn to dance! White glaze will attach itself to the varnish I dripped on the other day.

Peace by our back door

Thursday, August 30th, 2007


 

Dove Nesting in the wreath by the back door

This is the second time around for doves nesting in the wreath by our back door. I’m sure it’s the same pair who devotedly cared for two eggs, taking turns in shifts as they are now. The chick in the second thumbnail is from the first brood hatched in May. It mysteriously disappeared after two days and the other egg didn’t hatch. There was no trace of that chick anywhere..no body, bones, feathers..nothing. It was not old enough to fend for itself – could the parents have eaten it I wonder? Maybe there was something wrong with it, or the parents were first-timers. The lizards and salamanders around here are too small to eat a meal that size, and other birds would not have been brave enough to come so near to the door I don’t think.  Nature takes care of itself though, so no tears. Hopefully these ones will survive and we can watch them mature.

Dove eggs in May The first chick Dove in the wreath Nesting Mom and new chick

Dove chick growing and becoming more vocal Nest getting crowded You can't see me because I'm staring at the wall. Dove and 6 day old chick

The chick Sept. 7th - about a week old

Sept. 3rd: One of the chicks hatched! There were about six Starlings on the roof overlooking the evestrough, which is not usual for them – at our house anyway- so I’m thinking maybe they are interested in robbing the chick from it’s nest. Maybe they  were the egg-robbers from the first nest.

Sept. 4th: The chick appears to be so much larger today, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it so exposed. It seems so vulnerable on that small flimsy nest.

Sept. 5th: The chick has been left on its own a lot in the past 24 hours, also becoming quite vocal.  The other egg is unlikely to hatch.

Sept.9th: The nest is overcrowded. The chick ruffled its feathers and snapped its tiny beak at me when I took these photos – the instincts are strong – how sweet is that?!

Sept.9th - ruffling feathers and snapping it’s tiny beak at me!

Sept. 11th: When the parent sitting on the chick is up in the air above the nest, it’s time for little chicky to leave! That’s what I thought the day before the chick flew away, and sure enough it was time.   It’s so funny when the parent sits on top of the chick trying to hide it – there is hardly enough room for two in the nest, and she/he is not fooling anybody!

Sept. 12th: Fortunately I walked out just in time to see the chick fly from the ground to the fence nearby. There it remained for about 90 minutes then it was gone. That night I wondered where it would be sleeping, and if it was truly on its’ own now without parents, how it would survive. Less than a month before it was not even in the form of an egg!!

Sept 13th: didn’t expect to see it again, but while sitting outside at dusk, there they were, the mom (or dad) and chick. It was so pleasing to see them sitting on the fence together.

Sept 16th: I still see the little one come into the yard, much bigger now. It is smaller than an adult, and I’m sure that must be the same chick. Full circle!

Chick, first flight  Chick, first flight  Dove Chick and Parent

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