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I finally got the second harvest print finished carving and scanned in. I seem to work best with a deadline, and this is due for the month of October. First Presbyterian in Holley, NY commissioned a set of three for their fall bulletin covers, and the minister there chose a whole list of hymn lines with the harvest theme for me to choose from.

I'm moving a little slowly around here. I spent more time dancing and playing music this weekend than making art, but it was lovely to have a real break, and I got to learn the Mazurka! Now I'm kicking it into high gear, getting ready for another trip to Cape May starting on Wednesday, and then the Pink Palace Crafts Fair the following weekend.

Here's the first harvest print in case you missed it earlier. I'm still tinkering with what I want to do for November.
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I went to a concert yesterday that was lovely. Sometimes it's a treat to listen to live music and sketch at the same time, so practiced my people yesterday.

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I've been struggling to figure out what kind of work to do from my small watercolors of Paris. I tried both color monotypes and acrylic paintings on paper and wasn't happy with the results from either.

Working on two different black and white print projects clarified my mind. I've enjoyed the color, multi-block prints I've been doing lately, but if I'm not restricted to staying exactly on my original drawing (so the other colors can match up), there's more fun and freedom to the carving process.

I also just like the strong graphic nature of the black and white, and I think a series of B&W prints would make a nice contrast to the watercolors. so I started this one yesterday, and I'm really enjoying the process so far.

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I recently unearthed these two sketches of a dinner I had with Elizabeth Alley. We had fun visiting and drawing over dinner and comparing recent sketching journeys we had taken. It was fun to have dinner with someone else who also enjoys drawing through a meal.

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I'm looking at a lot of pine trees lately and enjoying the bark patterns.

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I've been working on an illustration project that's not ready to share here yet, but I'm also trying to do a little more informal sketch book sketching this summer and fall. So here's a pine tree from my current book. I've been enjoying looking at their bark patterns lately.

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I've got an exciting new project in house. There's a new e-book publishing company in Memphis, and they're reissuing classic crime fiction. They've enlisted me to illustrate their initial set of books, and I'm having a ball. I've been wanting to do more illustration. I love reading a book and figuring out which images would be the most powerful to represent.

Here are a couple from my first book for them. They're pen and ink drawings based on the book Cropper's Cabin by Jim Thompson.
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One of the churches I work with wants a fall series of prints for their bulletin covers, celebrating the abundance of grace and the season. They're in Holley, NY, and there is lots of agriculture in the region and lots of gardeners. The minister found a bunch of harvest phrases in the hymnal for me to pick from.

I had to go ahead and do September quickly (above), but I've got time to revisit and rethink the other two. I may go for corn instead of pumpkins. Below is just a rough sketch to get my started thinking and make sure I was on the right path before doing the first one. Stay tuned for more.
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Martha Kelly is an artist and illustrator who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.

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