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I've been doing some print work here, but it took me a while to get sketching again much because I was under the weather for a while. One of the early outings was a drive up most of the way on Sauk Mountain, stopping at a small avalanche fall and walking and sketching. I'd missed the trillium here down on the valley floor, but (unlike the flatlands of the Delta landscape) you can change seasons by driving a few miles straight up. So we drove back into trillium for me to enjoy them and have a gentle walk. It was glorious.
The trillium are very different from the wake robin kind we have in west Tennessee. They're huge for one thing, but they change colors as they age. They progress from white when they're new blossoms into a pink a bit later, and in old age they go a dark orchid color. It's a spectacular transition to watch, and it makes for a fun range of drawing too.
As always, I was also drawn to the trees and did this sketch of the alders hugging the edge of an embankment with their roots.
As always, I was also drawn to the trees and did this sketch of the alders hugging the edge of an embankment with their roots.
It felt grand to be sketching again, so I have more to scan and post in the coming days when I can manage a little computer time on a borrowed machine.
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I had a great last couple of days coming across this time. Montana to Idaho is a shorter day, and I decided to hike in the morning at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park before taking off. It was gorgeous. I climbed high above the valley floor in a scrubby landscape with hills and quirky trees that reminded me of painting in Turkey. Then I got into a pine forest and felt like I'd walked into a series of William Rice block prints from California. I ended up overcooking the sketch of that first fantastic tree, but it was great to sit and look so long anyway. I did a third one too, so I spent all morning and had a later drive than I had meant to, but it was so worth it. It was refreshing to get out of the van and do something physical and make some art.
I got the end campsite at Farragut State Park in Idaho, down in a nest of trees a little further away than usual from other campers. It's the same campground where I did the sketch for my "Explore" print of Alice (the camper van) under tall trees last year. It was gorgeous to sit out there, and again, I sketched the next morning before taking off. The light in the forest next to me really caught my eye. Of course, the sun went away as I started sketching and only came back out when I was done, but I'd seen enough to capture the feel of the place, if not the exact patterns.
For a few beautiful moments, I had a visitor at my campsite as well. She came and looked at me and really spent some time before slowly taking off again. I didn't have my sketchbook, but I grabbed it just afterwards and did this sketch from memory before the memory faded. I think it will be my holiday card this year. I loved the simplicity of it and also the moment it recorded for me. I love being able to make these moments live on. When I open my sketchbook years later, I can fall backwards in time right to the place where I was drawing and remember so clearly, since I took the time to really drink it in and record it in the moment. Not always, but almost always. I do a written journal as well, but the sketchbooks are always the most vivid memories I have to keep. I'm grateful for the ability to record my life this way.
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It was a 2600 mile trip solo in 6 days, so I didn't take a lot of time off, but I did want to sketch every day to give myself a mental break and enjoy the places I was driving through. I sketched one morning at a scenic pullover in South Dakota and did the same the next day in Wyoming. These are my two favorite sketches of the trip, and it's no real surprise to me that they are the fresh, morning ones before I got tired.
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I'm late getting things scanned in, but I had a really wonderful time sketching on my cross country trip last month. I'm going to put them up on the blog in chronological order. My first night was in Long Branch State Park, Missouri. It's always my favorite stop, and I got the spot I like with the tiny lake beach, but it was cold and rainy, so I didn't linger as long at the lake as I normally do. I sat inside and sketched the peonies that I'd brought with me because they were too lovely to leave. You can just see the lake out the back door window in the distance.
The next evening was Lake Vermillion in South Dakota. I played with my intense pencils again. I wasn't thrilled with the results, but I do now remember sitting and looking at the sunset across the blue lake and also seeing Alice's shadow (my camper van) with the sun behind us while I was having breakfast and tea the next morning. Even if sketches don't always turn out as hoped, looking at anything long enough to sketch it is an exercise in both memory and mindfulness, and almost always a pleasure.
The next evening was Lake Vermillion in South Dakota. I played with my intense pencils again. I wasn't thrilled with the results, but I do now remember sitting and looking at the sunset across the blue lake and also seeing Alice's shadow (my camper van) with the sun behind us while I was having breakfast and tea the next morning. Even if sketches don't always turn out as hoped, looking at anything long enough to sketch it is an exercise in both memory and mindfulness, and almost always a pleasure.
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I finally got a proof done of this after a lot of letter carving, which goes slowly. I’ll definitely be refining it more, but it’s always fun to see the first proof after a one time of planning. I cut away a bit more than I wish I had on the tree, but that’s par for the course on printmaking. I’m going to downsize the birds some as well. Overall I’m please with the feel of it, and when I get it where I want it, it will be in color, but black is easy for proofing. I’ll do a solid light colored background and darker colors for this block on top. I’ll likely try several different color options before picking my favorite. That’s the number one advantage of doing more than one block instead of printing light and then cutting away more as you go. It’s easier to keep more intricate prints lined up that way, and it’s a bit less work, but you can’t go back and try a different color or adjust a previous layer since it’s all cut away already. I’ve done a couple of reduction prints but mostly prefer to do multiple blocks for the flexibility.
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I drove 2600 miles across the country since I last posted. I've been working hard on my WAMA show to give myself some space to take time off this summer. My beau lives in Washington State, so I left my house in capable hands for the summer and have come to see him and enjoy the mountain landscape for a while. I'm not ready to get on an airplane yet, so trips are harder and also longer to make the driving worthwhile.
It was a long but beautiful drive, and I'll get going scanning in my trip sketches soon, but I've been giving myself some time to sleep and recover and enjoy. Here's the first sketch I did after getting here. Jude had some flowers waiting for me, and I always love sketching flower gifts to make them last longer.
I did one quick green ink sketch at Rockport State Park as well. I love the Vanilla leaf wildflowers that are sculptural on the forest floor the way the mayapples are sculptural in the forests at home. I"m heading out to one of my favorite sketching sites today, so I figure I'll get back in the groove of things soon, but for now I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful month as much as I am.
It was a long but beautiful drive, and I'll get going scanning in my trip sketches soon, but I've been giving myself some time to sleep and recover and enjoy. Here's the first sketch I did after getting here. Jude had some flowers waiting for me, and I always love sketching flower gifts to make them last longer.
I did one quick green ink sketch at Rockport State Park as well. I love the Vanilla leaf wildflowers that are sculptural on the forest floor the way the mayapples are sculptural in the forests at home. I"m heading out to one of my favorite sketching sites today, so I figure I'll get back in the groove of things soon, but for now I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful month as much as I am.
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A very kind friend wrote me two different times (I was out of town the first one) to offer me peonies. I adore them and had wanted to paint some. Maybe next year I can plant some of my own, but this year, thanks to Kerrie, I got to paint these lovely things. I'm so lucky in my friends.
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I have an insane amount of stuff to do this week, but I celebrated finishing my last commission by stopping at Dixon on my way home to see the American Impressionists exhibition one more time before it closes. I also wanted to sketch this lovely Boudin from our permanent collection. It’s not always on view, and I love having it out. I’m way out of practice for this and didn’t leave enough room on the left (I always get larger as I go), and pencil is not my best medium, but it was so good to spend some time looking deeply at this one. I’m celebrating vaccines by making time for some important things I haven’t been able to do lately. Like getting a couple of waltzes and a good visit with my sister yesterday. Means so much. I have missed dancing for that jolt of joy in my life. Art is deeply satisfying and necessary and how I interact with almost all the world, but dancing is JOY. I’m so grateful to be easing back with a vaccinated partner or two even if it will be a while before we fill a gym with sweaty, smiling people.
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I went on from my sister's to visit several friends in North Carolina. It's been such a walled off existence this past year, and I didn't realize how deeply felt it would be to see friends after so long and be able to hug them and do a little dancing. So unbelievably good. It felt like reclaiming a piece of myself. I sat by a lake for a bit too with my banjo, and that felt marvelous as well. I've had trouble getting myself to play regularly without my weekly jam, but I'm going to try to set aside a little more time for that this summer. It really does lend happiness.
I also met a fantastic dog and got to love on him a bit, thanks to his person and my friend Charley. I am still deeply missing Mr. Darcy, and it's going to be a very long summer travel season before I'm able to get another dog. The longest I've gone in my adult life without a dog companion. So some dog love along the way means a great deal.
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Another post vaccination celebration is visiting my sister and her husband. We hung out on the porch, petted cats, and caught up. It’s so good to see my people. And with a big list of commissions and other appointments lately, it felt great to sketch just for me and because I want to. I’ve missed feeling I have time to do this.
Marian took an evening ride, and later the moon rose over a white horse. He was moving too fast for me to get what I’d hoped for, and it was dark for painting, but it was fun to try to capture the beauty of that time.
