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It was a quick trip, but I did a couple of more sketches. One on the beach, where the wind helped get my sky a bit muddy, and one of the moon rise as Jill and I waited for the morning ferry to start the trip back home.
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Plus I did a little sketching at the Jolly Roger, where we had a patio table overlooking the harbor with pelicans sitting up on posts.
I took a few days last minute vacation and joined my sisters and best friend at the beach. I've been buried in my book project still, and I was across the continent and had written off being able to join them, but my best friend decided just to fly over close and rent a car to get to the remote destination of Ocracoke for a few days this past week, and that let me join her and have transportation. So I went. It was delightful. I loved seeing my deep soul people, and it was good to have a couple of days of total hanging out and no work. I managed to do good work in the airport both ways to make up for the break. And I did a bit of sketching just for myself in my journal while I was there, since I wanted to remember this special time.
Above is the lighthouse on Ocracoke. I felt like I'd been dropped into an Andrew Wyeth landscape. And there were pelicans, which utterly delight me.
I did a sketch in the car with the sisters as we drove from Raleigh.
Above is the lighthouse on Ocracoke. I felt like I'd been dropped into an Andrew Wyeth landscape. And there were pelicans, which utterly delight me.
I did a sketch in the car with the sisters as we drove from Raleigh.
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There's a sweet little mixed sand and stone beach at a boat ramp just at the junction of two rivers that has become my favorite place out here. It's got gorgeous trees with ferns and exposed roots hanging over the beach, so you can lean against a cedar trunk and still have your bare feet in the sand. The music of the water is gorgeous, and the views in both directions are flat out lovely. I have so enjoyed going there to picnic, sketch, and simply breathe deeply and enjoy the place. I took advantage of a recent sunny day and did just that. I sketched looking away from the beach, so this isn't a normal beach scene, but it's a part of what keeps drawing me back to that place.
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Or "Things We Don't Have Down South."
I've got several truly intricate blocks to carve for the book project, which have been taking all my attention lately. But I've been missing sketching, and I decided to do a quick lunchtime sketch to remember this delicious thing that I have certainly never run into back home.
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I went on a stunning hike yesterday. It was a glorious, totally isolated path through the woods with lush ferns, enormous cedars, and a teal gray river splashing down beside us. We went about six miles, and Mr. Darcy had a ball. I wanted to sketch to drink in this lovely place and really remember it. None of my sketches did the place justice, but it was fun to do them as I went along.
Since the place was amazing, and I couldn't do it justice with my brush, here are a few of my favorite photos from the day, just for something different here.
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I've been enjoying illustrating poetry lately, and I did another one today. It's based on this poem, and I had been carrying this phrase around for a week or so, wanting to paint from it. I treated myself to a long lunch at a pebble beach. I took a picnic and Mr. Darcy and did three watercolors while enjoying the sunshine and warmth that have finally arrived.
I also did a second version of the last poem I illustrated. I wanted it in my journal too, and I had fun placing the words in a longer format instead of the more square watercolor paper I usually use. It's based on this poem. The rocks are less detailed, but I think the wording was more successful.
I also did a second version of the last poem I illustrated. I wanted it in my journal too, and I had fun placing the words in a longer format instead of the more square watercolor paper I usually use. It's based on this poem. The rocks are less detailed, but I think the wording was more successful.
Here is the original version.
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I am deep in the midst of carving linoleum block prints to illustrate the upcoming edition of the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. There will be 15 prints about 5.5x8" plus another 13 or so tiny 1.5" ones. Plus 19 ink gesture drawings. It's definitely my biggest commission ever. Work is due in early July, so I'm nose to the grindstone until then. I can't share the full images, but my editor said it would be fine for me to show some process shots and details of the blocks as I'm working. Despite the modest size, I'm including as much detail as I can. The carving has been a lot of fun.
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I have been enthusiastically collecting river stones since I got to Washington, as well as for years before. I remember the pebble beach on Hydra that my sister Marian and I went nuts poring over, picking up, putting down, ultimately bringing a few multi-colored stones home to remember that place. There's a small shelf over the sink in my bathroom with stones from a number of special places and trips. My friend, show-partner, and fellow stone nut Melissa Bridgman more recently turned me on to both heart shaped and striped stones. She gave me one of each in a hard place last year, and they have been talismans for me since. She says stones with an unbroken stripe around them bring good luck. Both are in profusion here in Washington. I have never seen so many heart shaped stones in my life.
Yesterday Jude took me to a national forest with a gorgeous boat ramp/pebble beach at the confluence of two small rivers. I was charmed and brought home a handful of stones, and he later wrote a poem about it. You can read the full poem on his tumblr site. Melissa has sketched lovely river stones in her journal and made pottery in their image, but the poem gave me a new twist to use instead of just copying her idea. I've had a full day of printmaking but wanted to do something fun for myself, as well as celebrate this beautiful poem.
Yesterday Jude took me to a national forest with a gorgeous boat ramp/pebble beach at the confluence of two small rivers. I was charmed and brought home a handful of stones, and he later wrote a poem about it. You can read the full poem on his tumblr site. Melissa has sketched lovely river stones in her journal and made pottery in their image, but the poem gave me a new twist to use instead of just copying her idea. I've had a full day of printmaking but wanted to do something fun for myself, as well as celebrate this beautiful poem.
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I brought home a few cherry blossoms from my walk and couldn't resist sketching them after dinner.
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My friend John Reed is a poet in Memphis, and there is a documentary being made about him and his work. For part of the project, artists have been invited to create works based on his poems. I have been enjoying painting from other poetry and jumped at the chance to be included in this project. I've always loved John's poetry. Plus the Mr. Darcy blog has me enjoying mixing text and images again and working in foutain pen and watercolor together.
I knew exactly which poem I wanted to paint from, and I made a trip down to the coast on a sunny day to visit an overlook where I could see the coastline laid out beneath me. I did two journal sketches (below) on site and then came back and used them to create the triptych. Each panel is 6x8", since I work in modest sizes in watercolor, but the three together hold a nice space.
I knew exactly which poem I wanted to paint from, and I made a trip down to the coast on a sunny day to visit an overlook where I could see the coastline laid out beneath me. I did two journal sketches (below) on site and then came back and used them to create the triptych. Each panel is 6x8", since I work in modest sizes in watercolor, but the three together hold a nice space.
Here's what it looked like laid out on my work table.
And here is John's award winning poem, which he was kind enough to say I could share here.
The Cartographer's Proposal
I've set their names on maps, but never found
the things themselves. Vainly, I sought escape
in Mystic, Concord, Providence, New Hope--
a gazetteer of irresistible lands
each marking a potential journey's end.
Always a stranger, I never learned the ropes
and wasted time exploring tourist traps,
missing what I'd come so far to find.
But look: a place explorers have passed over
and mentioned only in this arcane chart,
pristine and fraught with possibility.
No human plan's imposed on plain or river,
but mail addressed to Mercy, Healing Heart,
will reach us there, if you will come with me.
John Richard Reed
River Styx 97
The Cartographer's Proposal
I've set their names on maps, but never found
the things themselves. Vainly, I sought escape
in Mystic, Concord, Providence, New Hope--
a gazetteer of irresistible lands
each marking a potential journey's end.
Always a stranger, I never learned the ropes
and wasted time exploring tourist traps,
missing what I'd come so far to find.
But look: a place explorers have passed over
and mentioned only in this arcane chart,
pristine and fraught with possibility.
No human plan's imposed on plain or river,
but mail addressed to Mercy, Healing Heart,
will reach us there, if you will come with me.
John Richard Reed
River Styx 97
