I spent much of the day running note cards for WKNO fm, our local NPR station. I had fun getting the slightly battered, large wooden type out for the project. 
Here's a short video of the press operating. I had to hold it myself, so it's a bird's eye view from the printer. It's also a little slower (not too much) than my usual press speed, since I was trying to handle the camera as well. Final results. 
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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. 
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. 
The Side Street Steppers, one of my favorite local bands, was playing at Brooks Museum this morning. As it happens, I've been needing to get over there to do three quite small watercolors for a commission. The morning was lovely, and with musical entertainment, it was the perfect time to do a little plein air painting. I had a marvelous time and heard some great tunes from the 20's, 30's, and 40's. Delightful. 
I sketched another wedding last weekend, this one in my home church. I began before the ceremony, doing a full view of the sanctuary that I could add to as the ceremony began. So the main watercolor I have for them is the overview. I did stay during the photos afterwards, though, and did a number of much quicker sketches as well. It was special to get to be a part of the celebration for a family I've known all my life.
I did two house portraits on the same block this week. It's fun to be painting with the flowers out, and it's good to have sunlight to paint in again. I also enjoyed working for friends who know both me and each other. It felt neighborly. Below is the first house portrait I've done that included people. My recent wedding sketches gave me the confidence to say yes when Rosemary asked. She and Sasha are leaving the house they love for a different school district, and it was special to be able to help them make a keepsake of a place they had been very happy. 
 I sketched my second wedding on Saturday. It's a kind of frantic thing to do -- I worked during the preparations and the photo sessions, and everyone was moving around quite fast. I ended up doing 22 rapid watercolors in about two and a half hours. The bride and groom posed a few minutes longer for me to finish the top one, which I was quite pleased with. All the others were even quicker and more calligraphic, but it was fun to catch the changing kaleidoscope of the day. It was also very special to be right at the heart of such a joyful, momentous day, and I appreciated the family inviting me into their midst.  Above are the couple with the groom's children. His daughter again and her niece and nephew are below, along with the bride's mother fastening her into her dress and the groom waiting for his first view of his bride.
My Cape May watercolors have been featured in the Concierge Magazine printed for the Cape Resorts group for use at all their hotels. It's fun to see them in print, and I'm especially pleased with the cover. That was such a fun Victorian house to paint. It's one of several cottages they rent out. Seeing this makes me want to go back there again. I hope I get to soon.  I got tentatively back to painting this week for the first time in a month or so. Regular readers will have noticed that I haven't been posting here nearly as often as I usually do. Normally I wake up every morning thinking about what art I want to make that day. I feel lucky to be a happy painter -- I don't have to cultivate or channel angst in order to make my art. That generally makes for a happy life. However, in times of trouble and grief, it means that I hit a point where making art is very hard for me, and sometimes I just have to take some time off. I'm in the process of getting a divorce, and it's been difficult to work lately. Fortunately I don't have any shows looming, and my clients for the above commission have been very understanding. The only thing I've been able to tackle lately is the series of lament psalm prints. They're heartfelt, relatively small, and simple in just black and white. Hopefully I can get back to more complex printmaking soon. I miss it, but it's sometimes hard to dive into a more intricate project. In the meantime, I'm trying to finish this painting (it felt great to get back into it) and also keep going with the psalms, since one is due each Sunday in Lent for use as church bulletin covers. The whole set will be available in digital form for any church that would like to use it for future occasions. Here's the first proof for next week's psalm.  
I'm not sure if "landscape illustration" is a proper art term, but it's how I describe lots of what I do lately. This term for me includes house portraits, commissions of people's homes, but also paintings of businesses, hotels, or restaurants for use on websites or in brochures. I have really enjoyed branching out into this category. The best ones for me involve either beautifully enticing travel (like my work in Cape May, NJ) or merely require me to stroll around the block with my chair, as was the case with the top painting. This house backs up to my block, and I love walking past it. It was fun to get the opportunity to paint it. Sometimes commissions surprise me as well, once I get to the address in question. The house below belonged to friends of mine some years ago, and I used to babysit their daughter in this house. When I drove up to find the address on my assignment, it was fun to find an old friend to paint. 
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Martha Kelly is an artist and illustrator who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee.
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