I know I keep saying this, but I really am trying to sketch more in those small corners of time I have in my day. I did the above sketch when I got to a restaurant first and was waiting for friends to join me. I sketched Mr. Darcy (again) the other night. I was playing my banjo as watching him sprawled out on the couch, and I just couldn't resist reaching for my sketch book. 
Then I spent all weekend demonstrating at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair. I was mostly carving a block (what I was out there to do) and talking to people who came by, but I took a quiet moment to do this sketch. For some reason, I really like the shape of a line of port-a-potties. I know I've drawn them before. 
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This is one of the first images I carved in my new series, but I didn't totally have my skills down yet. The drawings moved a bit as I was transferring them, and it wasn't printing well. I just recarved the blue block and did a color test to look at it. I was originally going to have green grass in the bottom section, but I think I like it just like this. It feels more like some of the old Japanese prints in this color scheme. (The cherry tree subject matter also contributes greatly.)
I'm going to try to have some of these printed and ready to go at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair this weekend. It originated in the Chickasaw Gardens neighborhood. Plus, I've been distracted by my many travels this year and done a bunch of non-Memphis prints. I need to do a few more for our area as well. 
I got my first round of prints photographed yesterday. I haven't been able to do a very good job on them -- they're 14x22", and so way too big to fit on my scanner, as the watercolors do. These are all printed and ready to sell, thankfully in time for the upcoming Pink Palace Crafts Fair. For the Tower Grove Park print, I couldn't decided whether I liked the brown or white paper, so I'm doing a smaller edition of each. They have such different feels, and I like them both for different reasons. These prints are $125 each. 
Shelton Laurel, the name of the area where the woodworking school Country Workshops is, is also $125. 
Overton Park was the first print I started in this series. It's the place closest to my home and my heart. I'm there every day I'm in Memphis, walking, drawing, or just sitting and watching the sky. I play my banjo near this tree a lot as well. 
And finally the White River at Calico Rock in Arkansas. This series is a group of places that are dear to my heart, my own personal travelogue. The White River, and the Riverview Hotel right on it, is one of our favorite getaways. This print is $140 because it's three colors and requires three separate printings instead of just two. 
I'm still working on prints for the Missouri Botanical Garden, Chickasaw Gardens, the French Broad River, and a second one for Tower Grove Park. Watch this space for more finished ones over the next couple of months. I'm trying to have them all finished for my November show at ANF architects.
 Elmore and I spent the last four days demonstrating at the crafts fair, so I haven't been drawing much over the last little while. Elmore demonstrated wooden bowl carving, starting with splitting big chunks of tree trunks and going from there. I was demonstrating printmaking, so I spent most of my time carving, but I did take a little time Saturday morning before things got too busy to do an urban sketch. The big lemon near our tent was new this year, at least in our area, and it amused me all week. It was fun getting to sit and work and watch Elmore do his thing. Here's Elmore splitting a log...  and roughing out the inside of a bowl...  And here we are together, with me in his new rocking chair. We met at this fair eight years ago, so I always like to take an anniversary photo there.  I had a great time demonstrating block carving for the first time at the Pink Palace Crafts Fair. My husband Elmore Holmes has been out there for years with his work, but it was a first for me. I loved getting to be a part of a fair I have loved since childhood, and it was fun to get my prints out in front of a new audience as well.  |
online store Martha Kelly is an artist and illustrator who lives and works in Memphis, Tennessee. Get occasional studio email updates. Categories
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