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I was lucky enough to have a partner who wanted to drive more than ride, so I got a lot of time to both sketch and knit coming across the country. After all the shows and commissions, it was fun to sit and sketch whatever caught my eye, without any deadlines or agenda.
I almost finished a scarf, and I played a good bit with my Sumi ink in the brush pens. I have a darker shade that is (shockingly, considering how dark it is) 50/50 with water and a lighter one that was just a small bit of ink and water for the rest. I'm enjoying using them together to get two toned gray drawings.
I almost finished a scarf, and I played a good bit with my Sumi ink in the brush pens. I have a darker shade that is (shockingly, considering how dark it is) 50/50 with water and a lighter one that was just a small bit of ink and water for the rest. I'm enjoying using them together to get two toned gray drawings.
I also kept playing with my new green ink and the watercolor as well.
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I got a new pen and new green ink just before the journey and decided to try to sketch a little every state we passed through. It gave me a lovely way to help pass five days of travel. It's also good practice to try to catch something passing by at 75 mph. It kept me loose and made me look and make design decisions quickly. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it's a nice record to have of a trip even when all the sketches aren't what you hoped.
Most of my sketches were from a moving car, but we did stop to see Hannibal, MO. I'd seen signs for Mark Twain's house, and we enjoyed just walking around the small town. It's obviously benefitting from the Twain legacy, but Main Street is a pleasant place with lots of thriving businesses, and it was very quiet for us on a weekday in the not quite busy season yet. There was a great coffee shop in a gorgeous old building as well as historic sites to see, with the river right there as well. A good lunch stop for the day.
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I got distracted by the #oneweek100people challenge and forgot to post about FINALLY making it to Parnassus Books in Nashville. It's amazing. A beautiful space, kind people, dog greeters, hanging stars, a tiny door for kids into their section, comfy chairs, and (best of all) many well curated books. I came home with a good stack (see photo), mostly about writing books and being creative.
There was also an abundance of letterpress. Hatch Show Print has a long history in Nashville, and it seems to have inspired other presses as well. Ann Patchett (one of the owners of Parnassus) had a number of beautiful, letterpressed broad sheets that
There was also an abundance of letterpress. Hatch Show Print has a long history in Nashville, and it seems to have inspired other presses as well. Ann Patchett (one of the owners of Parnassus) had a number of beautiful, letterpressed broad sheets that
celebrated her new books. It's a great idea. But the one I came home with was for Mary Laura Philpott's book Penguins with People Problems. The book is hilarious, and I loved the poster that went with it, so festive and full of old school letterpress whimsy. It made me dream about one day having a published book of my own to do a letterpress poster for.
I had gone hoping to meet Mary Laura, because she introduced me to my very favorite podcast, #amwriting with Jess and KJ. She was a guest, talking about building a relationship with your favorite book stores even before you have a published book out there to promote, and Parnassus shared the episode on Facebook. I've been listening my way through the back issues ever since. Jessica Lahey and KJ Dell'Antonia are both successful writers sharing how they get their work done, how they pitch and get writing jobs, how they work with editors and agents, and how they make space for creativity and reading in their busy lives. It's been inspirational as I work on Mr. Darcy's Odyssey, but I'm also learning lots about this whole new world of publishing. Plus they're good friends and delightful people and make you feel as if you're sitting at the kitchen table with them talking. I can't recommend it enough.
Mary Laura is also delightful. She happened to be there, and I was glad to get to say thank you face to face. I've been reading her witty book ever since, a page or two at a time, so I can keep it going longer. She was kind to me as an aspiring author and gave me one welcome piece of advice (that I don't HAVE to be on Twitter if I'm already on Facebook and Instagram, even though lots of publisher folks are there as well). That was good to hear from a social media professional.
This turned into a total fan girl post, but all three of these amazing women are well worth going fan girl about. If you're interested in books and writing, please look all of them up. And by all means, stop in Parnassus next time you're in the Nashville area. You won't be sorry.
I had gone hoping to meet Mary Laura, because she introduced me to my very favorite podcast, #amwriting with Jess and KJ. She was a guest, talking about building a relationship with your favorite book stores even before you have a published book out there to promote, and Parnassus shared the episode on Facebook. I've been listening my way through the back issues ever since. Jessica Lahey and KJ Dell'Antonia are both successful writers sharing how they get their work done, how they pitch and get writing jobs, how they work with editors and agents, and how they make space for creativity and reading in their busy lives. It's been inspirational as I work on Mr. Darcy's Odyssey, but I'm also learning lots about this whole new world of publishing. Plus they're good friends and delightful people and make you feel as if you're sitting at the kitchen table with them talking. I can't recommend it enough.
Mary Laura is also delightful. She happened to be there, and I was glad to get to say thank you face to face. I've been reading her witty book ever since, a page or two at a time, so I can keep it going longer. She was kind to me as an aspiring author and gave me one welcome piece of advice (that I don't HAVE to be on Twitter if I'm already on Facebook and Instagram, even though lots of publisher folks are there as well). That was good to hear from a social media professional.
This turned into a total fan girl post, but all three of these amazing women are well worth going fan girl about. If you're interested in books and writing, please look all of them up. And by all means, stop in Parnassus next time you're in the Nashville area. You won't be sorry.
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I woke up the other day with trees calling me. I think it was a holdover from the Wyeth exhibition. His visual vocabulary was so rooted in the places he loved, and for me, aside from Memphis and its environs, it has always been about the trees. It was a drippy day, as you can see on a couple of the sketches, but not truly raining, so I headed to Rockport State Park and did the longer trail with my sketchbook easily reachable in my rain jacket pocket. I've been doing a lot of indoor painting lately as I finish up the Mr. Darcy book, and it felt marvelous to get out and draw from life again.
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As well as sketching in the Wyeth exhibition last week, I did several train sketches on the way down to warm up. I’ve been neglecting my sketchbook recently since I’ve been working full tilt on the Mr. Darcy book instead. It felt great to just sketch again.
I love train travel. It’s one of my favorite things about Europe, and between the train and the Pike Street Market, it felt like a very European kind of day. I’ve been driving through Seattle to and from the airport, but I hadn’t spent any time in the city itself. The train was a great way to get in without fighting rainy day traffic, and the station (at right) is not only beautiful and well kept, but it’s an easy walk from all the downtown stuff we wanted to do.
The market was great fun to roam through, the book shops a hoot (though the ones out in the smaller towns near us are better than the small market area ones), and there was a crumpet shop that looked totally enticing, but I was too stuffed from a great seafood lunch in a market café overlooking the waterfront (see bottom sketch) to even consider a crumpet. Something to save for next time….
I love train travel. It’s one of my favorite things about Europe, and between the train and the Pike Street Market, it felt like a very European kind of day. I’ve been driving through Seattle to and from the airport, but I hadn’t spent any time in the city itself. The train was a great way to get in without fighting rainy day traffic, and the station (at right) is not only beautiful and well kept, but it’s an easy walk from all the downtown stuff we wanted to do.
The market was great fun to roam through, the book shops a hoot (though the ones out in the smaller towns near us are better than the small market area ones), and there was a crumpet shop that looked totally enticing, but I was too stuffed from a great seafood lunch in a market café overlooking the waterfront (see bottom sketch) to even consider a crumpet. Something to save for next time….
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I had a marvelous Christmas after the rush up to it, including commissions and home sale. Afterwards, which is my favorite part of the end of the year, I was able to start doing the work that’s been calling my name through all the business craziness. I’m deeply grateful for all the business craziness, but I’m also grateful for the place where I can quietly get up each morning and do actual art that I’ve been dreaming of. This year that is the Mr. Darcy book. I am really ready to get this finished and see if and where the world takes it. To that end, I packed it all up (see above) and brought it out to Washington State with me. I’ve got a couple of weeks to really buckle down on it every morning and see if I can shepherd it along to a finished state. I can’t show the individual pages here, since I’m hoping to get it published (which sounds very familiar from my summer work), so I’ve been quiet here about my work lately.
Through this period I have also been missing my sketchbook, though, and here is a sketch I just did this morning. It’s the more distant view (across housetops) from my work table here in Washington, and the mist was too beguiling to pass up. I took a break and did this quick sketch. Now back to work...
Through this period I have also been missing my sketchbook, though, and here is a sketch I just did this morning. It’s the more distant view (across housetops) from my work table here in Washington, and the mist was too beguiling to pass up. I took a break and did this quick sketch. Now back to work...
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It's been one of those weeks where art time got hijacked by real world events, but I have done a few more watercolors I haven't posted here. The sun is finally out in the PNW, so maybe I'll get to sketch from life. These were done during the two week stretch of mostly rain, so from photos I snapped during the breaks on my walks. It's cosy to sit inside during the rain and do a little painting.
I also did one small holiday bazaar up here in Washington. It was tiny but fun, and I got a visit from Santa (see below). I will also say that the homemade cookies were the best eats ever at any show I've done, and that alone made the day worthwhile.
I also did one small holiday bazaar up here in Washington. It was tiny but fun, and I got a visit from Santa (see below). I will also say that the homemade cookies were the best eats ever at any show I've done, and that alone made the day worthwhile.
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I'm enjoying playing with watercolors without training wheels. I've never worked without putting some lines down first. Sometimes I get done and wish the composition were a little more balanced (there's no switching things around once the paint is down), but I think the energy and freshness are a good trade off. As I wrote yesterday, it's good to have these vacation spaces to experiment without feeling that a show is looming. I'm having tea on my worktable with a view of the mountains, listening to the radio, and playing with paint today. It's a good morning.
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The beautiful thing about having my main show up (and please go see it at Eclectic Eye until January 2nd if you’re in Memphis!) is that I’m now free to experiment a bit and see what new things I can try since the pressure of producing exhibitionable art on a deadline is past. Which is not to say I don’t love painting with a purpose and creating a body of work for a show. But I love do also love the freedom of vacation painting.
I’m back in Washington, as you may be able to tell from the scenery. It’s been a quiet start to vacation as I continue to soldier through a cold, but I’ve gotten to sit under a blanket and read a lot. I’m in the middle of a book on Georgia O’Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz, and it’s made me go look up her early watercolor work from the teens, which is stunning. I also looked a bit at John Marin’s watercolors. Both are free and impressionistic and do not involve the use of line. I have a couple of friends who have recently been painting first in watercolor and adding lines only later, if at all. I’ve never painted this way with watercolors, and even in my oils, I lay out the basic composition in chalk before diving in.
I’m back in Washington, as you may be able to tell from the scenery. It’s been a quiet start to vacation as I continue to soldier through a cold, but I’ve gotten to sit under a blanket and read a lot. I’m in the middle of a book on Georgia O’Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz, and it’s made me go look up her early watercolor work from the teens, which is stunning. I also looked a bit at John Marin’s watercolors. Both are free and impressionistic and do not involve the use of line. I have a couple of friends who have recently been painting first in watercolor and adding lines only later, if at all. I’ve never painted this way with watercolors, and even in my oils, I lay out the basic composition in chalk before diving in.
I've been trying to relax in my life lately and be a little bit less of a workaholic. I also think it's good for me to go through periods where I work quickly and loosely. Printmaking is so exacting that I can carry that tightnessback into my painting as well. I find that there’s a sweet spot at the center of the spectrum between too tight and being too sloppy, and what I tend to do is swing back and forth across that line, over correcting one way or the other in almost every piece. It’s the classic Goldilocks search for “just right.”
When I started watercolors, I was afraid of doing “little old lady” watercolors, and I felt that the presence of a strong line made them more sketchy and vibrant and energetic, as well as giving them a different feel from the old fashioned, very precise watercolors. I have mostly stayed with that style, though my lines have often gone from black pen to lighter inks to pencil. But O’Keefe’s simple and vibrant watercolors use no lines at all and simply sing. So after looking up that work of hers, I decided to try a few of my own. I can’t ever get as ascetic and spare and reduced as her gorgeous work. I’m simply too much of a detail painter. But it’s been freeing to use to lines and all and just play with paint. Here are the first four. It’s raining today, as it has been for most of my visit, this being Washington in the late fall. So I’m working from some photos I took on the one beautiful day I got to go out and take a gentle walk (while still fighting a cold). Perhaps if the weather breaks again and I feel better, I can do some on site painting as well.
When I started watercolors, I was afraid of doing “little old lady” watercolors, and I felt that the presence of a strong line made them more sketchy and vibrant and energetic, as well as giving them a different feel from the old fashioned, very precise watercolors. I have mostly stayed with that style, though my lines have often gone from black pen to lighter inks to pencil. But O’Keefe’s simple and vibrant watercolors use no lines at all and simply sing. So after looking up that work of hers, I decided to try a few of my own. I can’t ever get as ascetic and spare and reduced as her gorgeous work. I’m simply too much of a detail painter. But it’s been freeing to use to lines and all and just play with paint. Here are the first four. It’s raining today, as it has been for most of my visit, this being Washington in the late fall. So I’m working from some photos I took on the one beautiful day I got to go out and take a gentle walk (while still fighting a cold). Perhaps if the weather breaks again and I feel better, I can do some on site painting as well.
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Here is a sneak preview of my Skyward show that opens next Friday night, November 3rd, from 6-8pm at Eclectic Eye (242 S. Cooper in Memphis). I'll have more than these, but I decided to put up the first batch on my website today.
I've been doing massive amounts of computer work the last few days, which is never as much fun as making art, but I did manage most of a new, small painting for the show next week as well. I've been working to get more serious about an email list. I've always collected them on my paper mailings lists at shows, but I have a printing press I'm in love with, so I haven't been that serious about using email. However, all of the book publishing/marketing emails I've been listening to lately (I'm thinking ahead to the Mr. Darcy book while I paint for the fall show) have really emphasized the importance of an email newsletter. So I've decided to join the 21st Century and dive in, at least occasionally, when I have shows or other important news.
If you'd like to receive an occasional newsletter, please sign up here:
I've been doing massive amounts of computer work the last few days, which is never as much fun as making art, but I did manage most of a new, small painting for the show next week as well. I've been working to get more serious about an email list. I've always collected them on my paper mailings lists at shows, but I have a printing press I'm in love with, so I haven't been that serious about using email. However, all of the book publishing/marketing emails I've been listening to lately (I'm thinking ahead to the Mr. Darcy book while I paint for the fall show) have really emphasized the importance of an email newsletter. So I've decided to join the 21st Century and dive in, at least occasionally, when I have shows or other important news.
If you'd like to receive an occasional newsletter, please sign up here: