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I am so enjoying the Intrude exhibition at Brooks by Amanda Parer. It delights me. Mr. Darcy and I stopped to sketch again yesterday on our way home from the forest. I like the nocturne better, but it was fun to do this one as well.
For some serious happiness, treat yourself to two minutes of Bard Cole's marvelous video of the bunnies, beautifully edited and set to music. He caught me there sketching, but of course Mr. Darcy is the real star of that small clip. Thanks to WKNO for putting this out.
For some serious happiness, treat yourself to two minutes of Bard Cole's marvelous video of the bunnies, beautifully edited and set to music. He caught me there sketching, but of course Mr. Darcy is the real star of that small clip. Thanks to WKNO for putting this out.
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I did a whole show of river paintings some years ago and largely haven't revisited it since. But the river is where you can truly see the sky in Memphis, and skies are fun in oils, and a photographer visiting Memphis got me back down there to sketch. I started this oil this morning, and it will get some cloud work and a second layer after this layer dries.
I'm planning to do a few small river oils for the self portrait show. The show is a wide definition of self portraiture with still lifes and dog/banjo paintings as well as ones of me. The show began as a "woman alone in a large world" series, but it took a turn along the way. Jude Dippold wrote a poem about the first self portrait I did, against the large window in Paris, and I'd like to use several of his poems about me as one lens to see myself in this show. He's also written two with the Mississippi River in them, and I think a few river paintings would complement them nicely. Here is one poem I plan to include in the show.
Skagit Dawn
The last light of a winter's afternoon
glimmers on the hills
above the Skagit.
I hold to that amber glow
with thoughts of blankets
warmed through the night
and the promise
of the sun circling back
to rendezvous
with dawn
over the Mississippi
and you.
Below is the journal sketching working from that I did while we were down at the river last week. I can never catch the sunset the way it looks, but I was pleased with the sketch as a thing in itself after the fact.
I'm planning to do a few small river oils for the self portrait show. The show is a wide definition of self portraiture with still lifes and dog/banjo paintings as well as ones of me. The show began as a "woman alone in a large world" series, but it took a turn along the way. Jude Dippold wrote a poem about the first self portrait I did, against the large window in Paris, and I'd like to use several of his poems about me as one lens to see myself in this show. He's also written two with the Mississippi River in them, and I think a few river paintings would complement them nicely. Here is one poem I plan to include in the show.
Skagit Dawn
The last light of a winter's afternoon
glimmers on the hills
above the Skagit.
I hold to that amber glow
with thoughts of blankets
warmed through the night
and the promise
of the sun circling back
to rendezvous
with dawn
over the Mississippi
and you.
Below is the journal sketching working from that I did while we were down at the river last week. I can never catch the sunset the way it looks, but I was pleased with the sketch as a thing in itself after the fact.
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Here are a few quick sketches from my week. My favorite is the installation of enormous, inflatable bunnies at the Brooks Museum of Art. It's an installation about invasives and the damage they do by Australian artist Amanda Parer, but she admits it's also winsome, and the child in me is utterly delighted. I was also excited to do such an interesting nocturne piece, and I'll have to go back and do more before they depart Memphis.
There was also cake in my immediate past (Muddy's Bake Shop, my favorite), and a trip to the Metal Museum. It's been a lovely week.
There was also cake in my immediate past (Muddy's Bake Shop, my favorite), and a trip to the Metal Museum. It's been a lovely week.
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The river is always the most stunning thing about Memphis to show out of town visitors, so I headed there for a spectacular sunset with my house guest. It was a stunning evening and changed quickly, but I did one quick sketch during one of the permutations. I loved the bridge leading across the water into the setting sun.
S0ulfish for some great catfish (and sweet potato fries with remoulade) is also always a winner. They've expanded recently and doubled their size. I hadn't been since the remodeling was complete. I loved the funkiness of the old place, but it is nice to have plenty of tables for the popular spot. We didn't have to wait. And the silver fish on the wall are pretty cool, even though I miss the "EATS" sign.
S0ulfish for some great catfish (and sweet potato fries with remoulade) is also always a winner. They've expanded recently and doubled their size. I hadn't been since the remodeling was complete. I loved the funkiness of the old place, but it is nice to have plenty of tables for the popular spot. We didn't have to wait. And the silver fish on the wall are pretty cool, even though I miss the "EATS" sign.
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In the process of moving from pure landscapes into figural and narrative painting, I have found myself raiding my art library (I have long picked up enticing books second hand as I have found them) and sitting with them on the sofa in the evening. Spending all that time last year in the Musee d'Orsay started me on this path, and it's one that would benefit my work no matter what I'm painting.
After finding my set of sketches from the Helga photos recently (you can see them in this blog post), I pulled out my book of the Helga photos to go back through. Mr. Darcy kept me company on my feet as I studied.
I did a sketch of the page with Overflow. I love this one. The art major in me who delighted in Northern Renaissance paintings with all their tiny symbolic elements loves the highly suggestive waterfall glimpsed in the corner of the window. And the quote at the top of the page from Wyeth delighted me. "I think one's art goes as far and as deep as one's love goes.
After finding my set of sketches from the Helga photos recently (you can see them in this blog post), I pulled out my book of the Helga photos to go back through. Mr. Darcy kept me company on my feet as I studied.
I did a sketch of the page with Overflow. I love this one. The art major in me who delighted in Northern Renaissance paintings with all their tiny symbolic elements loves the highly suggestive waterfall glimpsed in the corner of the window. And the quote at the top of the page from Wyeth delighted me. "I think one's art goes as far and as deep as one's love goes.
Here is my sketch from the same painting that I did in the exhibition 13 years ago.
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I got to paint from a different angle yesterday. Here's the forest road, the new gateway by Tylur French, and a view across the treetops.
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My last day was more of an urban day than a park day. A bit of Christmas and bookstore shopping in Fairhaven and Bellingham, plus lunch in a tea shop. My tiered "afternoon tea" lunch, with finger sandwitches, fruit, and creme caramel, made me slightly ridiculously happy. The peach apricot tea was delightful as well.
There was a stunning sky color on the way in, and I had done one very quick sketch from the passenger seat of the car as we sped along. A good memory exercise. And a looseness one. I also sketched the tea cups before lunch arrived.
There was a stunning sky color on the way in, and I had done one very quick sketch from the passenger seat of the car as we sped along. A good memory exercise. And a looseness one. I also sketched the tea cups before lunch arrived.
We came home by way of the coast road and stopped for me to sketch. I could definitely spend more time drawing this coast line. The simple shapes remind me a bit of the Mississippi river series of paintings I did some years ago. This trip made me want to paint water again, and I was glad for the practice doing that in watercolors. That's been hard for me.
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At the Mouth of the Skagit
The sun was dropping fast
by the time we reached
the mouth of the Skagit,
and a bitter wind from the strait
was hard into our faces.
You grabbed your watercolors
and braced to capture dusk
glowing over the Salish Sea.
I took my camera and found
a small song sparrow
puffed up against the bitter cold.
We were two small people
in fading light,
caught up in something larger,
racing to stop time
in the failing light of winter.
Jude Dippold
The sun was dropping fast
by the time we reached
the mouth of the Skagit,
and a bitter wind from the strait
was hard into our faces.
You grabbed your watercolors
and braced to capture dusk
glowing over the Salish Sea.
I took my camera and found
a small song sparrow
puffed up against the bitter cold.
We were two small people
in fading light,
caught up in something larger,
racing to stop time
in the failing light of winter.
Jude Dippold
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The next day in Washington was foggy, so instead of going for mountain views, we went for trees. Rockport State Park is a magical place, a forest of towering evergreens and maples covered with moss and ferns. It felt like I had walked into Tolkein. I was sure ents were lurking just out of sight. It was dripping rain, which made watercolor quite challenging, but I kept having to try. I am dreaming of going back with enough time and dry weather to at least attempt to do this place justice. All I have at the moment are the palest shadows of that beauty.
Because of the rain I was having to work very fast. I badly miscalculated below on the tree in the foreground, both its placement and its execution. But the ones in the background give you some idea of the layers of trees disappearing into the fog that day.
Because of the rain I was having to work very fast. I badly miscalculated below on the tree in the foreground, both its placement and its execution. But the ones in the background give you some idea of the layers of trees disappearing into the fog that day.
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Christmas for several years now has marked the moment when I could draw a line between show and commission season and the beginning of having time to make art for myself again. That is deeply true this year, so I celebrated with a quick self portrait in my Christmas dress. I found this 1940's velvet dress (that was the decade when they most made clothes to suit my figure) in an antique shop in Washington during my recent trip. It fits like a glove, and I was delighted. I feel like I'm starting a new chapter at the moment, and a new dress is a lovely way to mark that. I'm also looking forward to doing some more self portraits now that I have time, perhaps for my spring show if things go well.
I hope all of you are having a marvelous holiday season. Thank you for reading along here and supporting my work. No independent artist could ever make it without a whole host of supporters, and I have a beautiful community around me. That is always such a gift, at Christmas and all through the year.
I hope all of you are having a marvelous holiday season. Thank you for reading along here and supporting my work. No independent artist could ever make it without a whole host of supporters, and I have a beautiful community around me. That is always such a gift, at Christmas and all through the year.