Inky Black Cats

One thing about having to clean up and discard damaged items from the flood is that I found a lot of things I had lost, buried in the debris. I also cleaned out the garage for 4 hours the other day, reorganizing my loads of loads. My muscles are sore and my mind is blank. There are still some things in the living room, but as the bins are full, I am forced to take a break. That’s good.

One thing I found was some sumi-e ink and thin paper for practicing traditional painting strokes. I still had a bit of a knack for ink painting – one of the founding subjects of this blog, too – but don’t have quite all I need. Nonetheless, I decided to try my hand with my ink stick, suzuri, brushes, and rice paper.

Nothing spectacular. I managed to remember a few things. I also realized I had to find a few other things, like a felt mat and some paper weights to hold my paper steady. Easily done.

From there, I drew a cat in purple ink, thinking about painting cats could be fun.

And easy.

And I found out they are not easy!

So, I tried to follow a few “how-to” videos on YouTube, I got frustrated and had an epiphany: I much rather paint in my own way, not following traditional formulaic representations. And this is not to put these traditional ways down – they are amazing in their own right – but I find it very frustrating to paint like someone else. Learn from someone, from tradition, but ultimately go on my own path.

So, I painted some cats. I copied some, I looked at photos of cats, and that is when I realized I need to learn more about controlling my brush and the shades of grey and black and manage the moisture on the paper. So, inky black cats, some of which may give you nightmares, but working on their shapes and using my brush has opened my mind to a lot of potentials. That is the exciting part!

The Black Cat Rebellion is here.

Wind & Fire

Today I have to head over to Simi Valley, where the fire I wrote about yesterday is still burning. Because I have to go there to get a crown fitted, I just checked out the situation online.

It’s called the Sandy Fire, and while still uncontained, a number of back fires have been lit to help do so. The fire is moving south of Simi, into the hilly country of the mountains on the southern edge of the city itself. There are homes here, but because of the nature of the place, it is difficult to build as well as remote. Unfortunately, though, some structures have been lost. Damage to wildlife is not to be dismissed, either, as the hills are home to many critters.

Thomas Fire from the Reagan Library
2017 Thomas Fire taken from the Reagan Library

Above is a photo I took years ago. The fire spread from the mountains to about 20+ miles west to the sea. My in-laws were evacuated from Ventura in the middle of the night. No one thought the fire so far away could spread as fast and fiercely as it did, and in so short of time.

The wind is what is often the most devastating element involved in the fires of Southern California. We get what we call variously “sundowners” and “east winds” and “Santa Ana winds” and “Santanas” – sundowners because as the evening sets in, the cool air from the ocean draws the heated air from inland. East winds because the land is east, the ocean is west. And there are a lot of other reasons for these winds of which I know nothing!

At times, these winds can be over 50 mph. Yesterday’s winds in my area were only 15 mph, but enough to make me uneasy. I always have my nose sniffing out smoke and my ears pricked for sirens. The rugged terrain means chasing fires is very difficult to impossible on foot. Helicopters with fire retardant and water help, but when the wind blows embers ahead of the fire, from mountain top to the next across an arroyo or canyon, the chase is on. It is this element – the embers – which can lead to large and devastating fires and damage.

Ironically, much of California and the west are environments which depend on cycles of fire. Native Americans often used fire to control the fertility of the landscape, and only recently has the Forestry Service begun to use their knowledge. Plants flourish in the burnt land, and many depend on fires for propagation of the next generation of plants. Human settlement disrupts this cycle. Thus, years of dried debris and overgrowth provide fuel. Wet winters giving way to dry summers do this as well.

Today, the winds are down from yesterday. Usually, a light steady prevails in my area, but even that can have its effects. I’ve lived in California most of my life, but I never get used to fires as a normal part of life. I loved the wind until I came fear its effects. Today the Sandy Fire is likely to be contained, but there are fires elsewhere that need attending, and more to come. Fortunately, family and friends offer us places to stay should we need to evacuate, as we have offered them.

Flood & Fire

And famine, too, with drought, fuel and fertilizer costs rising, and a lack of people to bring in the crops. Bankruptcy, permitting foreign countries to buy up fertile farmland and watersheds to feed their own is not right. We won’t discuss healthcare and skyrocketing insurance. Capitalism at its finest. I love being a commodity.

About 3 days ago a sprinkler head broke and sprayed a ton of water into an open window – the window into my studio. Paper loss, book loss, furniture loss. Hours spent cleaning up the water and discarding unsalvageable things. Fortunately, all can be replaced. I put my clothes into plastic bags, threw away art paper and books beyond redemption. We bought a new dresser at Ikea and the esposo put it together for me. The bright part, though, is I am being forced to clean up and sort out my stuff – junk – crap – whatever. High time.

And today, the wind is up, and there are fires here in my neck of the woods. Hopefully we will not experience the devastating losses of Malibu and Altadena and Camarillo and Ventura and other parts of California, the US, and the rest of the world. All this makes for a sense of life being precarious and unpredictable – which it is – but which I don’t find especially enjoyable.

Okay, enough about this and that. At least I am not mentioning locusts . . .

Back Road Near Sisters, OR

The other day I was browsing through a bunch of snapshots I took when I was up in Oregon for a week visiting a friend. We spent time on the coast and inland. This painting is from a picture I took as we were driving back to her house near Sisters, Oregon.

As you can see, in the distance are a number of snow-covered mountains. The are called the Three Sisters. I have a photograph I took from the car of this scene, and of the mountains. In the photo, the mountains blend into the blue of the sky, but when enlarged, you can easily see them. I kept the proportions of the photo but made the Three Sisters more visible. The photo is below, and clicking on it will take you to Flickr. Clicking on the Flickr picture until it is maxed out will make the distant mountains visible.

Outside Sisters, OR

It’s interesting how the atmosphere just blends the mountains into the sky. On the drive, they were visible, but very faint.

I did not strive for accuracy in representing the Three Sisters. I just wanted to make sure they were there. I also changed the landscape to my liking in my painting, and does it work? Hmm. My focal point is a bit vague to me, but the red buildings below the treeline are hopefully getting you where you need to be.

Watercolor, BaoHong 100% cotton CP paper, 9×12.

Somewhere

Yesterday I got to class to paint and realized I had left all my white and black artist gouache sitting on the table. Everything else had come with me.

I need white for gouache, so I got some acrylic titanium white paint to use from the supplies counter in the classroom and blended it in with the gouache. Because it is acrylic, I made sure my mixes of gouache and white paint occurred on a disposable palette as well as made sure I used cheap brushes which I rinsed all the time. Acrylic is plastic and I don’t need ruined brushes or metal palette. And the fast drying quality of acrylic made me work far too quickly.

Sigh.

I have no idea where this photo came from, just knowing it is somewhere in southern Europe, like in Spain or Italy or France, or elsewhere. The white plaster buildings are rather decrepit and worn. The streets are more like alleys than a 5-lane L.A. freeway.

The bright blue doors, rampant bougainvillea, and rusty red just make you want to paint it. So, I did, and my haste shows – nasty, quick-drying acrylic paint! – crooked lines rather than straight, poor perspective. My usual faults! In reality, the detail was a challenge to reproduce, even what little I did, and because I knew this would not be a masterpiece, I could play.

I have mixed artists gouache with watercolors, and been happy with the results. Mixing acrylic paint with water soluble paint is a bit of a different story as speed is part of the issue with acrylics. As an experiment, this worked as I could lighten my paints as necessary, but it is not something I want to repeat. My brushes mean a lot to me, can be hard to replace, and my palette is also something I value. Dried acrylic paint would not be a happy blend with enameled metal.

Acrylic paint with artists gouache, 9×12.