Chatter – Page 129 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Pewter Inkwell, or Distortion in the Morning

This morning I was feeling restless and unfocused while I was drinking my morning coffee. I wanted to do something, but have felt all scrambled this week, partly because routines have changed in the later part of the day and are rather disruptive of the normal routines. So, something mindless. Then I saw my ca. 1810 pewter inkwell with its ceramic insert. The decision was to draw it using the dip pen sitting nearby. Well, grogginess and a general inability to draw circles are the result – ovals are even harder – and perspective? Well, the results speak for themselves!

Life in the Cactus Patch

Yesterday I went up to the local botanical garden with a friend. We sat on the ground until the ants got too much, and then we moved to the picnic table. Despite the ants, the cacti were well behaved and let us paint their portraits! And lookie! No mud, no lines, and some lines!

Retrospective

I was rummaging through the files on my desk, and came across a collection of sumi-e ink, ink and color, and watercolor or acrylic paintings I did a long time ago. Some of these are “aceo” size, which measure 2×3.5 inches, and others are other papers. I used to sell these on Ebay, too. Maybe I need to go through and scan some more – it’s like tea and madeleines – memories and reminders.

New Year 2013

Wingtip

Moonlit

Picture of Picture Takers

Bee & Borage – Final Colors

There is always a fear of overworking things . . . and sometimes things don’t work out quite how you hope. In general, I like the drawing, but not all areas painted. The bee turned out far better than I ever expected, and I am pleased I could catch the colors through its wings.

Bee & Borage – More Colors

I am not done with this painting yet. I think I want to do something with the bee . . . but I’ll wait a bit to see what I think. I find scanning my work really brings a fresh eye to it – easier to critique when on the monitor than when it’s on the table.