Ink, Yarn & Beer

7 / 365 Kitchen Corners

Getting ready for dinner on a rainy night.

6 / 365 Corners of Light

It was dark when I finally found time to do this one . . .

Over the last few weeks I have been going through the supplies I have on hand and deciding what I need to replace or add. I’ve added a few new tubes of watercolor, some brushes, and a tablet of paper. I’ve looked through my books and bought a couple that really interested me. I added a couple of pencils, some black permanent pigment pens, India ink, rubber masking, and a couple of other things. Cleaning up and re-organizing the studio helped keep me from adding duplicate materials, as well as discard old things which were no longer functional. I still need to inventory my 22 x 30 inch sheets of watercolor paper.

Another thing I did was to set up this blog, and go through YouTube in search of how-to videos and subscribe to channels, many of which I have added to the links here. Making a video is a lot of work and takes time, but watching a video is one of the best learning tools. You can stop it, start it, watch it again and again. For me, this is one way I find helps me to master something.

Now, I need to get started at really focusing on this side of my life and do something. I have laid down some washes and practiced on different papers – this is all good. The truth is, I’m rather scared of doing this. The fear of failure is there, and in the back of my mind I hear voices of the past, of comparison, and so on. All people who pursue the arts at any serious level hear these – but the ones that really, really want it continue despite real or perceived challenges.

Onward!

5 / 365 Hidden Corner & Path

A corner may also be a “hidden part of the world” – I think this fits the theme element for this month. Throw in the little curve in the path, and we perhaps have covered two? For me, these little gems of natural beauty are the best. 11 images to make the panorama.

Rainy Day Walk

I’ve been rather housebound for the last few days, busy with this and that, and just plain lazy. This morning, though, with the prediction of a whole day of rain, the allure of a walk in the damp was too much. Our rain has dwindled into a slow drizzle, but it is so welcomed here in our parched California landscape. The sky was a blue-grey, hinting at moisture to come, and it did soon after I started out, more like a misty rain than drops, which is fine when you want to go hiking. The trails were all sticky – my boots sucked into the mud and made a rhythmic noise with each step. Areas of the trail had not yet dried, but when they do, the trail will be lumpy and bumpy for a long time.

When I got to the area I wanted to explore – it’s always new, no matter how many times you go! – the parking area was closed for repairs. I skirted around to where the oaks and cacti and stream and sycamore hang out, just in case it did get wetter. It turns out that the recent rains have caused soil slippage, and some trees have toppled a bit. One oak had fallen and split, so the work crew was waiting for the oak tree specialist (the city has one, as oak trees are protected where I live) to determine whether it needed anything or just a bit of a trim.

Here, a little bit of rain goes a long way, and soon enough the grasses begin to sprout for the upcoming spring. Beige and brown give way to the delicate greens. The cold temperatures have pushed the autumn leaves to golds and reds, so suddenly a dull grey-brown landscape pops into life. The smell of the damp earth, the creeks with running water, and the occasional bird song or insect was all that could be heard. A bit of bliss for a couple of hours! Click a picture below to scroll through them.