Flower Children, Rocks, Sky, and Mush

I had a bit of running around to do today, but made sure I had time to play. I am seriously trying to paint or draw every day, not just in between chores and appointments!

Today I was interested in playing with flowers. The first was a plein air painting of one of the lilies currently in bloom on my patio. There are a lot of them in bloom, but I decided one would be enough, to get acquainted with them, even though I see them every day, on a more intimate level. Not a great painting, but it was sort of a warm-up exercise to play with some new colors and palette layout.

I am also using, again, some not-so-great paper, but I am getting used to it. I’ve spent some time getting it sopping wet – not really successful, but I am learning how to handle it. This is important as the next painting – the gladiolas below – was to see if I could manipulate washes on this paper. For skies, this is important especially, or large areas of color. Below, sky, rocks, and mushy trees and a color blob.

And finally, the one that I spent time and energy on. The idea was to make a painting of gladiolas (which are in a ridiculously short vase given how tall the flowers are!), making large areas of washes, and working in new and different colors as I moved along the flowers. Patience was needed, and a hair dryer helped things along, but thinking and plotting my painting moves with the air of a strategist was also part of the equation.

So, overall, today was a bit of a success. Nothing great, but I am rather pleased with the gladiolas – not the vase, background, or surface, but the point of the whole endeavor. I also am getting more comfortable with the paper and how it responds to lots of water. It is fairly heavy, and described as “rough” so it has a nice bit of tooth, and now that we are getting used to each other, it will definitely be a playground rather than work.

Sketches Amongst the Potted

Today I finally had time to sit down and enjoy this absolutely gorgeous afternoon! The sun broke through the coastal fog and suddenly the world was aglow with light and shadow, not gloom and grey. That is the standard weather along the California coast, May Grey and June Gloom. It is dull and boring and monotonously monochrome.

I have a lot of potted flowers on a side patio – my yard is worthless for any beauty at this point. First up, the bigger sunflower in ink and paint.

And then the smaller of the two.

Sunflowers are far harder to paint than I think – don’t know why! From there, I decided to look at the tulip tree peeping over the fence a few blocks away. Here I tried to focus on masses of light and dark. It was a bit hard, but the idea was there. I am using my Schmincke pan paints, and they need to be worked a bit to get dense colors, which can be frustrating!

Lastly, my beloved lemon verbena bush. Every year I cut it back, every year it comes back. The leaves were half in the sun, half in the shade. I don’t have any of the delicate white flowers it produces, but the leaves always delight, in shape and scent.

It was fun to sit in the sun a bit. I don’t usually do this, so letting things dry between colors and pictures took a bit of patience. Plein air is not something I ordinarily do, but why not practice it along with patience?

More to come!

Life on the Veldt and the Victorian Lady Gets a Parrot

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

Sir Walter Scott, 1808

We keep hearing how AI can create some rather disturbing images, much like the removal of people from days of yore to create propaganda or beauty, such as in a fashion spread. Above is a sad day, below is a lucky lady who got a gift from the friendly, neighborhood pirate.

You can see the originals below, before doctoring.

What is truth? What is a lie?

Mergification

Simplifying my life means just that: Selling things, donating things, and making my online life easier. As a result, I have dumped my two other blogs – The Glass Aerie and Journey by Paper. I exported their content and imported it here to Ink, Yarn & Beer. I have even considered dumping this blog, but I have too much tied up in it, and I do rather like it. There is a bit of work to do, but I don’t think of that as a big issue – just a bit of time and learning.