meetup – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Dry Garden

This is just a little sketch done this morning with a local Meetup group. There were only three of us, but every time I go to one of this group’s get-togethers, I feel like a princess. Alison, the leader, does a lovely job. Me, I am a no-frills type of person, so when someone goes to a lot of trouble for a simple thing, and does it with such evident pleasure, it is just a luxurious feeling!

Anyway, we met at our local library, yacked a bit about watercolor and color theory, and then moved off to the native plant garden. It was mid-90s, so a shady spot was found, we plopped down, and painted in between the chit chat. Still, I tried to focus on contrast and depth . . . this painting turned out better than I expected as it had my usual anemic colors, but ended up fairly decent. It’s about 5×7 inches.

Sketches from a Week or So Ago

I started a small Meetup group last September. At our third meeting we hit the local mall. I was pleased with the turnout! There were 5 of us total, two of whom showed up last minute. There are some pretty talented people out there! I finally got around to scanning some of my sketches, none of which are especially great, but it was really fun to meet a bunch of nice people who like to draw and paint and be creative. We’ll connect again in January, sometime after the new year.

California Oak Trees

Today, my little Meetup group went to a local place, the trail by the Chumash Museum nearby my house. (The Chumash are a California tribe.) We were there for about an hour. I began with a pencil sketch, and then, color. We were settled in a small oak grove, with dark and light contrast about as contrasty as you can get. At the end of the hour, this is what I had painted, knowing full well I would look at it and work it a bit once home.

Once home, I looked at the painting. Still a need for contrast, and a bit more detail. More pen, more ink brush, more colors, and some warmth.

Overall, the one above came out okay, but if you look on the mid-right, to the left of the furthest trunk, there is a bit of an odd space, so I went in and worked it a bit with ink to try to mitigate it. I found it very distracting. Here is the final image below.

The area has a few more lines in it, a bit busier, but somehow more in keeping with similar areas of the painting.

I used Koi watercolor brushes and the following paints: Quinacridone Gold, Naples Yellow, Hansa Yellow Medium, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Teal, Ultramarine Blue, Indanthrene Blue, Phthalo Green, and Burnt Sienna. I used a Stillman & Birn Beta Series 8×10 inch softcover notebook, and scanned the images using my trusty, not rusty, Epson V600. Ink is Carbon Ink, and an ink brush.

Working with Contrast, or, A Day Without Mud

Today, my little Meetup group was really little. Initially there were to be 4 of us, but one cancelled, and then the third unfortunately got very lost using her GPS. She wrote she was 3/4 of an hour late . . . and we waited 10 minutes, too. Next time I post a Meetup meeting, I’ll spell out directions, so hopefully that won’t happen again.

So, contrast. I am dreadful with it. And with painting things so that they look like things rather than blobs of color. However, that is probably something that time and experience will cure. Today, though, I did manage to not turn everything into mud – a major accomplishment, let me tell you!

We went to a local place, the trail by the Chumash Museum nearby my house. (The Chumash are a California tribe.) We were there for about an hour. I began with a pencil sketch, and then, color. We were settled in a small oak grove, with dark and light contrast about as contrasty as you can get. At the end of the hour, this is what I had painted, knowing full well I would look at it and work it a bit once home.

As you can see, I did leave areas of white! Another first . . . As I was painting I made a monumental decision, too: paint long horizontal stripes to represent the grasses under the trees, and the shadows crossing the foreground. I sat there and painted stripes. It was nerve wracking. The blobby white areas were deliberately left for consideration later.

And once home, I looked at the painting. Still a need for contrast, and a bit more detail. More pen, more ink brush, more colors, and some warmth.

The area has a few more lines in it, a bit busier, but somehow more in keeping with similar areas of the painting.

My palette was somewhat unknown! That is, I was not really sure the names of the colors as I was using them, but I do have a list of how they are laid out on the palette, which is why I can tell you now! I used Koi watercolor brushes and the following paints: Quinacridone Gold, Naples Yellow, Hansa Yellow Medium, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Teal, Ultramarine Blue, Indanthrene Blue, Phthalo Green, and Burnt Sienna. I used a Stillman & Birn Beta Series 8×10 inch softcover notebook, and scanned the images using my trusty, not rusty, Epson V600.

Disappointment & Enlightenment

Disappointment: The meetup experience did not go well.

Being interrupted and being told “you are wrong,” in no uncertain terms by an old geezer, and then being attacked by the group leader for telling the geezer to let me finish talking and stop interrupting, is wrong.

Further in the session, the geezer told someone “those are the rules” without clarification. What rules? How to put a sentence together? What do you mean? Explain, please.

My initial impression of the moderator was not impressive – he felt needy and off-balance somehow.

Facing the geezer, my first thought was here is a man used to being in power and control, who feels it is okay to interrupt others.

Rudeness and ego-centrism do not have a place in a group such as this. Other groups I have been in have not had these elements from either members or the moderator.

I am sad, too, as I had looked forward to becoming part of a community of writers. The other members of the group were good, and there was some talented writing.

Enlightenment: While disappointed by this experience, it also served to make very clear to me something which had been rumbling around in my head for some time: Scheduling things to do on my days off does not always work in my favor.

Each time I schedule something that needs some work – such as a writing meetup – it means a lot of focus on that event. If it becomes something that takes up a lot of time and energy without reward, ultimately I am exhausted. As an introvert, quiet time with self-reflection and thought is a necessity for self-renewal.

Scheduling time with people I value, doing things I enjoy, is a completely different thing. I come away refreshed and joyful.

I knew this before the meetup. I know this now even better than before. My choices are very clear.