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I started making a new kind of painting, mixing ink drawings with watercolor painting. I draw the contour with a fountain pen with black ink, and then I paint the colors with watercolor. I was trying to solve a painting problem: how do I loosely indicate the sense of rows of houses on San Francisco hills? While looking for techniques that might work, I came across the concept of urban sketching,…
In November, I painted my cappuccino for the first time. The cup and saucer were so graceful. The light was good. I liked how it came out, and more importantly, I enjoyed painting it. I got out for coffee every Saturday, and painting my coffee became part of the habit. One coffee painting a week for a few months and it starts to look like a series. Heck, maybe I've become a regular: that person…
I've been playing around with mark making. Mark making is a fancy term for doodling with expensive materials. Sometimes I just want to put shapes on the paper and see what happens. It's relaxing and it lets me try out new paints and brushes and techniques without the pressure of messing up a planned painting. It's also easier to do when I feel rather abstracted myself. All of these pieces are…
I gave myself the luxury of a whole week off for Thanksgiving, and no travel. I slept late, read Pride and Prejudice , cooked elaborate meals, continued my ongoing battle against oxalis , and painted with watercolors. It's been a pretty good month for watercolor painting, despite my worry that I wouldn't have many chances to paint outside. I had plenty, but I also tried to paint more ordinary…
I've read a few new books recently, mostly fiction, so it's time for another set of reviews. I've also done a lot of comfort re-reading. Since the last review roundup I re-read the entire Locked Tomb series (again) and the entire Starship Teacup series. I only finish books that I like, and I only review books that I finish, so generally speaking you can consider the existence of a review from me…
"Nights are drawing in," is uttered evenings at my house pretty much as soon as it turns September. By the 21st when the world daylight widget on the clock display turns from the familiar sine wave to a straight line between light and dark, the nights are decidedly drawn in, but it's not the nights that get to me, it's waking in the dark, or at least, waking in the dark gets to me first. Then the…
ALLEMPIRESEND. All one word like that. Version two of what was meant to be a continuing expansion from a sketch watercolor I made in August has been pinned to my fridge for months. Even though it's a work in progress, or a partial work, I like it more and more as it hangs there. I like the message and I like having it up even though it's a work in progress. I mean, really, what isn't? It reminds…
I don't know if you're aware, but it's decorative gourd season. There's a pretty famous essay about it, in point of fact [1] . I am quite fond of decorative gourds, pumpkins especially, and threatened to spend my bonus this year on pumpkins to lavishly decorate the stairs and front porch, though after I did the calculations, it became clear that one, if I spent entire bonus on pumpkins it would be…
Converting even a small yard from grass to drought-resistant perennials and native plants is a ton of work. I started three years ago with just a little patch where I dug up grass and planted thyme. Each year, I've done a little more. Sometimes, when things get too much and I'm totally drained, I can't even bring myself to do art or write. The garden though, remains a refuge. The very fact that…
On the one hand, I like to paint things, I mean representations of objects, both real and imaginary. On the other hand, I like the act of painting with no specific goal. I like putting down shapes and colors on the page. It's deeply enjoyable to load a brush with color from the pan and make a mark on the paper. It's even more pleasant to mix a color, or dilute it to various consistencies and…
