The trees offer bare branches up to the skies and the sun has shortened her stay each day. And although I awake in the dark and put dinner on the table in the dark- my garden has not not entirely given up. In fact, I still have mandevillas blooming on the back patio- as we roll into Thanksgiving! It is a little crazy. But this may be the week I make my final tomato and tomatillo harvest and pull the plants. It’s just too depressing to look at a half-living garden.
We have had a few cold evenings, a few cold enough to warrant covering the faucets and a few select plants in plastic sheeting. It only takes one cold night to turn a verdant patch into a nearly brown one. I brought all the cold sensitive potted plants indoors at least a month ago. Each year I bring them in and watch them cycle through their plant-depression. The lemon tree begins with a burst of fragrant blooms as she believes she has just moved to some new tropical zone. With no pollinators in the house, I get busy with a q-tip or paint brush. I go from blossom to blossom with the precious yellow pollen and think of the summer bees with yellow fuzzy legs heavy from pollen. It will be next spring before the slow-growing Meyer lemons will be ready to pluck- but they are worth the wait.
After this enthusiastic burst of blooms, the plant will realize that life indoors is just not the same. The light is weak and sparse. Leaves will begin to curl and drop. Usually I have to stave off an invasion of whitefly. I feel her pain.
I miss bright hot summer days- long days! My rhythm is off in the winter. Like my lemon “bush,” I bounce from highly to productive to sad and drooping. Although, perhaps this winter will be different. I have hit a stride with my art… I am creating in multiple platforms daily and enjoying my progress. So much so that often other things- like laundry and housekeeping- suffer. The holidays are looming over me and I know I need to tend to shopping and cooking lists, and perhaps some holiday decor. But I am too distracted with creating art that would be great on holiday cards, gift wrapping, and home decor.
These are a few patterns created for this holiday season. They are available in my Society6 shop. See the Shop Products tab. As I complete projects, they will be added to the Society6 shop throughout the coming weeks.
So- like the garden, I feel a little stuck between seasons right now. Which, is a good place to be stuck I suppose. I will keep creating between the moments.
Inktober wrapped up as we slid into a tumultuous election- and a time change! My body and my buddies, Carter and Django, are still confused. Early mornings are now earlier- and while I enjoy the quiet of the still dark house it catches up to me quickly in the day.
I enjoyed the thrill of creating everyday and discovering what ideas lurked beneath the surface. But the effort of keeping up with just a fraction of those ideas exhausted me! So, I have taken a few days off of social media and given myself a little extra time to prepare this final Inktober installment.
I am already creating holiday inspired art, even as I cling to the dusky allure of Autumn’s motifs. I hope you enjoy looking through the final images of October. I know which images I am most proud of, but I would really love to hear which ones you like.
“Bee” and “Mum” Oct. 24
“Sunshine” Oct. 25
“Moth” Oct. 26 This is actually the first piece of art I created for this Inktober.
“Moth” Oct. 26 One of the repeating patterns I created featuring moths with a Halloween theme.
“Acorn” Oct. 27
“Bird Nest” Oct. 28 This became a preliminary sketch for a larger painting- I will be posting it separately.
“Echinacea” Oct. 29
“Bat” “Autumn Wreath” Oct. 30 & 31 The original is 10″ x 10″ and will eventually be offered as a print.
I can’t believe the second week of “Inktober” is already behind me! The second week has found me staying up later most nights, because I can’t seem to get up before the sun. I am beginning to give myself permission to be a little behind and to use two prompts for one image.
This week I thought I would try adding colored ink to the mix- so I ordered some from Amazon- not because my art cupboard was bare- but because any excuse for more art supplies is a good excuse. But, I wound up disappointed. Silly me thought that ALL the inks in the set would be water resistant. Nope. Just the black. The others ran like crazy when they got wet. If I want water soluble, I will stick with water colors- they have so much more to offer.
When I began this challenge I knew that I would learn from it- but one can never predict the nature of those lessons. What have I learned?
I am more of a storyteller than I thought. I hear artists talking about telling a story, and I always thought that I was not in that group. But, when given a list of words as prompts, I discovered that I had a hard time simply floating an image on the paper. Instead, I wanted context- not necessarily story, but context. So perhaps my journey into art will evolve into storytelling.
I know I have learned so much more- but really I am a little to sleep deprived to articulate it at this point. I will try again another day.
I hope you enjoy looking at this week’s progress. I would love to hear from you. Does one speak to you more than another? Do you see something emerging from this mark-making journey that has escaped my notice? Let me know. Leave a comment and subscribe- I will choose one subscriber who has left a comment to receive an 8×10 print.
“Best thing since sliced bread!”- or in my case, cold cuts! Why do I overlook the humble cold cut sandwich for dinner? No stove, no oven, no dishes, no worries! And that means more time to make art. And goodness knows I need as much time as I can get this month. The first week has been a whirlwind-
I have experienced so much in the first week of Inktober that I know October 31 will find me much improved. And the promise of growth motivates me to keep going! Many experienced artists advise new Inktober participants to be easy on themselves, plan projects that work within their time constraints, and don’t fret missing a day. Well- that’s not me. To play with Eliot’s immortal words, if I goof up this Inktober, I will “go out with a bang- not a whimper!”
To that end- each and every composition I have created this week relies on a calligraphy brush. Not a marker, or fineliner, or even a nib. I am familiarizing myself with a few calligraphy brushes. I have added color with watercolor and photoshop when I could do so within the 24 hour deadline. But pushing to finish a piece so quickly leaves me feeling as though I could have done better. So, I have decided this month I will accrue a number of inked pieces which I can color later.
Each prompt includes the potential for surprise- and sometimes I need to remind myself of this. In the final days of September I created thumbnail sketches for a few of my favorite prompts. but other prompts caught me unaware and unprepared. Potted plant was one of those- and I surprised myself by creating two inked line drawings! Bird nest was one of my quick idea sketches and I executed it late one evening. The end result was “cute”- not my usual style. I hastily filmed a reel and posted to Pinterest. SURPRISE! Eighteen hours later I had over 2,000 views and a “like” from Ohn Mar Win. OMG! I didn’t see that coming!
So, now a surprise for you. I plan to give away one print from one of my Inktober drawings when Inktober is complete. How to enter? First- subscribe to this blog. Be sure to confirm your subscription. Then, simply respond to this post with a comment about one of my Inktober drawings. I will enter your name in the drawing. The winner will receive an 8×10 print. (If the winner resides outside of the continental United States, I will send a small mini-print instead.)
Enjoy the show! I’m off to stock up on cold cuts and sliced bread!
The puddle glistened, spilling forth quickly at first, tumbling over itself to find the edge, then slowly its advancement slowed to a mere creep- fiber by fiber extending its territory with feathered fingers.
No, not a crime scene, an ink scene. And when I look up from the page, brush in hand, the soot colored evidence stains my fingertips.
For the month of October, I am embarking on a new challenge- Inktober. Inktober is a call to commit- a challenge millions of artists around the world accept each October. Inktober has humble beginnings but gathered followers quickly. What began as a centralized challenge with a single prompt list has morphed into uncounted prompt lists designed to fill a niche and find an audience.
In years past I have spectated. Sometimes I attempted a prompt or two. This year, I intend to join the “fun”. Like all true challenges, the new wears off. The drudgery, the exhaustion, and life itself will make fulfilling the commitment difficult. I must be honest- my track record for “challenges successfully met” these days hasn’t been great. Weight loss? Ha! Long forgotten. Regular physical activity? Does refilling the water jar count? Keeping the kitchen counters cleared. What kitchen counters? You see where I am going with this.
So, I am asking you- entreating you even- to hold me accountable. Leave some feedback when you like something. HOLLER at me if I seem to have “ghosted” the project.
And if you are a fellow mark maker looking for a cheering section – hit me up. Tag me on Instagram or share your work with me here. I love to cheer!
Moth Trellis- An original pattern design in progress which nods to fall and Halloween.
A spot of black, a darkly shadowed fringe lurking at the edge, an irregular recess in the luminous folds, these are the unsung marks that take a visual image from good to stunning. The hint of the unknown amidst the plainly visible lures in the viewer and burns its image on the retina. Artists refer to this as tonality- and when it is missing, the image feels flat. But when the artist deftly adds the deepest of shadows in the most carefully considered manner, the image comes to life- no matter how fantastical.
One afternoon while dropping inky pools of black into the edges, I considered that life is not much different. Life without shadow would become bland, and dare I venture to assume, under-appreciated. Like pigment on the page, it comes to life through balance. Do not confuse balance with equality. Think back to younger years and the rhythmic exchange of the seesaw. The “teeter totter” did not require two equally weighted children. With a gentle push two mismatched participants could see-saw with abandon. But take one away and gravity wins.
Such heavy lessons to find in the quiet rumination of painterly endeavors. But heavy lessons are valuable even in the comfort of our happiness. How often have I lost my sense of wonderment and gratitude in the flat planes of comfort? Just recently I found myself complaining about the shifting seasons- the dark mornings, the cloud filled sky, the breezes touched with the hint of chill. I wondered what would propel me out of bed in the cold dark mornings of winter and what would inspire my brushstrokes. And as I sought to place the darkest shadows on my page, I realized that art was teaching me to appreciate everything in balance. I need the change of seasons to appreciate the beauty in each one. And I need the failures as much as I need the small victories.
