Owl One, Owl Two

It's about that time that I need to start thinking of wrapping up some projects so that if I need them for August, when I'm hanging art at a local ice cream shop, I have them... therefore, I grabbed these two off the wall and started the process of bringing them to a close. Lots of dots, lots of remembering the preference I have for small even if it takes longer...

Working habits...

I always struggle with being too tight if I paint traditionally first. I fuss, I fidget but there is something about traditional work that really can't be beat with Photoshop alone. So tonight I had fun working on an idea--trying it first in a tight format, then seeing what I could do loosely sketching it out in my sketchbook. In the end, I like the sketchbook version better.. Probably if I did it on the computer I'd have yet a third concept of favorite..

Tight watercolor

Sketchbook

Sea Legs

I'm working with a new idea. It may be a panel thing, I'm not sure. Last weekend at the Keene Children's Literature festival, I enjoyed listening to a number of speakers, but one Pam Zagarenski gave a great speech and talked a lot about the symbolism she puts into her artwork. I sat down today and read the two books I bought illustrated by her, looking closely at how she was using the lines, patterns, throwing in little images that could quickly be overlooked... In some ways her work reminded me of Nick Bantock, so I pulled his book down as well. Perhaps one of the most valuable messages I gathered from the weekend though was this unique sense of personality. Each illustrator had a distinct style. Each was professional and yet you could see one with very specific realism, and two with exaggerated forms, dots for eyes, or profiles for faces... and I came back wanting to just play. So this is that. Play. Play with influence. And of course, using the events of the week to provide a basis for subject matter.

Roots

I have been thinking a lot of putting down roots as I find myself happy and content where I am in this New England town. This is the basis of the new project.

Holding

This is the second in the series I've started. They are very tiny pieces. I call this "Holding". 

Post script

I find a level of excitement making time at my studio desk, listening to music. You'd think after thirty years of living, I'd prioritize this, but still, when I do or don't, it's always fun to feel so tickled pick by the simple process of sitting down to make some art.

Small comforts

I took advantage of the canceled softball game to take Orion for a quiet stroll down a street that lined a cemetery, turning when the trees changed the feel beneath my feet and dominated my sky. Settled into the studio desk easily enough and continued my little series..