Going Around in Spirals

Techno? Not. Well apparently not techno enough. My frustration is escalating. Hence, 'spirals' instead of 'circles'.

I've been trying to sort out how to get Blogger and Feedburner to resume sending out email announcements to my blog subscribers. It stopped a couple of months ago. It's a long, boring story so I won't go in to it. Anyway, I hope to figure it out soon.

If you'd like to be on the subscriber list, send me an email and as soon as I get it sorted out you'll start receiving sporadic email from me.  Meanwhile you are welcome to visit the Blog at any time. You can access archives going back to 2013.

I like to show my watercolors and write about them on the blog. I started painting while I went
through chemotherapy in 2012. Painting has become my moving meditation practice. I love the entire process including preparing to paint and shopping for supplies.

No scrubbing!

#1

#2

I call it "scrubbing".  I think it's actually called that. It's when you paint over brush strokes, too impatient to wait until it dries. So you basically make mud and have to trash the piece because there are one or several areas on your paper that definitely don't look like they belong there or in any picture.

Tap on the pictures to enlarge.

#1 I was working on this piece in my painting group, but didn't finish. I wanted to add definition to the trees, and probably lighten up the background for more contrast.


#2 I softened the background a bit, but the trees did not stand out as I hoped they would.

#3

#3 Went overboard with the shadowing on the trees thinking if they were darker they would stand out more.. When you keep adding color when the paper is still wet you get mud.

#4

#4There was no going back, so I picked up the oil pastels to see if I could lighten up the trees by adding white. There was way too much dark paint on the paper and I was unable to get the effect I was after. Impatiently, I just colored in  everything. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.

Winter Haikus

Well, I can really get lost in a picture. I think it was actually finished maybe 3 or 4 times, but it was a new image for me and I'd never drawn or painted a birch tree before. This is about my zillionth try.

One has to know when to stop...

Winter Haikus

I'm home, it's winter

It's cold,  the wind is howling

Maybe it's nap time

Winter separates

Other seasons connect us

Can't wait for the spring

Dreamy Landescape

Don't know why I chose late summer for today's picture. Probably because the weather was so dreary and gray. I needed a little color pick-me-up. I can dream, can't I?

Challenge: Tropical Colors Part Three

Well this is a process...
I've been given a challenge of creating a painting for my sister using tropical colors. So how do I decide what to paint? How do I usually decide? I could use new materials, but I basically use watermedia; watercolors that come in cakes or pans, watercolor pencils, inks, and oil pastels. I like paper with a tooth, or texture, heavy enough to not buckle from the water. As for images, I've been discovering landscapes, using photos I take or find on the internet for reference, mostly of trees and dirt roads and autumn and all colors one finds in the north east. Something will spark my imagination like a shape, a perspective or a composition in a photo, but here we are starting with colors. Hmm.

The first thing I thought of was the beach. (see that post).. NG said my sister. Let's see what else you've got. OK so I started messing around with abstract images. NG I said, this time, (see last post), but there were parts of it that pleased me, so I decided to do another one. I like this one below, but then I wanted to continue exploring. I'm starting to really like the colors. So I thought some circles might be interesting.

Challenge-Tropical Colors-Part Two

The story so far:
My sister asked for a painting in colors that I rarely use. They are more likely to be seen in the Carribean than the Berkshires. Well, I did do a beach scene, (see last posting), but ahe wanted to see something else. Enjoying the challenge, I next thought decided on abstract shapes. I doodled and noodled and came up with this. My sister liked it, but I'd like to try it again. Next time, I'll plan it out better and make a sketch first. I'd like the shapes to be better drawn. I do like the colors. They're starting to grow on me.

Challenge: Tropical Colors

I asked my sister what she would like for her birthday and she requested a painting.  She wants colors that she's particularly fond of that are all rather tropical. Blues and greens and blue-greens like aqua and turquoise are what she likes best. These are colors that I hardly ever work with. I live inland, in the mountains, in the northeast. I like browns and rusts.

When I said as much to my sister, she said that it would be a good challenge for me to paint in these colors. OK. Well, she didn't like the first attempt. I admitted that it was the first thing I thought of when she described her colors. (See picture #1 of the beach). Well, back to the drawing board. More of the story will be revealed as it happens.

Fageddaboutit! It's too bloody cold!

It's still raining ice up here in the hilltowns. The cars are completely encased. I need a sledge hammer and a chisel to get them out. I have a can of deicer. Ha! It did work a little but I would need gallons to melt what's there. Well, so you know what I did? Yup. Came back inside, made a cup of tea and painted this picture. Much better. Tomorrow's another day...

Haiku for Anxiety

Anxiety rocks

It's so uncomfortable

But changes follow

Yes, have been feeling a little anxious. It actually started a few days ago.

Sooooo when I woke up at 3:00AM again last night. I painted this picture. It helped 

to focus on something peaceful.

There is a point

Well, there's a lot going on right now and I haven't been posting much. For one thing, Blogger stopped sending email announcements to my subscribers. I haven't decided what to do about  it, yet.

Anyway, it's been a little nutty around here today. I was feeling kinda stressed, so I decided to paint my way back to center. All lines point to the same place. We just can't see what's ahead...but that's another story.

Chanukah Chai-ku

I'm not religious

I don't observe Chanukah

Do I smell latkes?

I found the candles 

The box says ninety-nine cents

It has been a while...

We always got gelt

Mostly we got chocolate

And new pajamas

This is a test

Dear readers,

You may have noticed that you have not been receiving my blog post emails.
There has been a problem with blogger.

Should you, by some chance, get this one, would you send me an
email and let me know?
You can try this link:
andreajf@icloud.com


PLEASE DO NOT HIT REPLY-I won't get it

Thank you 

hugs

Hope to resume the blog soon--one way or another

Do you doodle?

My doodles all used to look the same. I had a repertoire of three or four, but at some point, I began to scribble. I scribbled and/or doodled whatever I happened to be looking at. When I can't give over my full attention to actually draw, scribbling/doodling is mindless, non-threatening and good exercise for creativity muscles. All it takes is something to write on and with.

I think many may dismiss doodling as having no value except to keep one occupied when listening on the phone, at a business meeting or when thinking. I think doodling, scribbling or however I make marks on paper, can be transforming. It can change my mood, help me problem solve, take the edge off. Oh--one important note; my doodles may get saved as an idea for another picture, or get tossed. Either way, I see it as part of my practice.
Toodles

My Totem bows to your Totem

I can't easily explain how this picture came about. There was a prompt in mindfulness class that had to do with oneself and visibility. At some point I drew myself as this Totem. I had the thought that it could help me become more visible and I could better represent my tribe.

Visibility

Following the path

Appears to be a challenge

The fog may be dense

But I can still find my way
Because I've been here before

Awww

So in my last post, Love that creative process, I mentioned that I grew up in a house with no artwork on the refrigerator. Well, Millie pointed out that refrigerator magnets had not been invented yet.
And my sister, Myra sent me this photo. It's her fridge, with my picture on it! Awwww

LOVE that creative process

I felt like taking a nap, but I was too jumpy and cranky. I had a long list of things I could do in the house, but I didn't feel like it. So what to do? My default is to paint.

I tapped R&B Love Songs on Pandora. Turned on all the lights in my studio and filled the jar with water from the tap in the bathroom. Took a piece of not-the-best paper and taped it to a board. I didn't know what I was going to paint. So I opened  a notebook and doodled a bit. Then I wrote:
I'll paint something sunny in spite of the gloom.
Perhaps make a picture as big as my room.
I'll use bright colors to lighten my mood.
I think it works better than looking to food.


OK I'm amused...now what? I still didn't know what to paint. To get some ideas I googled the question on the IPad, "What should I paint?" There were many suggestions as well as variations on my questions. One link led to a quiz. I soon realized it was for kids and it was from the UK. For example it asked, "Who will you show your picture to?" The choices were all along the lines of, "Your mum and dad."Also, "Would you like to see your picture hanging on the refrigerator?"

I don't remember there being any kid art on our refrigerator. Making art was not valued in my house when I was young. A certain amount of creativity was tolerated, but never celebrated or encouraged. In fact I remember being scolded for wanting to draw. "Read a book" I was told. I come from a culture that honors the artwork of masters and geniuses... in museums. In addition, we're told we need the audio tour to understand what we're looking at.

I never thought I could become an artist. I thought one was born with the skills and should be able to produce a masterpiece on demand. Did I ever think for a minute that I could pick up a guitar and just play a song? Yet I believe many people think they should be able to render a decent likeness of their object not considering it takes time and effort to learn how and to practice. Having the belief that the only reason to make art is to make a beautiful picture kept me from deriving joy from the process. Until just a few years ago, I rarely finished a picture. It got crumpled and trashed as soon as my inner critic took one look.

Would I like to see my picture 'hanging on the refrigerator?' Sure, I like compliments, but I LOVE the creative process.

It's all good

I was not thinking of painting today. I was taking care of stuff. I made some new appointments and changed one. I paid bills and balanced my checkbook. I had a freak out first thing in the morning because of a charge to my card that I didn’t recognize and hadn’t authorized. It turned out OK. The charge was for tolls on the Mass Pike. Fast Lane was automatically replenishing my account.

I can’t remember the last time they charged me. I’m not on toll roads very often.

Anyway, it was Monday. There was a list of things to do and I was in a do mode. Just as I had that thought, I looked at the time and realized I can make it to the painting group if I drop everything and go. I put together my travel kit. I took a few sheets of blank paper as I didn’t even have time to sketch something to work on. It was rather peaceful at class and I painted for about an hour and a half.

So...Do you think I’m going to tell you that I just walked away my desk and felt serene and creative? That I stepped into the zone? That I gave myself over to delight in the sensations of dragging a brush across a surface? Do you think I was absorbed and energized by the experience?

Weelll, not exactly. I have to admit I was not at my best. But I did show up. I did distract myself. I did create something from nothing, and I have something to post on the blog. It’s all good.