Healing Pet Loss

A really good friend of our family has weathered some losses this last year, one of which was her beloved dog of 18 years. When I mentioned this in on of the forums at Wet Canvas, Dr. Brad mentioned he's collaborated on a DVD about healing from pet loss. I ordered the DVD here and I have to say it is a wonderful and thoughtful film. The music, artwork, interviews and therapist voice over are all beautifully blended together to create a comforting "place" for pet owners to feel validated and comforted about their loss. Very often in our culture, pet loss is minimized and people do not feel able to share their feelings. This DVD is a wonderful antidote for this situation. I highly recommend it for anyone who has experienced pet loss.

Wet Canvas All Media Event June 23

Oil Pastel on BFK Reeves. 10" x 12"

Daily Sketches

I'm working on getting the structure of trees first then doing the foliage. This does not really lend itself to traditional wc media, but its good practice.

Oil pastel on extremely cheap paper. Just a daily practice sketch.

Duck Detail

With just a little nudging, this architectural detail looks like a
DUCK!

Chruch Visiting

Ok, you notice I'm not IN the church. Just drawing the architecture! Wonder if this counts as points in the after life.

Captain, My Captain

I have no idea why I get these attacks of whimsy now and then. But here is another. This was from an image at Wet Canvas for the All Media Event. I messed around considerable with this image and suddenly thought of a Captain Goose. Well there is a Mighty Mouse, Nija Turtles so why not a Captain Goose!

Today's Walk

Father's Day Bike Ride

Today, Craig wanted to have breakfast at the beach. We packed up and left the house by bicycle and took the train downtown. Although the day was really hot, we started early enough so that the sun was merely sauteing us not broiling us. We biked up to the North Avenue Beach and broke our bread watching the lake front. It was kind of funny watching an exercise class on the beach. So glad we were biking and not "exercising" that way!!

After breakfast we traveled up to the zoo for a little rest and looking. I brought along an Altoid box of oil pastels with a VERY limited pallet: cerulean, ultramarine, yellow, white burnt umber. I love these colors together and can mix some interesting greens with those colors. I'm trying out the lightest possible load in anticipating of our big trip out west.

Tree Sketches

Cubbies

If ever fans were long sufferin, its Cub fans. Yesterday was a perfect day for a ball game! The temperature was perfect; a light breeze from the lake cooled us. Our seats were just behind the dug out and under the balcony. The hot dogs were, of course ball park franks!

But alas, the Cubs lost thier lead in the 9th inning and let Houston sneak 2 runs in. The lost 3-2.
Grahpite in my 9x 12.

Old Buildings

My friend Robert in Vienna just laughs when I say something is old here. One hundred years is a drop in the bucket to Europeans! I pass this "old" church nearly every day and there are a number of things I really appreciate about the building. Its faced with local limestone. Even the side entrance step is made of granite. All the windows are stained glass. Some one had the foresight to use tile on the roof. The building is plastered (no pun intended!) with carved Catholic symbols. (I can't help thinking that those were really classy bill boards promoting Church glory.)

Recently, our town rings with the sounds of new construction. Condos are springing up all over the place. The construction is often quick, bland, and not as solid as the buildings they are replacing. Building the way people designed buildings 100 years ago is expensive. But still, I long for a sense of more permanence in our modern buildings. I doubt those condos will hold up as well as granite and limestone. And besides, the parking issues will be a nightmare! One hundred yeas ago, we were dodging horse plops. Now we are dodging meter maids.

This is the North entrance in graphite on hot press wc paper.

The Birthday Flower

Craig gave me this for my birthday and now it is all settled into the garden and blooming again. The form is so inviting! I love all th curves and swoops in this flower.

Graphite on hot press wc paper 9" X 10"

Bike Ride

This week we all went for a bike ride on the Salt Creek Trail. This is a 13 mile round trip trail and it was a really great day to go. Having Derek back in the family fold is really fun. I had a chance to do this small water color sketch while we waited for Derek to complete this trail twice! Ah youth!

Limited Pallet of the Old Masters

I'm trying an experiment to see how few colors I can use to create an image. This was done with black, burnt sienna and yellow ocher and white. It felt very liberating to not be concerned with so many colors.

AT the suggestion of Wet canvas friends, I took out the pointy mountain in the middle. I like it much better.

Dick Blick Demo by Savoir Faire Representative, Camille La Point-Lyons

Five participants gathered around the table on the second floor of Blick’s Art Store in downtown Chicago Saturday June 10th. Camille began her demonstration with a history of oil pastels and the Sennelier family. Her techniques follows the old masters oil painting techniques using a limited palette. She chose a single, light colored neutral to block in the lights and darks with very light, squiggly lines. She gave us soft press Fabriano paper and a whole box of 50 oil pastels to share as we followed along.

Camille choose a light colored compliment of the first color to develop the shadow areas. She explained how you can, when working this way, layer lights over darks. She used white to cool and lighten some areas and the pastels themselves to blend areas. She prefers a painterly look so does not use blending tools or stumps. (No ResN-Gel either).

She blocked in the trees (not using any green at this point) and began to lay in the reflections of the trees and the bridge shadow on the water. She applied long vertical strokes to make the water shapes for the trees using the same colors she used for the trees themselves. Then she applied some of her sky color to the water area that showed between the tree shapes using horizontal lines. She then used a lighter value to create gentle lines of light (contrasting against slightly darker shades) in a horizontal direction.

Tree shapes were not specific to any kind of trees and she continued developing them as irregular lines. Her light values were sprinkled on the light struck side of the trees and she used darker values both to anchor the trees to the ground and develop shadow areas within the trees themselves. At this point, she did use several cool and arm greens that added a definite tree color the foliage. She added the tree trunks and branches last so that they had a lost and found appearance among the foliage.

In laying down the sky colors, she used Ronald Searle techniques to squiggle in the colors. Camille said when you lay down a thick horizontal layer of pastel it flattens the sky. Using several pale values and scribbling in the sky gives it more depth.

As you can see, we all had a great time. Kelsey and I met WC members Serena and her aunt Jaspal as well as Serena’s best friend. I’m posting drawings from Kelsey and I that are definitely WIP’s! But may help you to see some of this interesting process!
I'll have to down load the images later. Blogger is not up loading images anymore this morning.

Ready For More Drawing

I'm taking an oil pastel class on Friday mornings. This was my first class effort. I really learned a lot. I am, however, hankering for simple drawing soon. The "painting" is fun and all but the ease of pure drawing can't be beat.

Taylor Park Again

Working plein air for a longer session has its challenges. I forgot bug repellent and anyway, how do you stop the ants from crawling up your leg. I had some bug blood in the drawing from bugs that got stuck on the oil pastel surface. But all in all, as with drawing outside, painting outside has its charms. I love being out doors hearing all the sounds of birds and the world in general. Earlier this week I spend a few hours in the forest preserve and it was so peaceful!

Today I start my oil pastel class and I'm very excited. I hope to report on some new techniques and tips very soon.

DS settled In Now

Derek is home now for the summer and has settled in nicely. He's got a job. ( Not a glamorous one but a job none the less.)The wired thing is how hard it is to get one of those minimum wage jobs. He had to fill out a 70 page questionnaire that tries to get at how well you will support the company, what kind of personality you have and weather or not you like brussle sprouts. Yesterday he went for a drug test too. I remember my own teenage job search process:
walk in,
ask to speak to the person in charge,
a short interview if you are lucky and the person doing the hiring talks way more than I did,
the words, "you are hired"

Just a couple of watercolor sketches from my walk yesterday. They are done in my Aquabee Deluxe.



Things sure have changed!

Five Value Sketch

Every where I am looking these days, something looks interesting to draw. My walks are getting shorter and shorter due to this shift in perception!

Wet Canvas All Media Event

Oil pastel on Mi Tien's paper

Negative Space

I'm working here on negative space. I also really love to work with dip pen and ink. For some reason, a dip pen gives me a totally diferent feel and I have more bounce to my lines when I draw with one.

Milking It For All It's Worth

I have no idea why I'm so into cows lately! This one is in oil pastels on Mi Tiens paper.

Farm Box

It's that time of year again. We joined an organic farm coop and in return for our membership, we pick up a weekly vegetable-filled box. This week included green house grown carots, spinach, lettuce, green onioins, herbs and more. Yummy!

New Approach

I recently visited Vivien Blackburn's sketchbook site and had a thoroughly inspiring visit. She uses mixed media on site to create images of great beauty and vigor. I am inspired to work with my media in new ways. These are my awkward beginnings. I want to think as she does in a more painterly way. I know I made progress, because my hands were filthy when I completed these pieces! I'm starting to loosen up more. Can't wait to go out tomorrow.

It's Summer

And I'm not teaching! Read: more time for art making!!!
I'm aiming for a cloud study a day. The clouds here have been amazing and I'm totally gob smacked lately. Have to remember to carry my drawing stuff AT ALL TIMES!