Sister-in-law

Soft pastels on Tiziano paper, 23x30 cm (9x12 in)

A quick sketch of my sister-in-law, in a rare moment of repose (I swear she never stops moving!). I am not sure I will work on this one much more-- I like how the rawness of it seems to capture Bobbi's moment of quiet. So I may just clean it up a bit and let it be. We'll see.

Tulip seed cases

After several weeks visiting relatives (LOTS of relatives) on the other coast, and taking the red eye flight back east, followed by a two hour drive home, you'd think the first thing I'd do is hit the sack, but no. Might as well stay up; easier to get back on eastern time that way.

The tulips were in full bloom when I left, and I should have just clipped them. By the time I got back I had nearly mature seed cases. Not good for the bulbs, but they are intriguing and interesting against the later flowers, so I decided to try capturing their beauty. At least that's what this started as, and they are still there, in a different way.

Soft pastel on sage Tiziano with pumice ground

14x14cm (5.5x5.5 in)

The first try looked muddy, so I scumbled it a bit, tried again, realized that the vision I had in mind was not going to happen, so I just went for the color. It was fun and spontaneous, and I think somehow caught a little more of the feeling of the seed pods than the refined version I had in mind. This is more how I experience the seeing of things. Guess being mentally fried made me cut through all the conventions that usually take me a while to let go of.

A friend of mine saw it and had a hard time putting it down. So now it's hers. And I have a beautiful monoprint of hers hanging next to my computer where I can see it every day.

Signs of restlessness...

Tomorrow I catch a very early plane to the Pacific Northwest to visit relatives I haven't seen in a long time. I should be sleeping. But I'm restless, so I take out the little sketch kit I am taking with me. Just something quick to relax: my bag and the book on the bedside table. There. A simple sketch with a few colored pencils, but now I am unwound enough to sleep.

Colored pencil in archival sketch pad, 9x12 cm. (3.5x5 in)

Buddha dreaming

This one was a bit of a surprise to me. I let something loose, and then followed my instincts. Isn't this the way of art? Or, at least, of artists. Whatever it is, it's done: this is what it is. This is a loose pastel drawing on a pastel ground that has been scrubbed, washed, coated with pumice gel. I like the visual texture of all this.

Pastel on Tiziano, 11x11cm (4.25x4.25 in)

Vermont spring sunrise

Up early this morning, let the dog out. Just a glimpse of the hills to the west with a bit of mist laying in the hollow reflecting the rose of the rising sun. A peaceful Sunday morning for an hour or two, until the weekend warriors came out with their machines to wrestle vegetation into submission. I prefer the untamed vegetation of the hills and meadows, the quiet of dawn.

Watercolor on Arches 300 gr cold-pressed, 11x12cm (4.25x4.75in)

Clock with basket

Nearly a month without art, except my almost daily ink scribblings. Serious withdrawal. You remember that aphorism "Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once"? Well, like the universe, time is also not evenly distributed, and sometimes things come in clumps. I just had one of those clumps. No, you don't get the details. Oh, ok, some of them: Insane political organizing for legislative day- on phone or internet for 10 days straight. Next: Ugly storm. Car assaulted by telephone pole while it sat innocently in my driveway. No heat, phone, or electricity for a week. There's more, but never mind, you get the idea.

I put paper on my easel, and just sat and looked at it, as if that part of my brain had disconnected. And it had. The first thing I did was so awful I destroyed it. Then I put a tiny piece of paper up, and did the first thing I saw, just to make my hands and eyes and brain engage. Then I went outside. The daffodils are blooming, at last. Yellow!

Soft pastel on Arches white, 300gsm, 10x10cm (4x4 in)