i’ve missed my gouache, so on sunday i sat down at the kitchen table and painted the pot of orchids. painting white things is a challenge. let’s not kid ourselves. painting ANYTHING is a challenge.
i decided to give my new sketchbook a table of contents. i think i’ll organize it by theme: succulents/flowers/feathers/cats etc., 59 pages worth of drawings to categorize. doesn’t that sound monumental? and it will all be accomplished 1 drawing/painting session at a time. line by line. page by page. small sessions of sitting and looking. putting it all down on paper. day after day after day. i LOVE thinking about all those little actions yielding a completed book
and in the other smaller book below, i want to paint more quick gouache studies. this week my plan is to make a new one every day. sit at the kitchen table, put something in front of me, and paint it. just like that.
i started drawing/painting my shoes back in december. this is as far as i got…
maybe i’ll go grab a pair and put them on the kitchen table and paint them right now!
meanwhile out on the back patio this is happening:
what’s happening in your creative life? something good i bet. something BIG.
I know you love Maira Kalman, etc, but you my dear have an equally enchanting style.
For a while now, I’ve been intending to treat myself to a trip in the wayback machine, and start reading your blog from its very beginnings. I am currently reading about the magical bathing suit of March 2007 with its lycra fixings, whisperweight spandex and other architectures for your trip to San Miguel de Allende – and the comments are closed for that entry! So – I’ll be reading and laughing quietly over here…just so you know. You were precisely as you as you are now in 2007 – i have lots of history to catch up on – and I’ve been hanging around your virtual porch for years!
In a more current note – so i bought these cheapie (CHEAPIE!) gouache paints at Hobby Lobby, and they don’t seem to really set up firmly, the brush gooshes down into them a week later. Is this normal for expensive MAM-approved gouache? Or is it the cheapness? I don’t know if it’s a bad sign or not that they don’t even smell. Is that bad?
“No tv or computer until i’ve made a 30 minute gouache painting …” What an inspiration!
It’s so easy to get distracted by media. I am impressed (as well as awed)
You are pura inspiration amiga! I sighed 59 times and a little more looking at your colorful memories. Time for me to dust off the paint brushes and make my memories too. Mil gracias y besitos.
Love the latest sketches. I have that same pair of purple Keen sandals. Great minds like the same things!
Aloha, Kate
I love this! Orchids are my favorite.
I love seeing your work Mary Ann. I am inspired to paint and sketch more now. The garden photos are so wonderful and the succulents are my favorite. Today I am working on the cover of a ROD journal along with covers for another FTB journal so I’ll be channeling you – ha, ha! “Hi” to the kitties!
Love the table of contents idea. I’m playing with making my own stencils. So dang addictive!
Sounds like a great plan, and the orchid is a great start! I adore your new journal, I find it so inspiring – I may have to make one myself… So far I’m working in the Strathmore visual journals, but I’ll go and look for a bookbinding tutorial.
Your garden is greenin’ up nicely Mary Ann and your journal pages are da bomb!!!! LOVE it all.
My epis are putting on buds, too! I’ve been acrylic painting of late — in addition to mail art and a bit of art journaling. But really wanting to spend as much time as possible painting. Always glad to read your posts! xo
I’ve been missing you in this space.
BRILLIANT!
A beautiful orchid painting, I knew what it was right away and didn’t have to squint and tilt my head. I have to squint and tilt my head when looking at Picasso, so you are way ahead in my book. I have been doing The Walk over at Brave Girls Club, and for my self-portrait I did myself as a Picasso because otherwise I would have ended up with a zombie. Faces are v. v. difficult for me. Love your new journal too. I am still trying to fill up my SEWN journal, but don’t have much inspiration. Seems I need someone to tell me what to paint….hint hint;)
Filling these pages daily will give you such a wonderful perspective on where you were at 50 – what a perfect way to reflect back on your life as it paints its way toward the future. I picked up a library book today and thought of your works: “Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life” by Marta McDowell. There are some lovely watercolors of plants (like yours!), photos of the places that inspired her, and of course some little bunnies and critters scattered about. Happy painting this week!
I am just about to sketch things from misc. photos to add into a travel journal (No. California coast) from two years ago that was never quite finished, but first I had to check blogs, and there is your new painting journal already filling up! I love the orchid page and really love your shoes. And those patio succulents. When I see succulents, I think of you. 🙂