August
The sprinkler twirls.
The summer wanes.
The pavement wears
Popsicle stains.
The playground grass
Is worn to dust.
The weary swings
Creak, creak with rust.
The trees are bored
With being green.
Some people leave
The local scene
And go to seaside
Bungalows
And take off nearly
All their clothes.
by John Updike
Found on the wonderful Writer’s Almanac
august came and went. alas i am not removing nearly all my clothes at a seaside bungalow. not yet anyway, but i am right here drawing rose petals.
slowly filling my page with more roses. the petals of the very fragrant red rose are nearly black today. i will scatter some about the page. i enjoy leaving my sketchbook open and returning to it over the course of a few days or even a week. adding things here and there. i will never win any speed records when it comes to filling up a sketchbook. i like to think that many small slow efforts over time yield a substantial cache. a visual diary of small things i saw and did.
reading any good summer poems? painting any staggering works of heartbreaking genius? seeing the world? do share! i loved clicking around to all the blogs the LAST TIME i did this. having everything in one place really appeals to my lazy nature.
Oh Mary Ann, your roses are soooo gorgeous. Such brilliant sketching and painting! The colors make me swoon (ha). I’ve been away from your blog for a bit and man did I need some of your lovely inspiration. The only artsy thing I’ve done lately outside of a few sketches is start on a small moleskin journal – 3″X5″. Never worked this small before but felt the need to declutter and simplify here in the house and leave those larger projects and journals out in the studio for now.
So enjoyed the poem – perfect! The kidlets are back in school-my property butts up to the elementary playground and since I’m up higher I get to watch them playing out back and even enjoy the little league games. Life is good. Now I must go back thru your posts and catch up!
Really love your rose sketches, and the soft colors…you are not the only one who works on a journal page for days!
Yur Paintwerk is getting gooder and gooder, Mary Ann! Wow.
I love the poem. It speaks to me. Oh your paintings are wonderful. I just love the roses. I have been painting up a storm but want to hibernate with my new sketchbookery journal and have some more fun.
Beautiful paintings as well as the poem. The shadow makes them look 3D. I love reading your blog.
Your roses are so beautiful and I love that poem! I am trying to catch up on my blog. Have just posted some embroidery..I think you would like and have other posts ready to go! September resolution. My blog link is below,
I installed a 3T ehd (gotta love memory!) and moved my computer table around in my studio. I only have about 3 years worth of clean up to do now! and tomrrow’s my 70th birthday!
Love the link up idea….such a great way to discover new places to visit. Thanks for letting us share your wonderful world!
MMMMNNNNNNnnnnn! You never fail to make the world a sweeter and lovelier place to be with your words and sketches. Your sketch adventures just get better and better so I think your process is spot on girl. I also enjoy leaving my journals open and waiting for me whenever the mood strikes. I also loved peeking at others blog posts. I’m always finding pathways to others creative corners on the web and the folks that visit you and leave digital crumb trails to their doors; was pure delight, so thanks for inviting us to share. You ROCK as always.
Today being Labor Day and all….I thought I’d do some labor in my craft room. My sweet husband installed additional shelving in there that I need so much. Lots and lots of supplies that need organizing and … if I am being honest….some need to GO! I am not using them. They were a passing fancy but didn’t capture my imagination. I have tons of things from trips … photos, ticket stubs, brochures, etc. Plus, paper crafting supplies. My plan is to sort, purge and re-organize. But it all won’t happen today. Just too much to even think I will get it all done today. But you gotta start somewhere, right? And it will make using all that wonderful paper, the buttons, collage materials, ephemera and crafting tools so much easier to use. And when I want to FIND something, I’ll have a clue where to look. Yep, that’s the ticket.
Making it all better so I can USE IT. 🙂
P.S. LUV your rose sketches. The colors are so rich.
I see you got that dark red rose color figured out!!!! Excellent!