dear september you have arrived. nights are chilly and autumnal. i wear a flannel shirt on the porch at night. days are mild. summer is almost over.
every year since 1989 you’ve been just like this. except the opposite. hot dry crispy over 100 in the shade. so hot the a/c stays on even at night. what’s up?
have you changed? or is this a trick?
while i wait for the answer i sit out on the porch each night with my string of globe lights turned on and it is quiet. cool. last night i drew one of my succulent pots. if my eye lands on a stray postcard bit it gets attached to the page.
that’s the way it goes.
my new favorite sketchbook is the fabriano eco qua notebook. the pages are thin and crinkly. it’s staple bound, under $5. and v.v. cool. i just bought some smaller ones to take to northern california & guatemala. i like the way it feels like a practice sketchbook. like you could draw the ugliest crap and it will. not. matter. in a fancy schmancy sketchbook like the stillman & birn you kind of want to avoid complete disasters because each page feels precious, but of course we know those aren’t avoidable are they?
i’ve taken my gouache palette out for a spin. wheeeeeeeeeee!
and i’m still drawing on postcards. what’s shakin’ with you? something good i bet. keep me posted.
My favorite morning read with my tea!! NOPE no cold nites in Georgialina!!!
Got one of those Fabriano Eco Qua sitting right next to me on the desk…lovely lime green…guess its time to give it a whirl!! Putting it where I will see it and USE it!! BYTW the circus is coming to town…bet theres some great drawing there!!! PS they have those Fabriano Ecos at Michaels..slapping self in face…why didnt I get one with that 50% off coupon Monday!! Duh
Porch Life. What a great title for a book about a watercolorist who paints the flotsam and jetsam of human perches. I expect it would include superb studies of snails, butterflies, worms, cats, geraniums, eppis, rocks that look like animals, beer cans, chopsticks, cane chairs unraveling at the seat, scuffed doormats, gossamer spider threads, bird droppings, and if you are lucky enough to have friends with places, a sunset over the ocean framed by the railing. Hold on…. that’s you! Carry on watercolor warrior.
My first ever solo show at a real live gallery is coming up all to soon, and I am scrambling to get work done and framed because I’ve been such a good procrastinator. I keep telling people it would be really sad if they came to the meet the artist night and I only had one picture up.
Your new journal rocks, Mary Ann and lovin’ the addition of stray paper bits..something mighty special about those stray bits. Kind of like letting a stray pooch or kitty in for a cool drink and maybe a rub on the tummy if such things are allowed. Our weather the past week has been nothin’ but hot and sultry. Minnesota can do an incredible impersonation of Florida. It’s been so dang humid, feels like a sauna when you step out the door. Our AC has been maxed out. The week before it had been beautiful, the kind of weather that makes one feel they can accomplish anything and then some bozo threw the weather switch and BAM just like that; thrown into a puddle of swampy, muggy air! UGH!!!! I’m chillin it up in the AC and counting my lucky stars that we have it, readin’ journalin, artin’ and calling it good.
Hi mam
not receiving post here in az.
Mary Ann, enjoy the autumn type weather now … I have a feeling the heat will return soon. Perhaps you’ll miss it in Northern California.
Looooove this!! Loooove your art, and I’ll say that every day! Where can I find that type of inexpensive notebook? In the northeast, no one has such things! And I guess I’ll have to order me some gouache cause I want to dive right into that orange! You create beauty!!
I have been using these Fabriano sketchbooks ever since I found them about a year and half ago. I love the crinkly pages. I have filled several of these sketchbooks in different sizes and colors. I LOVE the way they sound and feel when I go back and look at what I’ve done. It’s the little things that make a difference, isn’t it? Love that I can travel with you,
Oh, I LOVE crinkly pages. I am a very tactile person so I love all manner of texture, and crispy crinkly water colored pages are one of my faves. I always run my hands over my pages in my journals and feel the various textures. I am weird, I know. I am in the in between time of the day…in between getting chores and housework done, and getting dinner and evening chores. I get a break in there where I just do what I like. And I like checking my fave websites and lo and behold get to be the first to comment here! I adore your rose bud! Wonderful!
Homemade beef barley soup…it’s what’s for dinner. Then I will work on a fairly large collage on canvas that I keep getting stuck on. I need to just throw all caution to the wind and just DO IT! I think it is because I want to sell it, so instead of just doing what I like, I am trying to decide if someone else would like it. Because, as I have already stated, I am weird, so will someone else like my weirdness? Probably not, which is why I keep getting stuck. I read a little fromThe Man Called Ove today. He’s weird too. Okay, not weird…curmudgeonly. I’m not there yet. I had a few chuckles at Ove’s expense. Funny, funny man! Great writing…Enjoy your evening, MAM.