Newest Experiment

Love our new scanner, much easier than taking a picture if the piece is small. ...Two posts ago I spoke of wanting to try out these new color shapers I bought on the recommendation of my painting group in hopes of loosening up. I must say they are fun...but we will have to see if the love lasts. Since I would never attempt a picture of flowers with a brush for fear of wanting to do every last detail...I felt these were freeing and I went for it. Curious, but I think it is OK...certainly better than brush or pastel for me. What do you think?

Tomorrow we are off to Turkey for two weeks. We crafted an incredible trip, staying at small, authentic and rustic spots off the beaten track. David has a conference in Antalya for three days, and then we are on the road in a tiny car covering the equivalent of Virginia to Maine. I am bringing a trip journal of course and this time colored pencils and ink. I will post when we get back.

New Scanner, Old Paintings

We finally got the scanner hooked up last night that I got for Christmas. With the house for sale, I never got around to getting it out of the box. I wanted it to scan slides and old photocopies of older artwork that was never digitized. That means that the work is at least 9 years old as I got a digital camera for my 40th birthday!

It is interesting to me to look back on those older works. Some I like better than what I am doing now, and some seem less "mature". It would be nice to understand exactly WHY I like some of the work...for instance this piece, a pastel done from a photo of the marsh at Laudholm Farm, has good color harmony, looseness yet detail...I remember it flowing out easily without any revisions....it never got the "one last touch", I knew it was done. A goal of mine is to be able to do that on command....to do a nice quick study of something that captures a feeling..what plein air alla prima is all about....but alas, almost ten years later it still is hit or miss. I admire those painters of a century ago who when traveling, could capture their journeys through quick sketches, people like Sargent or Corot, or the watercolorist Eliot O'Hara.

The only thing to do is keep plugging away, getting more comfortable with some good, some not good. One thing I know is... I won't get better just thinking about it!