Parts of Art

        Now that my show season is over, it's time for what I lovingly call winter work. Winter work is studio time. It's when I light the fire in the wood stove and sit down at the drawing table and/or easel, both of which are pulled close to the wood stove. It's winter work because when the weather cools off and the leaves fall, the studio is the most inviting place in my life. The warmth of the fire and the smell of the wood and the blank slate on the easel are what inspire and motivate me to work.        At one of my shows I bought this glorious coffee mug from Paige @rockbottomceramics. It sits on top of the woodstove and keeps the coffee warm for hours.  It's a studio staple.     There is purposely a blank canvas on the easel, or in this case, a smooth panel which will eventually be gessoed and painted with an expression of light through leaves. The blank canvas is self care. It's a sign of hope for my future. What will go on ...

      I've had a blank canvas staring at me for awhile, so I decided to throw some color on it. Then one thing led to another, and now it's a full fledged work in progress.        Sometimes when I show my art, people think it's batik. The process is indeed similar to batik, where melted wax is used to block dye colors. Instead of wax and dye, however,  I paint with watercolor and fluid mask. Watercolor is simply colored water, and the key to fresh, sparkling watercolor is to retain the light.        Here's the process: Sketch out the design. Paint fluid mask on the parts that need to remain white. Once the mask is dry, go ahead and paint right over it. Once the paint is dry, remove the mask and you will discover that the light areas have been saved. It's satisfying and therapeutic to peek off the mask. It balls up like rubber cement.  With this process, you can build up layer over layer of color and the lig...

   It's November, and every morning now there is frost on the ground. Even so, t his yucca plant is thriving in the middle of my herb garden. Although not an herb itself, it is surrounded by bee balm, lavender, spearmint, peppermint and catnip in the spring and summer months.  It's a robust perennial, so it stays put long after all the herbs around it have died with the frosty November air.         I love the view looking straight down from the top of the plant. I am also fascinated with the silvery white threads that swirl out playfully from the stalks. The tall stems that radiate from the center shoot out stately spikes of white flowers in the summer.        The yuccas are such a beautiful part of my herb garden that I decided to do some paintings of them. Here they are, along with some photos from my actual plants and a video of the painting process. See those cool white threads?! The paintings and more are ...