Tag Archives: spring landscape

And Poof, it was gone

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I’m talking about the post I just wrote, and lost.

Ah, well.  Facebook keeps reminding me that I haven’t posted in a while.  I apologize for my absence.  The truth is, I’ve run straight into a brick wall of an artist’s block. I’m as stuck as  a car in a muddy ditch.

This has happened before.  I’d lose the excitement of my work, and come up with some horrid pieces.  That’s exactly what has happened now.

I thought the change in seasons would revive me, but no.  It’s time to take a break and play around with other creative outlets.  But I’ll be back.  Ready to start fresh again.

So, in the meantime, I’m leaving you with a drawing I did many years ago, of a season like this….spring easing into summer.  It was a fruitful time artistically for me, going back many years to when I lived in Greenwich.  Goodbye, but only for a while.

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Almost Paradise

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I’ve been away for a while…lots of upheaval in my personal life, some good, some bad.  I’ve started a new day job, which means, until I’m settled in it, I don’t have the energy for artwork.  Money is nice, but in the meantime, spring is rapidly running away from me.  There’s always next year, at least, I always hope there is a next year.

So, almost paradise:

Damn! Damn! And Damn Again!

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I seem to not be having much success with my artwork these days.  First the dogs, and now this.  My Welcome to Spring piece is not up to my somewhat perfectionist standards.  Grrr.

So,while I rethink this, I will share with you a spring drawing I made a few years, back when I lived in NYC.  Our sky was blank after 9/11.  To see the Freedom Tower going up, in the early spring, gave me hope.  I forgot what the title to this was..but here it is!

Give My Regards to Broadway

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Yesterday was the opening of the Pet Art Show, at the Bott Shoppe in Mamaroneck, NY.  If you’re interested in seeing the show, the address is 172 East Boston Post Road.  Besides the show, the Bott Shoppe, has an art studio, classes and art related items in its store.  If you are in the area, it’s an interesting store, with lots of stuff to buy and browse.

I had a great time at the opening, especially having conversations about NYC, what has happened there since I left, and discussions of the art world in general.

And as a former New Yorker, I thought I’d make the trip so easily, and wow, I’m so tired.  In case you’ve never been there, in New York City you walk a lot.  I mean A LOT.  It’s a car unfriendly city, especially Manhattan.  I remember long ago, before I lived there, I wondered why New Yorkers were so slim.  Now I know, all that walking.

However, I’m out of shape, and I no longer  have the stamina I used to.  My legs are sore today.

Speaking of Pet Art, I’ve still got the Guardian Animal Hospital in Brewster on hold.  I’ve no idea where it’s going, I’m not having much luck getting through to them.  Speaking of not know where somethings going, spring seems to be on hold, too.

I’m itching to get started on some art other than dog portraits.  I have an old drawing, I did when I was still living in Greenwich, CT.  Trust me, that’s old.  I really like it, but sometimes, I’m not the best judge of my own work.  Maybe it’s a little too much Thomas Kinkaide-ian?

Anyway, I’m thinking of updating it, and doing it again for a good spring drawing.

So, Happy Landscapes in the meantime!

Colored Pencil Hypnosis Technique

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So, I’ve finished the piece, “Wild Strawberries”, with all the dot, dot, dots. I’m getting very sleepy.  Maybe it had something to do with Pumpkin meowing at 4:00 am, last night…or maybe the repetitive work of filling in a background in minute detail will tire a person out.  Probably, both are true.

This drawing reminds me of a dream I once had.  That’s probably why I stuck with the drawing as I did.  Speaking of dreams, have you ever heard a song in your dream before you heard it anywhere in real life?  Everyone tells me it’s my imagination.  I thing there are things in all people’s lives that just can’t be explained.

I think I’m getting moldy.

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Oregon, no doubt, is a beautiful state.  I remember one day, arriving in Portland to visit my sister, only to be surprised at the sweet, perfumed air.  I looked to see bounties of roses growing by the sidewalk.

Only, I don’t know how I’d do in all that rain!  I asked my sister how she did it and she said (and I paraphrase), “It reminds me of the mists of Japanese paintings”.  From that perspective, I’ve tried to look at rainy days.

You don’t have to go to the Pacific Northwest to get rain all the time, any more!  We have had plenty here in the Northeast, and dampness abounds!  We were teased by a couple partial days of sun…but back to it.

So, I’ve finally gotten it!  What my sister said, the elegant and moody mists of a Japanese painting.  Did my best to express it, here:

“Rainy Day Rhododendrons”

An aside, also makes me think of the Beatles’ song “Rain”.  I interpret it as an idea that when life’s misfortunes come upon you, it’s more your attitude that matters.

Today, I embrace the rain.

Paradise Regained

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Er, Ump..sometimes I don’t know how to start.  All the coffee in the world doesn’t help.  Which reminds me, it’s time for another cup.

Anyway, between getting ready for the show, and doing my household chores (yes, I really do do some), I did some art.

Now talking about Paradise, you know the whole thing, I’ve talk, talk, talked about it.  I’ve realized anything that catches your eye and mind, is healing to the soul and mind.  However, there is one Paradise theme that I never got around to.

Whether it was a dream, my imagination, or something I actually saw, I don’t remember.  It was a small sapling on a hill, lit by spring sunlight and surrounded by dandelions.  I’ve thought about drawing that for a long time, and yet, somehow, I never came across the scene to draw in real life.  That is, with a sapling.

A springtime maple tree presented itself instead.  Surrounded by dandelions, like a starry constellation around the spiral’s center.

I must admit I cheated.  The actual tree I drew wasn’t on a hill in the countryside, it was in my condo complex, with a really boring brick wall behind it.  So, I fudged a hill, and a blue sky.  I also put in a horse for good measure.

 

Oops, I’m missing the horse.  I’ll take a better picture sometime later, but I’m getting hungry.  So, stay tuned!