After skiing dream

 

Ice

    Lately, everything here has been covered in ice. I took probably twenty images, and this is the only one that showed the rainbow sparkle that went on for days. I should probably start carrying a better camera with me.

 

Look what I found!

This is just like the plant in my dream! It is a snake plant, which is an air purifier and good luck bringer. Pictured here with my handsome boyfriend, Zoro.

 

Demo

 

New Growth.

Languishing is a word being used a lot to describe how people are reacting to the effects of the pandemic. I reckon, at least in the area of art, it fits me pretty well. There is sort of a numbness in my creative self that I'm not used to. The latest article I read about languishing said that at some point, doing something is better than nothing, just to kick it to start.

    So, last week, in absence of the motivation to make something new, I figured I may as well at least work on technical problems in the meantime. I also had an aha moment when I realized my excellent student worker could help me with some of the heavy lifting (literally). So, after a two year period in mothballs, we fired up the litho shop.

    Our goal is to get a successful print, even if it is just a simple crayon drawing. 

    And then, last night, I dreamed that two snake plants, one healthy and one in a broken pot growing out of only an inch or two of soil improbably packed at the top of the pot and the bottom completely empty, both very quickly grew long vines that arched over and joined to make a new plant in the space between them. I was very happy to watch it happen and see the new life begin.

I'm taking it as a good sign. 

 

Same Time Last Year

I found this in my sketchbook today. I remember drawing it because of all of the rumors leading up to January 6th. It got cut off in the photo, but underneath it says Listening for the Riot.
 

Learning

I think that one of the causes of my recent case of the art doldrums is that I've been using tried and true techniques, and frankly, I've been bored. This little piece is far from resolved, but just because of the new materials I'm using, and because I don't always know what to expect out of them and there is an element of discovery of process, I feeling a glimmer of hope that my current will pick up speed.

    When Covid hit, I switched the color portion of my classes over to colored pencils because they are clean and tidy to use and students have an easier time adapting to them. One result of that change is that I have enjoyed using them as well. 

     The colored pencils are changing how I work with color. As a painter, I use a very limited palette and usually mix the colors that I need. Mixing can be done with colored pencils as well, but often, there is already a pencil of the right color. I'm in the process of identifying the pencils that create the effects that I would normally mix.

     Another new element is the surface I am drawing on. On paper or illustration board, it can take a bit of hand strength to build up the necessary layers of color to achieve the desired tones and hues. This piece is drawn on drafting film, which is a slightly textured translucent plastic. The colors are much easier to apply, and they can be blended easily with rubbing alcohol. It is also easy to erase on this surface, so I am enjoying the freedom of making mistakes and correcting them until something good happens.

   The Tombows are great on this surface as well. Even though I would still love to have built in erasers on each pencil, the pack I bought came with a wonderful eraser tool that has a very thin drafting type eraser in a clickable pen form. Since I also like to work reductively, that little eraser is a big help as I discover this new process in the New Year.