Ponderosa Paint Demo

Just when I thought we'd be able to find our perfect composition in the woods, the Day Camp group I was teaching was put under a Red Thunder protocol. This means we had to shelter under the roof on the back porch rather than in the open. So, I sketched two trees which I could see, sharing my process in steps while we worked together.  The class was full of wonderful artists!  It was super fun to see what they each did with in and watercolor, while observing their scene in nature.  I hope they all continue this practice of sketching outside in the future!  Painting number 4567 in 4567 days. 

Ponderosa Pines Sketch

 

I LOVE using pen and ink to capture these ponderosa pines - especially in such a cool, vintage sketchbook!  I found this in an artisan flee market in Arizona several years ago.  I have dedicated the whole thing to pen and ink work exclusively.  These pines are iconic to this part of the Rocky Mountains, so I am immortalizing the ones outside my cabin to this page.  I love the sweet fragrance they emit as I sit on the front porch sketching!  Painting number 4553 in 4553 days. 

Oldsmar Beach

 

I'm sketching the reaching trees of Oldsmar Beach in my journal tonight, and looking forward to sketching mountains soon.  Getting to spend time in nature like this is so very rewarding.  Sitting on the beach, feeling the warmth of the sun as it casts shadows across the sand, is therapeutic.  Cares of the day melt away as pen glides over paper, and words spill out describing my day. Studying the colors brings on a childlike wonder, how beautiful is the sparkle of water.  I am missing my friend, and remembering her, as I work through the pages of this journal.  How very healing it feels.  Painting number 5121 in 5121 days. 

Cypress of Brooker Creek

 

A sketchbook is more than a place to capture the beauty as I travel.  It can be a trusted friend for my hopes, dreams, and tears at the loss of a dear friend.  We were high school friends, dancing together as Shawnee Mission West Vikettes just yesterday, it seems, and now she isn't here.  She was a kindred spirit, and always the sweetest soul, ever kind and thoughtful.  We had so much fun back then, and she even stood up for me as my Maid of Honor as Mike and I married all those years ago. As our families grew, we had less time to talk.  I thought there would be plenty of time. I thought we'd grow old together, sharing family tales over hot tea and glasses of wine.  Susan was so young.  There was so much more life for her to live.  I can only lift her family up in prayer, and it doesn't seem like enough.  Live every moment with purpose, hug every family member each time you see them, and tell everyone in your life what they mean to you.  Cherish. Every. Moment.  Painting number 5117 in 5117 days. 

Wishing Trees

 

Wishing Tree ink by Diamine is a lovely, winter day hue that pushes pink and turquoise in those wet areas!  It's perfect for the winter landscape, and I thought it lacked star power in the bottle.  I am constantly surprised when playing with fountain pen inks.  There have been a couple I thought would be excellent, but paled in comparison with this seemingly blah gray.  In fact, this is the first gray ink that has ever made am impression on me!  I'm looking forward to more interactions with this chromatic gray ink!  Painting number 5077 in 5077 days. 

Sunset Impressions

 The setting sun has been amazing this autumn!  Even though I didn't have the time, I jumped out for a quick paint of the colors as they ripened and spread across the landscape.  Every day is a gift, and this one is full of color.  Painting number 5197 in 5197 days. 

Noble Fir

This lovely green ink is day 3 of the Diamine Inkvent Calendar. Working on a wet sky mass, I dropped the ink loosely into tree shapes.  As that dried, I added more ink for the foreground trees and water.  Leaving the bank white to represent snow, I love the contrast between them.  I did think of trying out bleach on this one, but forgot all about it.  Perhaps I'll try another to see what the reaction is.  I love these little presents to open each day in December!  Painting number in days. 

Trees!

Time spent with pen and ink in the woods is time well spent!  Sketching may have been my first real love among my mediums. I still remember the feel of a ballpoint ink pen as it slid along the surface of rough paper. I was very young, sitting at a tiny child's desk in front of a north window in my grandmother's kitchen.  I didn't get to use ink pens yet at home, but here I had an old check box filled with pens, pencils - even a red one and a white one, and an old dark metal pair of small scissors, which were very heavy in my small hand.  I was not yet in kindergarten, and yet these memories are so vivid.  I even remember the cedar smell of those pencils, and the rich, waxy smell of a small collection of crayons.  The paper at Grandma's house was a yellowed Big Chief tablet, with a deep red cover picturing the profile of a Chief and headdress.  I thought that was very cool, studying the lines of that image, unlike anything I had seen before.  I remember those lines in black, like an ink drawing, without additional color.  Abs the paper smelled like the antique desk it was kept in!  It's funny what one remembers from those early years. Painting number 3833 in 3833 days. 

Ponderosa Impressions

 

As part of my Artist Residency, I have a couple of "Artist Pop-ups" each week.  During this time, I choose something in my surroundings to paint, as onlookers watch and ask questions.  On this day, a cold rain dictated that we use the covered back porch for shelter.  I talk through my process, discussing what I do as I do it.  It is always fun to visit as I work!  This painting turned out pretty loose and fresh - very impressionistic.  The views are amazing at the YMCA of the Rockies in every direction - in fact, I need much more time here to paint it all!  Love how everyone I meet here is so very friendly, truly a wonderful place to spend some time.  Painting number 4356 in 4356 days.

Morning Light on the Pines

This is day 8 of my Artist Residency, and it is flying by! Four of my children (with their families) have arrived in the last 3 days, so family activities abound!  Dawn is my first painting window - as most sleep later than I do. After a quick one of the morning light on the mountains, I still had time to explore the colors in these pines. Their bark is brilliant with orange and red in the morning light!  Studying those subtle shifts is a pleasure on this gorgeous mountain day! Painting number 4338 in 4338 days, and day 18 of the #stradaeasel challenge. 

Ponderosa Pines

The landscape surrounding our cabin in the woods is full of ponderosa pines - which are gorgeous!  So as my husband and mom went out for breakfast, I set up to take advantage of the view.  Sketching them first with paint to get their forms, I then quickly added the light and shadow before it all changed.  That rich golden color only lasts for a little while.  It is such a treat to REALLY study the colors and forms with paint, trying to do justice to the beauty around me. I LOVED exploring the rich colors of these ponderosa pines in the early morning light, and I'm SO happy this painting sold to someone I met at Antioch Park in Merriam, KS a couple of weeks ago - who happened to be here at the YMCA of the Rockies today! It is truly a small world!  Day 3 of my Artist Residency and day 13 of the #stradaeasel challenge! Painting number 4333 in 4333 days.

Snow at Winter Creek

I can't possibly resist a winding rural creek flanked with snow!  These warm days are melting the snow quickly in open areas, but in the shady areas down by the water, the snow remains.  Through the years, I've become adept at finding snow, knowing where the last vestiges will be, going to those spots to paint.  The ponds and creeks have been frozen around here, and each day I return to see if there's a little melting.  The water looks black this time of year - if the ice is off - and I love to paint it.  This winter's day has been full of soft colors and dappled sun, and I hope it has seeped into my painting.  Painting number 3303 in 3303 days, and day 17 of the #stradaeasel challenge.  

January Pond

What a lovely winter day - after those days in the teens, I am reveling in it!  The surface of the pond is still frozen, but I'm sure it will start melting in the next few days.  I want to try to capture the look of melting ice on the surface of the pond.  Today, I could hear some animal nearby, digging in the ground and stepping on leaves.  It was so loud at one point that I thought it might be a deer.  I do love watching the wildlife while out painting, and there have been plenty of geese flying overhead, headed northwest.  I love the warm weather to paint in, but I'm still longing for snow!  Painting number 3295 in 3295 days.  This is also day 9 #stradaeasel challenge and #win_winter2022. 

Tempest Trees

Another of my Diamine Inkvent Calendar inks - Tempest - is what I'm using to capture the trees in the hedgerow.  The glass dip pen is special, with a lovely twist of two colors leading to a nib that holds quite a bit of ink between dips. I ordered 9 new pens when I couldn't find my other glass pens in November.  Well, just today, I found my other pens, carefully stored with favorite inks and calligraphy pens in the footstool I prop my feet on almost every day!  It made perfect sense, and I can't believe I forgot.  I wanted them to be handy, rather than tucked into my art supply cabinet. Silly me!  So glad I found them!  Can't wait to use some of my favorite glass dip pens with my newest inks!  Painting number 3292 in 3292 days. 

Into the Woods

What fun to embrace a new painting challenge - Nature on Nature - for the Steelville Plein Air event!  Choosing a sheet of birch bark from many other items, I took mine into the woods surrounding Wildwood Springs Lodge to paint.  The bark had several rough openings and a grain that ran throughout, so I tried to line up those trees to use those scars to best advantage.  It was so fun!  I gessoed the top with clear gesso before beginning, then painted with rather thick paint - because that bark was absorbent!  It did curl up on me in my hot car the next two days so I had to weigh it down with rocks in the sun back at my cottage!  Who knew this would be such an adventure?  I would do it again in a heartbeat!  I brought this one home from the gallery.  It's such a unique piece, I think I'll keep this one!  Painting number 3090 in 3090 days. 

Trees Inked

I love studying the nature of trees in pen and ink!  With just a little time left before sunset, I jumped right in with a quick sketch of this stand of trees. Using one of my TWSBI Ecos with medium nib, I sketch what is before me, only glancing at the paper.  Using sketchy little marks, I get the place captured, then coming in with a little water in a brush pen.  I think the ink in this pen is almost entirely Levenger's Raven Black.  Pretty sure I didn't rinse out the barrel before reloading ink in the field.  Love the velvety richness of that ink!  I'm on my third large bottle of this ink, and I've not run out of any other inks.  That's I pretty good indication of how much I use this ink!  Painting number 2988 in 2988 days.  I'd like to spend more time on sketching trees before their leaves return.  I really like the forms of trunks and branches and feel like I need more practice! 

Frozen Pond

Seems like I forgot to post this one from our recent deep freeze, so I am taking care of that now.  Hard to believe I was painting in this when today was in the 70s!  As I approached the scene, a few things came to mind for my composition. For example,  I used my artistic license to melt that ice a little.  The flat, rather non reflective surface was just not what I wanted, so I painted a more engaging surface to the ice!  That pinkish early light soon faded to cloudy, so I kept the original glow, and reflected that on the melting surface.  Sometimes, I paint more what I feel than what's before me.  Painting number 2983 in 2983 days. 

February Sunset

What a treat it has been to have snow to paint the last couple of weeks!  With warm days and no cold in sight, I may not get another chance to paint snow for quite a while. The colors of sunset are so fleeting - doubly so when reflected off the snow!  I like to squint my eyes as I'm painting on that local color quickly.  It really helps me see the values more accurately on the fly, and a great way to check my painting in progress.  It always feels like a race when I'm painting a sunset!  Painting number 2969 in 2969 days. 

Oaks at Creek

It's been ages since I've been to the city, and this is what I paint on arrival!  Lol!  I met artist friends (the Monday Morning Watercolorists) at Suburban Lawn and Garden this afternoon, and I walked around back to scout out that lovely creek before going in.  How could I possibly leave this spot unpainted?!!  Pulling out a 3x3 inch paper, I did a quick sketch followed with watercolor.  I tried 3 different water brush pens before settling on one.  I need to throw out the worn out ones and mark one that is super loose with the water!  It is good to use for a wet area, but really not good on those branches and leaves!  Thank goodness I had what I needed, because I just grabbed that bag on my way out.  I have been known to raid supplies from another sketch bag - leaving myself wanting at another time!  Oh the life of the artist!  Painting number 2967 in 2967 days. 

Sun on Snow through the Trees

My trusty painting companion stepped in at the very last moment to strike a pose by the main tree - and I think I simply must paint him in!  With family on the way over and dinner in the oven, I HAD to pack up and head in.  I'm painting on a canvas board today, which I never like, but the process is what is important.  The drag of the palette knife over that surface is interesting when it comes to laying in snow, but irritating when it comes to painting trees.  I don't like the even skip of the brush over the weave.  I have always preferred masonite panels and my gessoed surfaces.  The temperatures are raising and I may only have another day of snow left.  It's been a good run!  Painting number 2966 in 2966 days.