Square self portrait 10"

I am into square formats right now. I like their equal sides - they seem less like "windows" than normal canvases do. It was time to get back to simply showing up at the canvas. My foray into woodworking has been distracting me, and I have been working WAY TOO MUCH. (But let's not talk about that.) For this picture I am wearing my new oversized plastic beaded necklace.

Here is the landscape with the reworked sky I was talking about.

I have had a busy week or so at work, but I have still found time to paint. The landscape is going well especially after a beautiful and cloudy day on Saturday. I reworked the sky which I like much more now, and I daresay, the piece is almost Finished. Also there has been time to track down a table saw, buy a sander, and finish or start a few wooden supports for painting. I worked with the table saw for the first time today and am a little frustrated by the results. It took some time to work up the nerve to turn the thing on and make a cut. But despite my immediate success (I still have ten fingers), I am a little discouraged by things the "borrowed" saw is missing - namely a fence to guide the wood along. The temporary fence I have rigged up is not perfect. So for now, I am pausing. I have also been feverishly photographing birds the past week; below are two that I took today. Tyler found the hummingbird on Saturday and brought it home for me to use in my artwork.

Good find

I was searching Google images for some Edward Hopper pieces to help me wade through my current landscape, (Yes, today it feels daunting.) when I found this - beautiful evocative work by Karen Halt.

Lemon Tree

I have spent two more mornings working on this painting. Here it is so far.

The Lemon Tree 18" x 18"

Well, I did it. I got outside of the studio, thank you Memphis. It was so amazing to simply walk into my backyard and set up the easel for painting. I melted under the hot sun, and became fatigued quickly. But something else happened too.



I was flooded by images that I wanted to record. Until today I hadn't realized how stale I had become painting within the same four walls all year. The only subjects I was working with needed to fit on my sewing table. It was fine for a while, but I am passed the frantic need to keep going. Now that I have more confidence I need to expand my subjects and take on new challenges. I need to be excited by what I am painting. I need to take a few risks. Landscapes are rich because they continually change, clouds drift by and light shifts dramatically. There is a lot of information to record as well, and during the time it will take for me to get it all down there will inevitably be even more changes to the subject. But I am ready to be a bit more liberal in my interpretation. I am willing to observe and paint what I know is there whether or not it has already long since passed by or altered. Below is the newest painting after the first hour of work.

Sketchbook update

I uploaded five new drawings to my sketchbook. I have been spending time making quick pen and ink drawings in the book lately, just to keep working. I realize I am at an impasse with my painting, but I have some thoughts and tomorrow's task is to just push through it and work. The photos of my sketches aren't perfect, and neither are the sketches; but they are practice.