Green Glass

Thinking less, doing more

So I am wanting to restart this blog, but I realize I'm not sure what my focus is.  I've been dealing with more health issues, and that overshadows everything - my energy, my brain power.  But I have been playing with watercolor and sketching and THAT makes me happy.

But it does not give me much of interest to say.  As a matter of fact, the less i'm in my head the better.  T hat is why the paint.  Something about looking and seeing and getting sloppy and wobbly just lifts me out of myself.  Which is a good thing.  

 

 

What I'm up to

Fun with crayons and watercolor.  LOTS of watercolor.  And sometimes gouache. Which I've been using wrong all this time.  But now I'm in the know.

Daily sketches - still working through a list of prompts.  Paperbags and bread and exercise equipment.

These are the things I'm up to.  

Here and There

Although I am playing like a seven year-old, I have set several challenges for myself.  Several years ago I started following Danny Gregory's Every Day Art Challenge (although it's been around a lot longer than that).  I found his book Everyday Matters very helpful in my thinking.  I filled one little moleskine with daily drawings and started another determined to get through a list I found.  But like most things that got set aside.  I have taken it up again and find it gets me started in the morning.  The last few weeks I have mostly managed to do one everyday.  But I'm not letting myself go crazy about it. After all, I'm seven. I don't have any of those uploaded yet.  Another day.

Then I try to do another sketch most days.  I'm inside at home so there are mostly little interior vignettes.  Not very exciting, but again, it keeps my hand moving.  The example above is my view as I sit on my recumbent bike.  I'm also watching a soccer match so that's kind of double exercise plus art.  A virtuous day indeed.

I am also playing a lot with watercolor.  And by playing I mean really playing.  Sometimes I do a nice careful sketch.  I am also revisiting some on-line classes I've taken.  And on rough days, I get out the crayons, draw shapes and paint inside the line.  Absolutely no precision unmoved.  Sloppy move the pain around.  

Here's a careful sketch.  I'm trying to learn to paint clouds and waves.  Hopefully for some summer beach sketching.  Full of hope.

There are more variations.  Doing the Blobs.  Still doing little college pages in my journal.  What ever strikes my fancy.  And more hats.  Right now I can't have too many hats.  A little of this and a little of that.  Here and there. 

Veering this way and that

Coming back to my sketchbook(s) I am made vividly aware of all the obstacles I put in front of myself that chokes off my impulse to play.  I don't feel like I have an internal critic inside my head telling me what I do is bad.  I mean, honestly some/most of it is, but that's not the point.  I don't expect much, and there is always something to correct/improve/explore even if I was a good artist, which I'm not.  But what I do expect is to enjoy myself.  So ...  I see that being overwhelmed with choices stops me cold.  Which way do I want to go?  Which pen/paint/paper/material?  I can spend more time arranging my tools than using them.

So I'm tackling that block by veering right and left.  What ever impulse strikes me with what I have on hand.  Several years ago I made a "blob" book, inspired by Carla Sonheim and filled it with paint smears and collaged bits.  I pick up the book.  Doodle a bit.  Set it down.  Redoodle.  Sometimes I get my paint out and fill it out.  They are blobs.  No judgement.  Just play.  That's the idea.  I can just flip the page.

I don't have pictures of the befores.  I mean, I do somewhere on some memory card.  But hunting for in now would get in the way so...  

Reboot 2.0

So I tried restarting my posting, and that didn't happen.  Just not the right time.  But now seems like a better time.  I've been doing A LOT of knitting and sketching.  Recently I've gotten into a good groove with my sketchbooks.  I'm kind of exploring my seven year-old creative spirit.  Not the freedom of a four year-old.  A little self critical, but still willing to lurch forward.  So I'm sort of all over the place, but in a playful way.  

Anyway, I don't want the blog to get in the way of the doing, so here's to a sucessful restart.  

A sampling of my hat wardrobe.  And yes, I am wearing them all.  Just not at the same time.

 

Just pick something

So I'm working on not worrying too much about picking the 'right' thing to sketch and just picking whatever catches my eye.  Then, if I want to do something more elegant, I sure can.  But just start.

It was my Bug's birthday

It was my little Bug's birthday and he's not so little anymore.  Which makes me sad exceptwhen I'm just happy to be around him.  What a pleasure to have such a boy in my house.

Hello out there!

 

So I'm thinking of restarting my blog.  Been doing other things.  Taking care of things I wasn't taking care of for too long.  But as I get tasks settled, I've added in sketching again.  So ....  thinking about doing this.

 

 

That's just what happens

Home for a couple days after camp and before I set off on another adventure.  I'd like to sit down and organize/scan/amend my camp journal, but too many home details to work out before I go off again.  

Also, the Euro football (soccer) tournament is going on, so there is that to obsess over.  This year I'm rooting for Italy.  For no good reason except I am.  I'm fickle when it comes to my football teams.  Having come late to the party, I flirt with them all.

Above is my favorite sketch from camp.  While I was drawing this, small girls continually walked up, took and returned vests and stopped and stop directly in front of me chatting.  Now I'm not a little woman, sitting on a camp stool with my journal open in my lap.  That's what happens when you are ten and having a great time paddling around/ talking with your friends.  

Gazing

Camp week ends tomorrow.  Too short.  Too brief.  Each year I'm convinced it goes by quicker.  Anyone out there know a way jump back into child mindset?  Or would I have to take the swim test again if I did that.  I'm pretty sure I'd pass but ...

This year I've spent more time looking around than sketching.  Not a surprise.  It's nice to not feel so frantic to capture every thing I set my peepers on.  On the other hand, I do love a good thick sketchbook when I get home.  

I'd like to say I'm doing quality over quantity.  But I'm not.  But I'd like to say that.

Honesty would compell me to say that rather than quantity or quality, I've been going for napping.  And gazing.  Yeah.  Lots of gazing.  We had a red moon last night.  I gazed on that for a while.