Mist
Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
WATERCOLOR ARTISTS OMG ISSUE
Well, how could you call this April 2012 issue of Watercolor Artist anything but their OMG Issue? Why? Well, look who is sharing information and paintings inside:
Maggie Latham, with an 8-page spread;
Thomas Schaller, with a 10-page spread and the cover;
but that's not all!
There's also
Myrna Wacknov, sharing her ideas and a challege for the Creativity Workshop feature;
Nita Leland sharing her insight on watercolor collage
and
Shirley Trevena, with a 6-page spread!
So what would you call this issue but the OMG Issue?
How much talent, beauty and knowledge could they have packed into this magazine?
Well, there's more. You'll just have to go out and buy it if you don't subscribe. You do not want to miss this issue!!
I got my issue in the mail yesterday and I intend to settle down in the sunroom with no distractions, sip a nice cup of coffee and enjoy every single word and painting in this one.
Monday, January 30, 2012
AND THE WINNER IS...
Sweetie and I had a nice weekend get-away, taking a 3 1/2 hour drive down to Pineville, KY to stay at the Pine Mountain State Resort Lodge. They have a winter photo weekend every January and this was the first year Sweetie competed.
The weekend is put together well with a guest photographer/speaker on Friday and Saturday nights. This year's speaker was nature and travel photographer, Richard Bernabe. His programs were wonderful even for a non-photographer like me, filled with gorgeous photos and information about how to use light and composition to get the best photos. He was one of the 3 judges, too.
You were allowed to start shooting Friday at noon and could shoot up to Sunday morning at 6 AM - the only requirement is that everything had to be shot within the 3 counties surrounding Pine Mountain State Park. They normally have at least a dusting of snow on Saturday morning but nothing this year - so the Winter Landscape category of the competition was a bit tricky and called for some more inventiveness than usual, but the 200+ images (from about 53 photographers registered for the event) were amazing, fun, and creative.
Each photographer registered was allowed to enter 4 photos spread out however they wanted them over the 4 categories of Winter Landscapes, Small World (macro shots), Lines & Patterns, and Odd & Old.
Sweetie entered one photo in each category and got First Place in the Small World Category in Accomplished Photographer class (there was an Amateur Photographer class, too). His photo, of 3 buds from a shrubby tree outside the lodge building, was a striking image and I'm glad he got a plaque (no money, but a nice plaque to take home for all winners in each category and class).
Here is his Small World photo
that took First Place.
Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter
And here are some photos I took during a Saturday trail hike while Sweetie and his photo buddy, Bob, drove over to Cumberland Gap to shoot there. Nothing spectacular with my point-and-shoot, but you get the idea of the weather and some nice areas in the trails.
While Sweetie was out, leaving early, I got ready and walked a short trail. I had a buddy with me, too - a little white dog that came up to me and started following me around. I asked inside the lodge to see if it was someone's dog who had gotten out (he had no collar or tags), but they said it had come up the hill from the Bible College at the bottom and was just wandering.
So, he wandered with me. He'd walk ahead, looking back over his shoulder as if to say, Come on, slowpoke, let's go! He was fun to be with but disappeared again when I went inside my room to get him a drink of water, so guess he figured I was done and went on back down the hill. I hope whoever was missing him found him again.
I should have taken a photo of him, but I didn't think of it until he was long gone and I was wondering about him and how he was doing. I sure appreciate him keeping me company that morning.
Even though we were gone only Fri-Sun, I have lots of catching up to do and errands to run today. So probably no painting until tomorrow...
Hope your week is starting well! (Can you believe January is almost over - and it's supposed to be 61F tomorrow for us in northern KY!)
The weekend is put together well with a guest photographer/speaker on Friday and Saturday nights. This year's speaker was nature and travel photographer, Richard Bernabe. His programs were wonderful even for a non-photographer like me, filled with gorgeous photos and information about how to use light and composition to get the best photos. He was one of the 3 judges, too.
You were allowed to start shooting Friday at noon and could shoot up to Sunday morning at 6 AM - the only requirement is that everything had to be shot within the 3 counties surrounding Pine Mountain State Park. They normally have at least a dusting of snow on Saturday morning but nothing this year - so the Winter Landscape category of the competition was a bit tricky and called for some more inventiveness than usual, but the 200+ images (from about 53 photographers registered for the event) were amazing, fun, and creative.
Each photographer registered was allowed to enter 4 photos spread out however they wanted them over the 4 categories of Winter Landscapes, Small World (macro shots), Lines & Patterns, and Odd & Old.
Sweetie entered one photo in each category and got First Place in the Small World Category in Accomplished Photographer class (there was an Amateur Photographer class, too). His photo, of 3 buds from a shrubby tree outside the lodge building, was a striking image and I'm glad he got a plaque (no money, but a nice plaque to take home for all winners in each category and class).
Here is his Small World photo
that took First Place.
Photo by Jerry H. Carpenter
And here are some photos I took during a Saturday trail hike while Sweetie and his photo buddy, Bob, drove over to Cumberland Gap to shoot there. Nothing spectacular with my point-and-shoot, but you get the idea of the weather and some nice areas in the trails.
While Sweetie was out, leaving early, I got ready and walked a short trail. I had a buddy with me, too - a little white dog that came up to me and started following me around. I asked inside the lodge to see if it was someone's dog who had gotten out (he had no collar or tags), but they said it had come up the hill from the Bible College at the bottom and was just wandering.
So, he wandered with me. He'd walk ahead, looking back over his shoulder as if to say, Come on, slowpoke, let's go! He was fun to be with but disappeared again when I went inside my room to get him a drink of water, so guess he figured I was done and went on back down the hill. I hope whoever was missing him found him again.
I should have taken a photo of him, but I didn't think of it until he was long gone and I was wondering about him and how he was doing. I sure appreciate him keeping me company that morning.
Even though we were gone only Fri-Sun, I have lots of catching up to do and errands to run today. So probably no painting until tomorrow...
Hope your week is starting well! (Can you believe January is almost over - and it's supposed to be 61F tomorrow for us in northern KY!)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
STILL LIFE SET UP A LA TREVENA
From the Shirley Trevena book, another still life set-up where she led you through the steps. It doesn't matter. The only way it would be a Shirley Trevena painting is, if she took my hand and moved the brush :) So this is a still life set up a la Trevena.
Now on to something entirely different (and original)!
Friday, January 27, 2012
NUMBERS
Well, this birthday came and went. And it was better than the one I had when I was 21. We had a blizzard in northern KY that day and everything was shut down for days. So no party, no get-together with family, no cake, no ice cream, no nothing on that day. And at 21 I really felt like the day should be celebrated ON THE DAY - or it was ruined. Oh, yes, even at 21 I was a pessimist.
And today, I'm thinking about numbers. Just a number, this birthday, marking the number of years I have been earthbound. What do I have to show for these years? What do I need to show? What kind of mark will I make on the lives who come into contact with me? Will they remember? Will something I said make them smile - or make them frown and walk away?
Was I kind to you when I came into your life, or was I unkind? If each day is an opportunity for growth and exploration, then is that exploration the whole purpose - is the journey the thing, not the destination?
Numbers. Just numbers.
I lost a blogger a few months ago who was also a teacher at one time. Because of that my stat numbers have gone down. I don't know why she dropped me, but it has affected the numbers on my blog. Interesting how one person can affect you that way, good or bad.
Numbers. Are you a better person because 50 people come to your birthday party instead of 5? What chemical reactions in my brain today are causing me to ponder these things? Perhaps my serotonin and dopamine levels are low and I need to stop thinking and just get into the art room and raise them by creating something almost beautiful (remember, yesterday's lesson was wabi sabi).
We're all just interconnected numbers;
some are pluses in your life and some are minuses.
I hope the pluses outnumber the minuses, whether the numbers are large or small.
Now, for me, I'm going to go take a long walk in the woods...
Have a good weekend, my artsy blogging friends.
And today, I'm thinking about numbers. Just a number, this birthday, marking the number of years I have been earthbound. What do I have to show for these years? What do I need to show? What kind of mark will I make on the lives who come into contact with me? Will they remember? Will something I said make them smile - or make them frown and walk away?
Was I kind to you when I came into your life, or was I unkind? If each day is an opportunity for growth and exploration, then is that exploration the whole purpose - is the journey the thing, not the destination?
Numbers. Just numbers.
I lost a blogger a few months ago who was also a teacher at one time. Because of that my stat numbers have gone down. I don't know why she dropped me, but it has affected the numbers on my blog. Interesting how one person can affect you that way, good or bad.
Numbers. Are you a better person because 50 people come to your birthday party instead of 5? What chemical reactions in my brain today are causing me to ponder these things? Perhaps my serotonin and dopamine levels are low and I need to stop thinking and just get into the art room and raise them by creating something almost beautiful (remember, yesterday's lesson was wabi sabi).
We're all just interconnected numbers;
some are pluses in your life and some are minuses.
I hope the pluses outnumber the minuses, whether the numbers are large or small.
Now, for me, I'm going to go take a long walk in the woods...
Have a good weekend, my artsy blogging friends.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
WABI SABI BIRTHDAY
According to Richard R. Powell, in his book, Wabi Sabi Simple, Wabi sabi "nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."
To me, this is saying, "Embrace your imperfections, your slightly ugly parts, and move on." That's what I'm going to do in my life and in my art.
What about you?
Can you embrace the imperfections, the blossoms that show up where you did not intend them to go, the drizzles that went the "wrong" way, the 5 pounds you can't seem to shed because you refuse to give up all things that taste good? Can I?
Let's do it together...
Happy Birthday to me.
To me, this is saying, "Embrace your imperfections, your slightly ugly parts, and move on." That's what I'm going to do in my life and in my art.
What about you?
Can you embrace the imperfections, the blossoms that show up where you did not intend them to go, the drizzles that went the "wrong" way, the 5 pounds you can't seem to shed because you refuse to give up all things that taste good? Can I?
Let's do it together...
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Wabi Sabi to us all.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SUSAN!
My friend, Susan, who lives on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, is having a birthday today.
Since I can't be there in person, you'll have to accept this virtual present. The good thing about it is that it can be filled with whatever your heart desires!
Happy Birthday, Susan!!!
Since I can't be there in person, you'll have to accept this virtual present. The good thing about it is that it can be filled with whatever your heart desires!
Monday, January 23, 2012
JUST SOME 1/4 SHEET PRACTICE AND PLAY
I finished the Shirley Trevena-inspired painting using a set-up from her book. Now, this doesn't look anything like a Shirley Trevena painting, but maybe I need to paint for another 10 years or so...
Maybe I need to settle in and think about how I want to paint - what techniques I like, what things really get my juices flowing when seeing really good watercolors (if you haven't lately, go over to David Lobenberg's blog and see the portraits he's been doing - totally kicking it up 10 notches and doing something I haven't seen in watercolor portraits before!).
Here's just a little wonky bowl of pears (also from a small bit of a set-up from the Trevena book. I may actually do the demo she does with tulips and pears and see if I get anywhere interesting with it.
Since these are just studies and practice things, I am painting on the back of really bad paintings, tearing the 1/2 sheets in two and using them.
As usual, at the first of the year, I went through my paintings and tore up a lot of really bad paintings. Now, I know you all are going to say, "NO! You should save them for cards, notes, bookmarks, ACEOS" but honestly, these are SO bad, they aren't even worth saving. But I did take a look at a lot of 1/2 sheets and think, use the backs for practice - don't waste so much good paper. So that's what I did. But I would bet $1,000 that I will never paint a really good painting on the back of a bad painting - there seems to be some bad mojo that comes through the bad side and affects the newer painting (or maybe it's just in my head?).
Have a good week. Stay safe, warm and happy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)