Category: Blog

…a mixed bag of plein air paintings, paintings from photos I took, and one from a photo I didn’t.

This is my next batch of watercolors from 2021-22. And here is the tale of each of these, left to right, top to bottom:

1. The first two are from Bosque Park in Socorro, NM, from March 2022. These came out a little rough because I didn’t pack the full set of paints and couldn’t find a good place to sit. The imperfections are part of the memory, though – one look at the painting brings back the smell of the air and the loose dirt I sat on. And other memories like:
   – how I got rusty at travel over the pandemic, so the whole trip was a bumbling adventure! On the flight there, I had to go through security twice because I left my credit card in the kiosk.
   – how I didn’t check the scale on my map and ended up taking an unplanned 10-mile walk. I was very sore the next day.
   – The two coyotes I saw darting over some charred wood. The sun was setting and I was on mile 7 or so. Things were getting eerie! I’ve always found deserts a little spooky. Something about the vast spaces and the quality of the light.
   
2. The next three are from a photo I took of Lake Elkhorn in Columbia, MD in 2019. I was there for work.
   I arrived at my slightly-rickety hotel late at night, and in the morning I saw that it was right on the lake! So definitely worth the rickety-ness.
   Lots of bird chatter accompanied my walks around the lake.
   I’ve made numerous paintings from the same photo because I like it so much – it tastes like cool autumn mist and squelching mud.
   Here, I made three back-to-back because I was working on my technique for the reflections in the lake. The third one is where I felt like I finally got it right. (But the others have parts I like, too.)
   
3. The next painting (row four, column one) is from a photograph my sister took in the Himalayas. Used as a painting reference with her permission! She’s a way better photographer than I.
   
4. The last three are from volunteer/camping trips in the Angeles forest area with an organization called Habitat Works*, working on various habitat restoration projects. Always fun to add a quest to a camping trip! Pulling up weeds or removing old barbed wire makes me feel useful.

And with that, I am finally up to date on uploading my artwork! So I’d better get painting again, huh.

*not sponsored.

Part 2 of my 10 day challenge of drawing ‘houseplants’ (a category I interpret loosely).

I set myself a challenge to draw a houseplant every day for 10 days! And to make a video to go with it. I’m relieved that I made it through!

Now, I’ve drawn every plant in my house (if you count the drawings I’d already done when I started the challenge), plus a few from outside the house. I feel like I’ve thoroughly scratched the drawing itch, for once.

Usually, no amount of drawing, or any activity, feels like enough; I’m always craving more. To do it ‘properly’.

I guess I found out what it takes to ‘do it properly’, because I’m finally ready to move on to writing and research. (I’ll still draw if I feel like it, of course.)

Here are my videos for days 5 to 10:

I enjoyed this so much that I definitely want to do another 10 days of drawing, sometime.

And that’s all! I’m planning to make a wrap-up video reflecting on the 10 days. I won’t say when that’s coming out, or I’d have to stick to it.

…and experimenting with combining drawings and stories.

From top to bottom, left to right, here are some stories I wrote to go with each of these pictures:

1. The Day Begins and Creatures Emerge
2. A plucky sprout with one wrinkly, damp-looking leaf twists its way up among several drooping leaves in various states of aging.
3. Hanging Out with a Succulent
4. GPS and Surprise Strawberries
5. Soaking Up the Orchid

…and dipping my toe into making videos.

And now, for something completely different! I recorded myself making vector drawings of plants and sharing some thoughts. I plan to do this for 10 days in a row, and I’m currently five days in.

It’s working as a crash course in basic video editing and a fun source of routine. I enjoy setting up these little projects for myself, especially if they have a clear endpoint. (But I can only keep those up for a short time, hence the 10 days).

And watching the timelapse of a drawing, even when I just drew it, is strangely satisfying, like a recap – “Yep, that’s what just happened!” I wish I had a similar recap for all my projects, but I’m actually terrible about remembering to take photos…

Anyway, here’s my tentative foray into video (part 1):

So that’s the halfway mark! Five more plants to go. I’m having to venture outside the kitchen and patio for subjects now, so the quest escalates.