A Child Shivers in the Night: Newspaper Column for September 2009

A Child Shivers in the Night

A child shivers in the night, discomfort keeping rest at bay. Too cold to sleep; it's a disquieting, harsh reality for many children. It's also a reality we're often not even aware of. I’m busy, you’re busy. Yet every once in a while, a photo, story, or news clip, manages to poke through the hedge of busyness surrounding us and we are pierced by the realization of another’s desperate need.

I recently discovered Knit-a-Square. It’s an Australian based organization working to get blankets, caps and simple sweaters to orphaned or abandoned children who are desperately poor. So poor there’s often little more than a small fire in a hut to ward off the cold when night temperatures drop below freezing. Children who can’t sleep at night because they’re cold: I can hardly bear the thought.

Though my own two boys are now adults, I cherish the memories of our nighttime routine when they were young. First, a soapy, splashy bath to wash off the dirt from a day’s play, then a good supper, and a little later it was off to bed, clad in soft, footed pj’s to keep them snugly warm. A bedtime story was generally required. Often requested was “A Day on the Farm”, a Little Golden book about Farmer Brown, his tractor, farm and family. I read it to them so many times, that even now, twenty some years later, I can still recite parts of the book word for word. At night my children were warm, well fed, read to, and loved. Would that all children’s bedtime was no less.

It was with concern, a concern I couldn’t shake (nor did I wish to), that I read of the very different experience of many children in Africa. Children of the AIDS epidemic, literally millions of them, orphaned and unbelievably poor, often cared for by a relative who was not much better off than they were, and even some young orphans trying to be head of the household for their younger siblings. The color of these children, the politics of the region they live in, and the circumstances which orphaned them matter not one bit to me. What does matter is that a child is cold, and I can do something about it. And, if you'd like to join in the effort, you can too. How does a person sleep when shivering from cold? In our world we throw an extra blanket on the bed, revel in its cozy warmth, then drift contentedly off to sleep. What if we had no blankets? No warm clothes? I thought of my own children in that situation. Pictured them going to bed, and instead of giggling and snuggling up in the warmth after a bedtime story, what if they had lain there with the cold nipping at them, tossing uncomfortably, sleep elusive through the long night?

When I learned of the Knit-a-Square organization it was too worthy a project, too easy an opportunity to pass up. Here is a chance to make a real, everyday difference in a child’s life - cold and miserable versus warm and cozy - by knitting or crocheting easy 8” x 8” squares. It’s doable, small, yet gives almost immediate help to someone. Mother Teresa said “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Making 8" x 8" squares is a small thing, but when our small efforts combine with the small efforts of other knitters and crocheters across the globe, the little bit we each do comes together to change the lives of many children.

Some facts about the Knit-a-square project:

- It is estimated there are 11.6 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. 1.4 million live in South Africa.
- Many of these children are orphaned or have been abandoned. Many live in great poverty in shack settlements. Some head up families of their siblings and other children, and some live alone, without shelter, in hills and dumps around the cities.
- They need love, shelter, food, education and warmth. Many children’s charities are working hard to provide the first four. Charity knitting and crocheting can provide the last.
- This simple charity crochet and knitting project to make and send 8” squares, which are made into blankets for these children, takes little time, costs little and DOES make a difference. All while you do what you love - knitting and crocheting.
- There are thousands of people making and sending squares from 32 countries around the world, but the need is so great, we implore you to join our army of charity knitters and crocheters as well.
- Every square that is sent will be used in a blanket to keep an orphan or abandoned child warm.
- Use your left over yarn scraps, join the knit-a-square crochet and knitting for charity project and your squares will soon be in blankets, keeping children warm.

How it works:

- Squares are mailed to South Africa where the women of the parish and other parishes within Soweto have set up the Soweto Comfort Club to collect, sort, bundle and stitch the squares into blankets and then distribute them to groups of children who are greatly in need.
- Volunteers from countries all over the world, even school children, are busy knitting squares, caps, and simple vests and sweaters to warm the children’s bodies, and their hearts. These children receive two gifts: the gift of a blanket, accompanied by the gift of love. Someone cared enough to make a difference.
- Knit-a-square furnishes easy patterns, even instructions on how to knit and crochet. If you like, you can subscribe to the blog to keep up with what’s happening, visit the website to see short videos of children receiving their blankets, sweaters and caps, and get email updates. The website address is: www.knit-a-square.com .
- If you do not have/use a computer, you can visit your local library and for a very small fee you may print out the simple patterns, complete mailing instructions, and any other information you might want from the website (www.knit-a-square.com)

Over the years of my crafting ventures I’ve amassed quite a bit of leftover yarn; often only small amounts, but too good to throw away. I’m glad I kept those leftovers - they're now being put to good use. Knitting squares, easy hats, and even a few simple sweaters is actually quite relaxing and fun! I often find a few minutes to knit while sitting in the doctor’s office, when I’m a passenger in a vehicle, while watching TV or any other time I catch a few minutes. I carry an extra little knitting bag with me most of the time - knitting squares doesn’t require a lot of supplies, and you never know when you might have an unexpected delay that you can put to good use.

Fall is almost here. I look forward to its much anticipated cool days and invigoratingly chilly mornings. It's my favorite time of the year. Because I have adequate clothing and shelter, I don’t have to worry about being cold during the day or too chilly to sleep at night. It’s a good feeling to know that, little by little, more and more children don’t have to worry about it either. Cozy in their blankets of colored squares, made by many different hands in many different lands, they sleep warmly, wrapped in stitches of love.

Cape Hatteras: an early watercolor

Dug this out recently. It's one of the first watercolors I did- 10-15 years ago? It's of Cape Hatteras light on NC's Outer Banks. This was before the light was moved further inland due to erosion from storms. There are 268 steps from the bottom to the top of the lighthouse.... I know... I climbed them all! I don't think they allow anyone to climb the lighthouse any more. Glad I had that experience while I could.

Maine ATC's

A couple of ATC's in mixed media (watercolor and colored pencil, with a touch of white gouache on the boat sails in the bottom ATC). When I did the portrait of Blue Girl I used wc as an underpainting- simple, light washes to speed things up and get the white of the paper covered before I started with cp's. I liked the way that worked so I'm now seeing how I like using wc to get the lion's share of the painting in and then use cp for all those tiny details that I dearly love (funny how I paint fairly loose with oils, but when I switch to wc or cp I think I MUST have those details!). I also considered gouache as an underpainting medium and may still give that a try. Nice to be able to just experiment and see what you like!

Don't Use Your Good Shoes for Brakes!

“Don’t use your good shoes for brakes!”

That was my Mom’s parting admonition as I dashed out the door for a homemade “go cart” race. We were city kids. Suburbs, actually. Our family lived in cul-de-sac (called a “close” in England) of a nice little neighborhood, filled with average families and kids, which meant there was usually someone around to hang out with. The neighborhood kids often got together for bicycle races, snowball fights, playing marbles and, occasionally, go cart racing.

Most of the older kids at some time or other had such a go cart. Looking back, I realize how comical and clunky they were- they must have looked like rolling junk piles! Of course, the building of these fine racing machines required lots of assistance from our Dads. The base of the go cart was often the frame and wheels from a pram. “Pram” is short for Perambulator, an English baby carriage. Put the image of a modern baby stroller out of your mind. Not like that at all. These now-old-fashioned-prams were huge affairs with a hood to protect baby from the weather, and wheels almost as large as a kid’s bicycle - ideal for racing. To give you an idea of how they looked, above is a photo of a typical English pram of that era. Check out those wheels! At the time we thought our go carts were great. I suppose most of today’s kids wouldn’t be caught dead in one, but we had no such sophistications. We were quite adept at making our own fun, and knew how to amuse ourselves for hours at a time with very little TV and - yikes! - no video games or computer. But back to the go carts.

When the would-be racers had their go carts ready, we’d decide on the ideal place- a relatively quiet road that ran downhill and had a wide sidewalk. Yes, I know we shouldn’t have been playing next to the road, but we were city kids and surrounded by roads. Besides, we were used to walking to school everyday along busy roads; we were traffic savvy and well drilled by our parents on safety.

Our go carts had no motors, pedals or any other mechanical means of getting the vehicle really moving, except gravity. Hence the selection of a nice long road with a enticing downhill slope. Ready to race, we lined the go carts up at the starting point, and when someone yelled, “Ready, set, GO!” off we went! I laugh even now thinking about it. What a bunch of crazy, adventurous kids we were. I’m sure the neighbors tut-tutted in disapproval as we careened past, a disorganized jumble of arms, legs, pram wheels and wildly yelling kids. It was tremendously exciting!

Now the only disadvantage to a great hill is that at some point it comes to an end. Going down a good slope you can get up some speed, which posed a problem- not only did our go carts not have pedals, they didn’t have brakes either. But that didn’t bother us in the least- we had a solution: when we got close to the bottom of the hill we lowered our feet and, flat-footed, dragged them on the pavement to slow the go cart down. The friction generated enough heat that you could feel it through your shoes. A few runs down the hill sure put some fast wear and tear on a pair of shoes. I’m not that old (well, you know, not that old) but I well remember that a nice new pair of real leather shoes was a big deal, and new shoes were to be taken care of and made to last as long as possible. No, it wouldn’t do to put six months of wear on a pair of good shoes in one day; hence my Mom’s firm reminder, “Don’t use your good shoes for brakes!”

There was one other disadvantage to that wild ride down... the go cart had to be hauled back up the hill after each tantalizingly short thrill ride. No wonder us kids had no problems sleeping at night- we were worn out.

I think back to our childhood pursuits and I’m glad I grew up when I did. The world was not as unkind or dangerous a place as it is today. Kids were pretty safe roaming around the neighborhood, discovering new things, riding our bikes down new roads, exploring the fields and woods past our neighborhood. The freedom to run, play, and roam allowed our young imaginations to run wild. We were cowboys and cowgirls one day, pirates another, sometimes castaways a la Robinson Crusoe and we'd build a shelter from the elements (usually an accommodating shrub or low hanging tree branch which we fortified with extra branches on top). I remember once we built such a shelter and decided to stay in it even though we knew it was going to rain. We thought we’d done a good job on our shelter and we'd stay dry. The rain came, and after a while we tired of it dripping on our heads and making us shiver. It was good then to no longer be a castaway and return to a warm, dry home.

It’s been said that “a child’s play is a child’s work.” When a child is playing, they’re learning. What a wonderful thing for a kid to grow up playing outdoors- having adventures, learning about themselves, nature, and the world around them.

Even if they do wear their good shoes out once in a while.

Yes, I'm making art...... !

but I can't show it to you right now.

Apparently the gremlins are loose in my office/studio. Just recently my laser printer has stopped working, my scanner has died a slow, painful death (old age, no doubt) and when I tried to take a photo to post a WIP... the batteries in my camera were dead! As soon as I go shopping again camera batteries will be on my list. Until then, at least my inkjet printer is still working.... fingers crossed here!

Ch- Ch- Ch Changes!

Phew..... I've finally escaped from the clutches of the blueberry bushes!

I've also finally gotten my Extended Reach internet (not without a passle of problems... was supposed to be hooked up last week... just got it up and running Wednesday afternoon) and am lovin' it! It's nowhere near as fast as real high speed, but compared to dial up... well I feel like I've morphed from the turtle to the hare!

I also decided to go with Mozilla's Thunderbird for my email. I switched browsers to Firefox a couple of months ago (after huge problems that came with an I.E. upgrade) and I love Firefox! After checking out Thunderbird, it looked good, so I downloaded it. Had quite a few problems trying to get the configurations right from my old ISP and Outlook Express and getting email to go straight from Embarqmail (my new ISP email) to Thunderbird without routing emails through Outlook before they went to Thunderbird. A call to tech support at Embarq solved the problem and Thunderbird is running smoothly. Woo Hoo!

Since I wasn't thrilled with any of the homepages I've tried out, I made a custom homepage using iGoogle. Love it!! Besides an assortment of nifty gadgets (including weather, news, literary quote of the day, a note feature, my gmail and other neat stuff) I added a Google Reader and sorted my blogs into folders. Somehow I've ended up subscribed to over 100 blogs and that's been quite difficult for me to keep up with. Some are merely info-type blogs on which I don't leave comments so the folders helped me organize the blogs in the way I read them. So now, instead of over 100 blogs showing up in my Google Reader, they're in folders and I click the folder with the blogs I want to read... and.... Presto! .... there they are! Hopefully I'll be able to stay more current now that I have a faster connection and am a little better organized.

Well, I'm still customizing Thunderbird and sorting emails that are currently in four different locations. I hope all this time and effort in streamlining will pay off in more time for.... ART!

Blueberries galore!

Yep.... still picking blueberries!

It truly is a bumper crop this year. So far there have been 104 quarts of berries picked by us and various family members, plus more berries that were not counted picked by neighbors and such. Of those 104 counted, I've picked around 53 quarts myself. Yes, I now have my degree in Blueberryology. I also have bluish tinted fingernails, quite a few scratches (the best blueberries are at the top of the bush and on the inside... so I stretch and crawl to get those prize berries), and one wasp sting to date. I consider myself fortunate.... only one sting in a season is good!

The berries ripened differently this year. We had lots of rain in the Spring (which came at the right time for the bushes and gave us the bumper crop), but instead of ripening gradually - over a five to six week period - as they usually do, most of them ripened within a two to three week period. We've picked the majority of berries now (it usually takes until the last of July or early August to get to this point) so I hope to set berrying aside and get back to art and blogging.

And..... good news..... I signed up for extended reach internet! It's still not high speed, but it's as good as it's going to get around here until Embarq comes through with true high speed sometime in the next year or so. I was going to hold out for the real high speed, but decided I can't wait another year. The extended reach is about 13 times faster than dial up so that will make my life - and blogging - a little easier. It takes forever to do things on the net when the pages load oh-so-slowly!

Have a great weekend .... I have a few more berries to pick and then I'm going to donate any remaining berries to the birds!

Still here...up to my neck in blueberries!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Yet!

We have a bumper crop of blueberries this year. Now, I love blueberries, but this is a major task!

We have over a dozen mature bushes, most of them 10-12 feet high and generously wide. Translation: Many hours in the hot sun picking berries while fending off the wasps that love them as much as we do. Then, for each picking session, several more hours sorting and freezing the berries. We usually start picking the first week in July and continue through the first week of August. By then we've seen enough of the yummy sweet berries.

I'll try to get back to blogging as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll be on a ladder, bucket in hand, reaching for the biggest berries!

Gone..... again!

I'll be out of town and offline for a few days. Will be next week before I catch up with all of you again :-(

Hope you have a great weekend and I'll "see" you next Thursday or Friday!

Newspaper column for June 2009

O say, does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave?

It happens every time, but perhaps more so at the American Legion dance in Benson. My husband, Milton, plays in a band. Once a month we play the Benson American Legion. The Legion is a great place with a lively and diverse crowd that’s fun to be with. Most honored (and rightly so) among this group are the veterans- veterans of wars recent and wars long past, going all the way back to World War II. In fact, the dance at Benson began during World War II, which makes it the longest running dance in eastern North Carolina.

The band starts playing at eight o’clock, but before the dance begins we stand for the playing of the National Anthem. When the familiar notes ripple out in rousing harmony the crowd rises to their feet, and I scan the room around me, watching the older veterans. Some rise slowly, with obvious effort. Gone is the litheness of youth. But present still is a spirit full of life. They stand, with shoulders squared and eyes turned reverently toward the large flag held by a fellow vet. Their gaze does not waver. Their expression reveals love, loyalty, and pride in the country they served. And that’s when it happens. As I stand with hand over heart, to this most patriotic of rituals I feel the familiar response .... goosebumps appear on my arms, my scalp prickles, and a tremendous pride in this country and love for its people wells up within me. In a few minutes, the splendid notes fade away, the crowd enthusiastically cheers and the night’s entertainment begins. Next month we will salute the flag again, and I’ll feel the very same way.

Some of you are aware that my family and I moved here from England several decades ago. I’m the bridge generation in my family: my Dad served in England’s Royal Navy and my son served in the United States Navy, so I have ties to both countries. I’ll always love my native homeland, but America is home and I’m honored and proud to pledge allegiance to this wonderful country.

I’ve wanted to write this column for several years. But what to say about America that hasn’t already been said? I could write endless pages on its beauty: Ocracoke’s quaint village and pristine beaches, Maine’s eye-poppingly gorgeous coastline, Utah’s majestic mountains and golden Aspen glades, Chicago’s fascinating Lake Shore Drive, Texas fields full of wildflowers, Florida’s endless blue waters, South Carolina’s peach trees and swimming holes (in my opinion South Carolina peaches are the best!), Louisiana’s bayous, and Virginia’s historic towns... and this names only a few highlights.

America’s scenic beauty is equally matched by her people- a people independent, brave, original, creative and adventurous. Still more admirable is this nation’s open-heartedness and kindness; and tragedy-stricken people the world over have been the recipients of this national generosity.

No, America is not perfect- but when I moved here I didn’t expect it to be. But neither did I expect the overwhelmingly warm welcome, love and care showered upon us by our new neighbors and friends. We were (and still are) truly thankful for the generous, caring spirit of America’s people... the neighbor who’s quick to share fresh produce from their garden, the neighbor who left a watermelon on your front porch while you were out (what a nice greeting to come home to!), the neighbor who brings you chicken soup when you’re sick, the neighbor who takes care of your pet while you’re out of town. What a wonderful thing to live amongst people like this. This, then, is why I love America. Yes, it’s beautiful with its "amber waves of grain", "purple mountain majesties" and "shining seas", but most beautiful of all is its people. America is still a truly blessed nation.

Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Yes, thank God, the Star Spangled Banner yet waves.

Blue Girl finished!

Posting the finished version of Blue Girl. This was such an enjoyable portrait... I enjoyed every minute of it!

Had some recent [mis]adventures with Internet Explorer 8. After downloading the update to IE 8 I had no internet at all! This went on for several days and though I tried every trick I could think of (which wasn't very many) nothing worked. Since I couldn't download another browser (because no web pages would show up) my son burned Firefox onto a CD, we loaded it... and Ta Da! Internet! I never knew what I was missing... I like Firefox much better than IE.... so I guess that was the silver lining in my internet cloud.

Blue Girl WIP #6A and 6B

(9 x 12, Colored Pencil with watercolor underpainting)

She's got hair!

Posting two WIP's... the whole portrait to date and a close up of her face.

I've given her some hair and made some refinements to her face (they were necessary... really!). Blue Girl will have a chance to sit for a while before I work on it again ... I'll be out of town - and offline - for a few days so I hope you have a good weekend and I'll catch up with you about the middle of next week.

Newspaper column for May 2009

Sneaky Snakes and Gluttonous Guests

In recent years, as I’ve gotten older, and, I suppose, more mellow, I’ve become fascinated by the world of nature surrounding me. Though I’ve always appreciated the outdoors in terms of beautiful scenery, lately I’ve become interested enough in nature - birds in particular - to observe them regularly and even do a little research. I can actually identify a few birds now- besides the very obvious Cardinals, Blue Jays and woodpeckers.

Regularly visiting our bird feeder, besides the cardinals and one red bellied woodpecker, are a variety of other birds including the Indigo Bunting, a nuthatch, the Eastern Towhee, a Blue Grosbeak, one spectacularly colored Red Headed Woodpecker, plus a few others whose names I’ve yet to learn. Also congregating around the feeder are the softly colored Mourning Doves, at least one Brown Thrasher, and, predictably, way too many blackbirds, grackles and crows- those unwelcome and ill-mannered banquet crashers who descend in raucous cawing mobs to decimate the supply of sunflower seeds while bullying away the smaller, less aggressive birds. Darn pests!

A couple of weeks ago a male Kill Deer (yes, the male!) built a nest in the rocks of a ditch across from our house. The nest was really nothing more than a shallow, round depression in the rocks. The bird had used smaller pieces of rock to line the nest - not exactly my idea of comfortable or cozy. Nonetheless, in a few days three Kill Deer eggs were lying in their extra firm bed. Every time the hubby and I went for a walk we passed the nest, and though we tried to avoid upsetting Mama Kill Deer it was inevitable. At first sight of us she went into her famous broken wing routine. She quickly hopped off the nest, ran wildly down the road, and then while rolling over on her side and turning her wing at an awkward angle, she flapped the "broken" wing helplessly and squawked for dear life. It was, of course, an elaborate charade, designed to draw a predator’s attention away from her nest and eggs. The idea was that a predator would see an "injured" bird - an easy meal - and pursue her. When the predator got close, Mama Kill Deer made an amazing recovery and flew off! For a week we checked on the nest during our evening walks. After a few days, she began to relax a little- enough so that if we stayed on the far side of the road she didn’t leave the nest, although she watched us intently as we passed by. We thoroughly enjoyed watching her and hoped that she’d successfully raise her young. But we were doubtful. Last year we lost three broods of baby Bluebirds to snakes. The Kill Deer eggs, in their out-in-the open location, were easy pickings for snakes and other predators. So we continued to watch and hope for the best. One day we went to check the nest, and as we approached there was no sound or movement. Not a good sign. We were disappointed to see an empty, abandoned nest. I looked around carefully... no signs of any disturbance or broken egg shells... probably the clean work of a snake. Darn snake. What a struggle life is for birds... it seems that only a minority of them actually hatch and grow to adulthood. The next week another Kill Deer made a nest in our side yard. The nest soon had three speckled eggs clustered in the center. We watched. After a few days the eggs were devoured by a predator. Again, no signs of disturbance around the nest. Darn sneaky snake. I began to harbor exceedingly malevolent thoughts about this persistent and efficient predator, and considered ways to bring about his untimely end should he be so unfortunate as to be spotted by me. Thus far, he’s been more successful in eluding me than his helpless victims were in eluding him.

The Kill Deer are not alone in living this everyday struggle that is their life. At the same time the Kill Deer were nursing their eggs, we also had baby bluebirds in the bluebird house; a three egg nest in my tall butterfly bush (I haven’t seen the mother fly off the nest and not sure what kind of eggs they are); and one superbly built nest in the domed cover of the gauge on the propane gas tank in the back yard (photo above). From doing a little reading, I think the eggs under the gas tank gauge cover belong to a Carolina Chickadee. Chickadees usually lay between five and seven eggs, white with reddish brown markings. Bingo! We have six eggs fitting that description. For such a small bird the nest is quite impressive. Sturdily built, it slopes down from a high side on one end to a taper on the low end - a cornucopia-like shape. The nest cavity is quite deep and is lined with fine, soft bedding (baby Chickadees obviously have more cushy digs than baby Kill Deer). So far, so good on the Chickadees. We’re keeping our fingers crossed. As for the baby Bluebirds, I’m happy to report that the youngsters fledged and went their way into the world. The unidentified eggs in the butterfly bush did not fare so well- the next time I checked on them they were gone. Mostly likely that darn snake again.

I look back and am surprised that until recent years I was fairly oblivious to the life and death struggle and everyday adventures going on all around me. It’s been an eye-opener and source of wonder to stop and really observe nature. It may sound corny, but each season is now fresh and new, and every baby bird, newly opened flower, and spectacular sky is a mini miracle. Albert Einstein said, "There are two ways to live your life; one is as though nothing is a miracle, and the other is as though everything is a miracle". In my younger years I was in the first category, with a little age and perhaps a little wisdom I’m happy to now find myself in the latter category.

Blue Girl WIP #5

I meant to post another WIP before I got quite this far along, but art is so intoxicating that when I get into it I forget about everything else... including taking photos for WIPS!

Most of her face is about finished, and I've lightly drawn in some basic hair shapes. Her hair will be the next thing to do. I want to lighten up her skin a little on the areas of her face that reflect the most light- the watercolor underpainting gave quite a bit of color and needs toning down in some areas. This is fairly easily accomplished and I've liked having that initial layer down before starting with cp's. Will probably go that route again on with some other portraits.

"Blue Girl" has been the most enjoyable portrait to date. I've been much more relaxed, have had very little re-do's, and have looked forward to working on it. I'd like to think that has something to do with the hours I've spent practicing, experimenting, reading about and studying portraiture - enough so that some of the info has gelled and I can begin to focus a little more on how I want to interpret a portrait rather than how do I achieve this effect or that effect. I've got little scrap pieces of various types of art paper scattered around my art table where I've tried out different techniques and colors. This "playing around" has been a tremendous help, and I save these labeled experiments to refer to as needed.

Something else that's making a difference in my work process... I've begun to develop a basic palette that I'm comfortable with when painting skin, eyes and mouths. My palette may change as I continue to experiment, but knowing ahead of time what colors to use to get the effect I'm after saves a lot of what my mother would call "dithering around". So far the pencils and colors that I "must have" are: Prismacolor: white, cream, jasmine, light peach, beige, peach, goldenrod, blush pink, rosy beige, clay rose, carmine red, henna, raspberry, light umber and dark umber; Lyra: light flesh, raw umber, cinnamon; Polychromos: light flesh, light yellow ochre, burnt ochre; Caran d'ache: light ochre, venetian red, sanguine. It should be noted that I've fairly recently started using Polychromos and Caran d'ache, so I only have a few colors as a trial and am still getting acquainted with them. So far I'm very impressed with both brands...and I'm particularly in love with Venetian Red by Caran d'ache... a wonderful color for subtle shading on faces! Other colors (for irises, hair, etc) I use as needed and haven't settled down with any particular favorites yet.

Blue Girl WIP #4

9x12, Colored Pencil on Stonehenge with watercolor underpainting.

Made some progress on the Blue Girl. Added a little more detail to her hat and got quite a bit done on the eyes, although I'll add more modeling around the eye area as I model other areas of the face. I've also put three very light cp layers down on her face, covering the initial watercolor wash. I like the look of smooth, soft skin (especially on young children) so I'll be paying particular attention to very gradual color changes as I introduce the shadows and highlights that will bring dimension to the face. Although it doesn't look like I've done that much since the last WIP, there's actually quite a bit of time involved in those light layers and careful painting of the eyes. I took my time doing her eyes as I'm determined to work as often as I can by Laure's motto of "Get in, get it down, get out!".... in other words, as little re-doing as possible.

A Special Post for Jeanne!

This post is in honor of Jeanne (visit her blog here). It's her birthday today! It's a special birthday... one of those milestone days... but be it far from me to reveal any numeric details.

Jeanne was one of the first people that I really got to know through blogging. Though we've never met in person (we live on opposite sides of the US... she all the way over to the west in California, and me all the way over to the east in North Carolina- 3,000 miles apart) we've developed a special friendship that includes regular emails interspersed with entertainingly chatty phone calls. Jeanne is a joy to know. She has a wonderful, quirky sense of humor, makes charming and colorful art, and is just a delight.

And now, Jeanne, you may not be aware of this, but I'm known to write [appallingly corny] poems. So, in honor of your birthday, is one such [appallingly corny] poem written just for you:

She loves chocolate and cookies,
TV and art;
Bill, Penny and Friday,
and sketching in the park.

She lives in California,
where the Beverly Hillbillies went to,
Though I'm not a hillbilly,
I send this greeting from the South to you.

Celebrate this milestone birthday-
may it be a wonderful year,
Filled with all the things you love:
Family, friends, doggies
blogging, art and good cheer!

Happy Birthday my friend.... wishing you a Special Day and a Wonderful Year!

Blue Girl WIP and other ramblings.....

After a short but happy fling with oils and landscapes, I'm back to colored pencil and a portrait. Truthfully, I'm still surprised that I like colored pencil as much as I do... but since I keep answering the siren call of those beguiling sticks of color I guess I'm officially hooked. 'Course, I really like the Artisan oils too so I plan to continue working with them as well. Nice to switch back and forth between two refreshingly different mediums.

I'm posting the reference for the latest portrait and a couple of WIPs. Since I love to experiment I approached this portrait a little differently... I did a detailed drawing first. I usually just start with basic outlines and "draw" as I paint. Only problem with that is with portraits there's little to no fudge room and if something has to be re-done (not that I would ever do a thing like that) it's a hassle getting several layers of color off... whereas if there's a problem with the initial pencil drawing... ha! my trusty eraser will make it vanish faster than you can say "Hey, Presto!".

I'm also trying a watercolor underpainting. I'm doing this primarily for speed (because it will put a fast layer of light color down where I don't want the white of the paper showing, thus saving me a layer or two of painstaking pencil "washes"). That's the general idea anyway... whether or not it works to my satisfaction- I'll get back to you on that!

Lastly, if you're reading this and I normally read your blog ... don't give up on me yet! I've had a lot going on with family commitments the last couple of weeks (one son and his fiancee flying off to Costa Rica for a two week wedding/honeymoon/beach and surfing vacation, the other graduating from NC State... Go Wolfpack!) so I've had little time on the computer. Tomorrow I'll have access to a computer with high speed internet (thanks, Dad!) and plan to catch up then... in what will be record time for me (since I'm still on dial up... which should be called TurtleNet).

Have a great weekend!

BTW - the reference photo came from WetCanvas - thank you to the generous person who uploaded it.

Maine Cove

A couple of years ago we vacationed in Maine. Wow...what a take-your-breath-away gorgeous place! (Would love to live there provided I had a reliable heating system, a snow blower and a home office/studio!). I took lots of photos to use as references for paintings.... but this is the first painting of Maine that I've done.

I used the Artisan oils again and imposed two conditions on myself for this mini painting (it's an ACEO):

1. Spend no more than 30 minutes on the painting from initial sketch to last stroke of paint

2. No re-doing.... for any reason whatsoever

I actually managed to abide by both conditions. I do see some things I'd like to change (no surprise there :-), but I left it alone and will try to keep those things in mind on the next painting.

Newspaper column for April 2009

The Cure for Sea Fever

Sea-Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

I had a nagging case of sea fever; possibly caused by the confinement of winter months, or perhaps by the siren song of spring that beckoned me to like a child begging an adult to "come and see what I made". And so, ignoring the disapproval of chores that needed to be done, errands that waited to be run and a dozen other "should-do’s" that snatched greedily at my time, I turned a deaf ear and listened instead to the call of the sea.

A light picnic was packed to suffice as an evening meal and mid-afternoon the hubby and I took off for the beach. It was the right decision. A lovely spring day awaited us with storybook blue skies and scudding white clouds. On the ride down, I turned my head from side to side, looking, unwilling to miss anything. Dogwoods, tulip trees, early azaleas, late narcissus and clusters of little wildflowers all bloomed exuberantly and I silently applauded their show.

Arriving at the beach, we climbed steps that rose over a dune, and at the top, stood still. After winter's pale stillness, there’s magic in that first glance at the lilting sea, resplendent in myriad shades of blue and green and capped with white at the shoreline. I took a deep, slow breath, reveling in the salty air and the sound of the sea. My eyes followed the waves that curled, crested and then, relaxed, rolled gently onto the beach. Time fell away, the "should-do’s" ceased to exist, and a peaceful feeling of belonging seeped in.

There were few beach-goers this early in April. I was glad. Glad to listen only to the lulling waves and cries of the gulls. Life at the shore is reduced to simpler elements, and simpler felt good, felt lighter. Like losing ten pounds; not in body, but in spirit.

I had brought a heavy jacket, expecting a cold and cutting wind. But the day was benevolent and I was comfortable wearing jeans and a shirt. Spring’s gentle sun dropped sparkling highlights on the waves and shimmered on the wet sand. Along the tideline the sand was studded with shells; mostly broken, but still beautiful in their variety and color. Wet, they glistened, jewels against a velvet cloth, and I picked up the gems I thought beautiful and dropped them safely into a bag. A good subject for a painting, perhaps.

The hubby loves to feed the sea gulls, so we came prepared with a whole loaf of bread. After the quiet months of winter the gulls were cautious. As the season wore on they would once again accustom themselves to the beach crowds that annually invade their realm. But at the moment they were skittish. The small bread chunks thrown out to them rolled to a standstill where they lay untouched as the gulls, tempted, stared, started forward, then thought better of it and stepped back. So the hubby threw the bread farther out and finally the boldest among them claimed his prize. Then another stepped forward, and another, until soon we were surrounded by a gaggle of gulls all vying for the morsels flying across the sand. They were comical, reminding me of children squabbling and scuffling for the best piece of candy. When one grabbed a piece of bread, another one close by would squawk loudly in protest. Sometimes two or three gulls dived after the same bit of bread and when one caught it, the unsuccessful gulls set off a clamorous chorus of disgruntled and envious complaining. We spent several minutes watching and enjoying the gulls while they enjoyed the food. Eventually, the bread was gone and we expected them to leave immediately. Instead they stood around, looking at us expectantly as if to say, "We’re waiting". They were quiet now, and their fears allayed by the food, had come within a few feet of us. They stood regarding us with an open and patient gaze. We started walking back to the steps over the dune and for a few feet we had company. Then, realizing that meal time was over, one by one the gulls left, circling out over the sea in search of more food.

It was a good evening. There was time to be quiet, time to talk, time to rest. We wondered why we didn’t do this more often. There wasn’t any reason not to. It didn’t require a week, or even a whole day. Just a couple of hours at the beach had gone a long way to curing sea fever. The wind and waves had done their work - as I knew they would. And that night I slept the quiet sleep with the sweet dreams of those who go down to the seas.

New Paints! ... Artisan Oils

(2.5 x 3.5 on gesso primed canvas paper)

I spent about an hour and a half trying out my new Artisan Oil Paints. They're made by Winsor & Newton and are water mixable. I was curious to see if the fumes bothered me, as traditional oils do. So far, no fume problems!

The subject is a Roundhouse in Cornwall, England - and it was LOTS of fun to paint! I think I'll like these paints (I'm hoping that fume problems won't develop later down the line) and plan to work with them again.

Have a good weekend!