Fall gourds and pumpkins
Bring color and homemade pies
To September homes.
Art Prescription: Fall color has to bring out the artist in you! Gourds, pumpkins, and fall bouquets add a dash of orange and red everywhere. Bring a fall still-life home and sketch it…now add watercolor…open the windows and breathe fresh air!
Dangles from a tree
A poem for someone to find
It’s haiku-o-gram!!
Art Prescription: My haiku-a-day is branching out. Today I hung Haiku-o-gram 2, since 1 launched. This project is all about delight! and I’m writing haikus on recycled pieces of art. My intention is to purely surprise and brighten someone’s day. A little gift flapping in the wind!! It’s fun to do something unexpected!!
Jet black Sumi-ink
Brush strokes capture the essence
Moment on paper.
Art Prescription: I went to a Chinese Brush Stroke class today at the NC Botanical Garden taught by Alice, her American name. With a gentle demeanor she demonstrates the ancient art of brush painting. She teaches us it’s not about the accuracy of the painting, but the feeling…the Chi, and make sure to leave room in your painting for movement of energy. We worked on herons today. And swallows!
Butterflies, skippers
Flicker flower to flower
Sweet September treat.
Art Prescription: Another astonishing North Carolina day! I packed up my “art wagon,” and headed over to the NC Botanical Garden to watercolor sketch. It’s really my garden wagon, but works perfect for field-sketching. My paint, paper, pens, water, water holder, snack, and bug spray all fit neatly, then the handle folds back to create the perfect flower-level seat. This is the second piece of work in a new collection I’m calling “Watercolor Fresh.” Each piece starts as a watercolor sketch, expressive. Then I let the random shapes suggest detail with pen and ink. It’s very relaxing because there is no right or wrong, I’m just working (as I tell my workshop participants) with what is happening on the paper!! Try it!!
Quiet day in thought
Back porch geraniums glow
Catch September light.
Art Prescription: As much as I love fall and the cooler weather, I will miss my colorful blooming garden. So I spent today capturing my back-porch geraniums with watercolor and ink. This technique allows for expressive brush work. I use a brush designed for Chinese brush painting, just one brush. I stroke in impressionistic shapes, let that dry, and then go back in with pen and ink for a hint of detail. I think this is my favorite way to paint!!
Path to my spirit
Hand laid stones to studio
Lead way to color.
Art Prescription: As I come and go from my nursing job, I look longingly at my studio behind my house. It’s adorable!! My husband hand-laid the stone path that cuts through our backyard to my magical play-house. I think one of the most important parts of living a creative life is to have a space to call your own. A place where you can come and go and leave your art supplies out, even messy. If you are short on time, being able to go to your magic spot and add a little here, a little there, art journal, dream… a space that encourages creativity, paint that waits for your brush, then you can jump right in!
Dark grey clouds rise up
Loud thunder rattles and booms
Big rain drops fall hard.
Art Prescription: During a storm is the perfect time to work in a sketchbook or journal…all cozy inside.
Home work and house work
Unpaid time spent nurturing
Clean, cook, water, love.
Art Prescription: Time does not always equal money!!!
Blue Willow china
Collectible favorite
Simply blue and white.
Art Prescription: Are you familiar with Blue Willow, a china pattern from the turn of the 19th century? I have always loved the combination of blue and white. I’ve painted blue watercolor on white paper…and now am experimenting with white ink on a dark ultramarine blue background. Ooooohh!
Wheels spin round and round
Legs pump up and down, movement
Wind whips through tee-shirt.
Art Prescription: A perfect day for biking. Sam and I packed our bikes up and went over to the Tobacco Trail, a 7 mile ride on a paved trail past homes, roosters, kudzu, and wildflowers to downtown Durham. We sat and rested a bit, checked out the Cow Parade (artist painted cows for UNC Children’s Hospital), and then made our way back. Peaceful riding along chatting. We are so lucky we both like outdoor activities. I have to confess it’s hard for me to not incorporate art into many of our outings, “let’s go hike and sketch,” “let’s ride over to the garden and check out the exhibit,” “let’s take pictures for me to paint.” What’s that saying…you can take the girl out of the creative, but you can’t take the creative out of the girl.
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