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!
Open window breeze
Brushes sleepy morning face
September fresh air!
Art Prescription: Woke to a light rain and cool temperatures. After I loaded the coffee and hit on, I opened the windows and inhaled deeply. Ahhhh!! Fresh, clean air! Fall is a season loaded with emotion. I find it beautiful and look forward to the crisp change. There is also a sense of melancholy that summer is over. “For everything there is a season.”
September roses
Late blooms announce season end
Time to rest, renew.
Art Prescription: Here in NC roses bloom sometimes into October. I know, we are lucky. I don’t have the heart to do the prescribed cut when my roses still have buds. But it is necessary. Parallel to life there is a time to grow and a time to rest. Fall signals nature to begin the journey to rest. We all need rest to renew…
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!!
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