We don’t spray chemicals all over the lawn, and it is much more interesting because of it.
“Weeds” in the Lawn. Photographs ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
I recently bought two new fountain pens, Lamy Safaris in F (fine) and EF (extra fine) nibs (yellow and red). I have had a Lamy Al-Star with a medium nib for years, but I thought it was way too thick for drawing. I also got some converters, so I can use my own ink.
Ever since I was a child, I have been using fountain pens for writing, but I haven’t had much luck with using them for drawing until now. A few years ago I got the Noodler’s Flex Nib pen but I stopped using it because I wasn’t a fan of how often it needed refilling, and I was having problems with leakage.
So far, I think I prefer the EF nib but there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference between the EF an F. These new pens are filled with a regular Lamy cartridge with blue ink right now, but I will post again on this topic once I have an opinion about the converters.
Below is a sketch I made of some seedlings before they were transplanted outside. It’s kind of disjointed because I was more concerned with my pens than the drawing.
©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Seedlings (5-5-13 Sketchbook). Blue Ink in 6.5 x 9 inch sketchbook.
I have been doing a lot of sketching in the garden recently. I am thinking about doing some kind of botanical related series/project so I am just getting my feet wet again. I recently came across this post by Heather Smith Jones and I really like what she is doing.
Painter Susan Abbott has recently revamped her website/blog and has started writing more detailed, instructional “Painting Notes” articles on Saturdays. I really appreciate her insight. I especially like this one — “Blue, Bluish, and Blueness.” Here, Susan gives a history of the evolution of blue pigment, and admits to blue as being her favorite color.
I also recently came across this blog about the love of blue from Tina Mammoser, My favourite colour: pthalo blue, green shade.
Blue is also a favorite color of mine, if not my most favorite of all.
I recently reviewed my previous work and noticed that blue factors into most of it, and is the predominant color of quite a few pieces. I have posted a few of these “blue paintings” below.
©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Blues. Colored Pencil, 8 x 8 inches.
©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Lake Eden, VT in various blues. Watercolor and ink, 4 x 6 inches on a 5 x 7 inch greeting card.
©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Turquoise Sea. Ink and watercolor, 4 x 6 inches.
©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Silent Night. Ink and watercolor, 4 x 6 inches.
©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Blue Sea. Watercolor and colored pencil, 4.5 x 10.5 inches.
I really think it’s too bad that dandelions have a bad reputation because I love them. We grow them in the garden to harvest the greens and I think the blossoms are very beautiful.
Dandelion. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
The pear trees have blossoms now.
Pear Blossoms. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Colorful Mums. Watercolor, 4 x 6 inches.
I mailed this 4×6 inch watercolor to Wil Freeborn this morning. He mailed me this one earlier and I got it with great excitement. It is now in my cubicle at work, inspiring me to paint more watercolor whenever it catches my eye.
Would anyone like to do a postcard exchange with me? If you are interested, send me an email with your name and mailing address and we can do a trade. My contact info is here.
I recently did a trade of my zine Mini View with Joe Willis and it was also a lot of fun. I like the idea of expecting something special in the mail.
I’m getting excited about getting out on the water!
Tree Reflections. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
Yesterday I had my two pieces, A Mild Winter and Blue Green Waters in the Art for the Arts Show presented by the Auburn MA Cultural Council. I have never displayed my work in a public forum before, so this was a big step for me on a personal level. I was offering them for sale which didn’t happen, but my goal was really only to display them and I’m happy I did. I got a chance to meet some new people as well as chat with others who I already met before. I will definitely be doing more things like this in the future as opportunities arise, and I have more of an idea of what to expect. The biggest sense of victory I have is that I will not be afraid to do something similar in the future. I wish I had someone take a picture of me next to my paintings so could post it here, but the thought slipped my mind yesterday.
I also got a chance to do a little bit of sketching yesterday, which you can see below. Now that spring is here, my mind is on flowers again.
©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Viola Sketch (4-29-13). Graphite in 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook.
The blue, blue sky is my favorite thing about this photo.
Pear Buds. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
The sedum leaves have also started to pop.
Sedum Sprouts. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
The reason why I took this photo is because I liked the way the trunk of the middle tree had the unusual curve. It will be in my reference file in case I ever need a similar shaped tree for something.
Tree Silhouettes. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
I have to admit that I have not been able to do much artwork or even sleep well this past week ever since Monday. I am very upset about this bombing. On Monday I was taking a walk in the early morning and I had a strange feeling about the day. It was Patriot’s Day, a MA state holiday, and I was expecting the traffic to be light. That afternoon, I was pretty much useless at work and I heard a lot of gruesome stories through coworkers the next day. And then this morning I get up to write this post and hear the news that there is a manhunt for one of the suspects going on at this moment and people are being told to hide inside their homes. It is all very disturbing to my spirit but I have been praying that this situation gets resolved quickly. I heard of Patrick and Jess through my cousin who goes to school with Patrick. It is so sad to see innocent people ruined by something like this.
I stepped outside to take some photos one morning before work after it had rained the night before. I thought of this article that I came across recently: What makes rain smell so good? On this morning, there was the usual after the rain smell, plus the oniony smell of chive.
New Chives. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.
Damp Moss. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.