Skip to content

Stacked Wood

This winter seems more harsh than I remember in recent years. I like that in a way, because it makes me feel nostalgia for the winters when I was a girl and we got hit with tremendous Nor’easters just after moving back to New England.

stacked wood logs

Stacked Wood. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.

Birthday Sunset

Here is my finished painting:

colored pencil sunset

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Birthday Sunset. Colored pencil on Canson Mi-Teintes paper, 6.5 x 10.5 inches.

I chose the title Birthday Sunset because this was the sunset on the evening that I was hosting Cate’s first birthday party this past November. I was drawn to the peachy pinks and the dramatic clouds above. Although I based it on my own photo reference, I altered the final product a lot. In the end I stopped using the photo at all and it evolved into more of an abstract experience for me. My aim was for a looser style than my usual, and a look more similar to pastel.

I was going to crop this smaller, at 6 x 9 inches, but I decided on a larger size at the end, even though it is an oddball one. I spent much more time on this than I wanted to originally, and it was definitely a learning experience. I would have benefited from some preliminary planning and thumbnail sketching to work out the composition and the final dimensions ahead of time. I will definitely be thinking along these lines for my next piece.

Further work

My colored pencil painting is almost done and I am itching to get moving on the next one. I did more on the water, made some changes to clouds in the sky, and deepened the darks of the land mass.
colored pencil work in progress

colored pencil work in progress

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Work in Progress (Sunset). Colored pencil, apx 6 x 9 inches.

Strata

The snow drifted in front of my window made an impression on me. It was a fun storm!

snow on window

Strata. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.

Weather Blessings

The storm was such a blessing to me, as I was let off work early on Friday and got to spend more time with Cate and on my colored pencil work. We didn’t lose power at all, but we did have a small plumbing mishap (unrelated to the storm) which was a small damper on my excitement.

Regardless of this, I made a lot of progress in my latest sunset painting. I had to replace a few pencils recently and I found a new color that I didn’t have before (Prismacolor Hot Pink, PC 993) which I started using on the sky and water reflection. According to the CPSA lightfast testing results, this color is on the bad list, or rather, not on the list, but it was the perfect color for my painting. I haven’t taken a hard look at my color selection yet, but it is a goal of mine this year to make sense of the lightfast ratings in reference to the colors that I own.

colored pencil work in progress

colored pencil work in progress

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Work in Progress (Sunset). Colored pencil on paper, apx 6 x 9 inches.

My new morning sketching routine.

Recently I’ve rediscovered two small partially used sketchbooks and I’ve decided to make good use of them. I have since finished the first, and have now started on the second, a small moleskine journal I’ve had since 2005. I keep it in my car in the driver’s side door and I’ve been making small 10-15 minute pen sketches in the parking lot before I go in for work. I find that it calms any anxiety I may have before I start my workday.

pen sketch of leaves

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, 2-1-13 (Peperomia). Pen in small moleskine journal.

On this particular day, I had brought a peperomia houseplant with me (to liven up my cube) and I sketched it as it sat on my passenger seat. To see more of my recent morning sketches, check out this post at Sketching in Nature.

Treasures

nightstand

Treasures. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.

A lamp and a small dish, some items that I rescued from Yiayia and Papou’s house, now on my bedside table. The penny is from 1895 and I keep it just because I like having something so old.

Since turning thirty

Last December when I was doing my year end review, I found myself thinking about how I have changed over the years, especially in my style preferences. I turned thirty this past year, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on some of the changes.

  • I’m more confident in my preferences. Years ago, I have known people who have tried to “make me over” which resulted in a lot of frustration for me. There is no way I would tolerate that now.
  • I’m not afraid to reconsider or change my mind. For example, I’ve found that my design preferences have shifted over the course of months and years. When I was a girl, I wanted my house to be Victorian, then ultra modern. Since I’ve moved into my current location, I’m liking more of a modern country/cottage look. I favor more handmade and one of a kind objects than when I was younger.
  • I have been trying to avoid accumulating “stuff” and when I do, I go out of my way to shop at local, small businesses and avoid chain retailers. I’m less concerned with being on trend which has helped me resist the urge to shop all the time. I do enjoy reading blogs such as design*sponge, but I have to be careful because I notice they can develop a sense of discontent and increased materialism.
work in progress colored pencil

©2013 Carolyn A Pappas, Work in Progress (Sunset). Colored pencil on paper, 6 x 9 inches.

You can see that now I’ve moved onto the water. I’m not sure if this is the best way to work, or if I should try to develop the piece as a whole and then fine tune. I may try this approach on my next colored pencil painting.

Dusting

Blue and white are one of my favorite color combinations.

ropes in snow

Dusting. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.

Orange Sunlit Flower

I love having flowers in the house, especially at this time of year. If anyone knows what this is, please tell me in the comments.

orange flower photograph

Orange Sunlit Flower. Photograph ©2013 Carolyn A Pappas.