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Tag Archives: nature

In it for the Long Haul

Friday, July 3, 2009

I was recently reading this article which discusses two types of creative individuals. There are the “Conceptualists,” or artists who create their best and most innovative work early on in their careers. Afterwards, they often seem to burn out and fizzle, never matching their early success. The other group is made up of “Experimentalists.” These […]

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Scene from Snow Farm

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Scene from Snow Farm (8 x 10), dip pen and wash on Arches 140 lb cp, 5/31/09 I finished this on Sunday afternoon and handed it off Monday morning to be displayed in an arts fundraiser event being held at my workplace this week. I also donated it to be auctioned off at a silent […]

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My Favorite Window So Far

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Millwork and God’s Handiwork, ink and watercolor wash, 4/29/09 When I was at Snow Farm we had a free afternoon on Wednesday. Some people used the time to go to Northampton or do shopping, but I went back to the studio and made this drawing in my watercolor sketchbook. The studios at Snow Farm are […]

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Japanese Maple on a Rainy Day

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

It was a rainy Friday afternoon and I had come home from work to an empty house, relieved that the workweek was through but uncomfortable that I had nothing to do that weekend. I sat in my kitchen and sketched this while listening to Pink Moon by Nick Drake and generally feeling very melancholy. Nick […]

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I’m Off!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Backyard Tree Sketch, pen and colored pencil in moleskine, 4/24/09 On Friday I went down to Jerry’s Artarama and picked up some supplies for my class this week. When I got home I couldn’t resist trying them out. I was using my new Staedtler pigment liners and trying my new pencil sharpener on some colored […]

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Sketching in Nature Blog

Friday, April 24, 2009

Cathy Johnson invited me to be a contributor to her new group blog, Sketching in Nature. You can read my introductory post here. Go check it out — there are a lot of really talented artists featured. I can’t wait to get started!

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60 Minute Sketching

Monday, April 6, 2009

Japanese Maple, colored pencil in sketchbook, 4/5/09   I never know how long it takes me to draw something because I never do it straight through. My computer usually distracts me (facebook, email, reading blogs, etc.) so something that should be very simple takes me hours because of all the interruptions. For this sketch, I […]

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All I Can Manage to Say

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Red Pepper Study #1, colored pencil in sketchbook, 3/21/09 I am starting to wonder why I bother with my art at all. Everything seems mostly pointless these days and nothing seems to matter anymore. I only do it because I don’t know what I would do with myself otherwise, and because I’ve invested quite a […]

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Rethinking and Evaluating

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Carnations, colored pencil in sketchbook, 2/14/09 I was feeling a little sick of doing portraits so I did this small sketch of some carnations I had. Normally I am super detailed, trying to capture the minutiae of every leaf and petal. This time I decided to keep it loose and focus on generalities. I need […]

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Watercolor Rose and being in the Zone

Thursday, February 5, 2009

White Rose, watercolor on 5 x 7 greeting card, 1/31/2009 I painted this last weekend and it was one of the only times that I ever had a “zone experience” while painting in watercolor. If you’ve never experienced “the zone” I will now describe it to you. It is when you are so completely absorbed […]

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