“We must paint only what is important to us, must not respond to outside demands. They do not know what they want, or what we have to give.” – Robert Henri One of the artists I follow (unfortunately, I have forgotten which one so I cannot provide credit for the inspiration) put the above quote on their newsletter. It struck…
I love winter in Oregon. While it doesn’t have the snow and low temperatures that most people associate with the season, for me, the cooler temperatures, ample rain, and return of green are just perfect. Other perks include the return of a high density of waterfowl to the refuges and slightly more convenient photo times. While I miss the many…
pareidolia: the perception of apparently significant patterns or recognizable images, especially faces, in random or accidental arrangements of shapes and lines. pareidolia: the human tendency to find patterns in experiences or sensations A few months ago, one of my favorite artists, Kate Dardine, did a newsletter with this title. I put it in my “to do” pile for the…
I am the (volunteer) webmaster for the Watercolor Society of Oregon. It’s not a big deal, except when it is. And the last couple of years, with the increased demands of everything going online, the website has become a bit of a burden. This last year, at the fall WSO convention, I was named volunteer of the year, which was…
Tonight will be a short post because I’m tired and I don’t have a lot to say. Obviously, we are all home again from our time at the beach house. It was lovely, and I got a lot of thinking done. I’m hoping some of my thoughts and plans come into fruition. Today I received a “rejection” from ISEA that…
Today I did watch the 4th (and final) video in Lesley Humprey’s painting horses series. However, I did no painting of horses. Debbie Loyd, a magnificent painter I have known for years, saw on Facebook that I was complaining about my original workshop getting cancelled, and offered to drive down for the day and provide an online workshop on waves…
Progress is not linear, and some days that is more evident than others. Yesterday, I had two art experiences. First, I listened to Renee Kahn through a presentation by the ISEA, which was excellent and gave me a lot to think about. Second, I started on the second demo of the Lesley Humprey series, which was on charcoal and gouache. While…
I am not famed for my flexibility. If I have a plan, that’s it. I hate a change. I’m not change resistant; I don’t resist just because something is changing. I resist when MY plans change. Thus, I was not in the best of moods when I found out yesterday that the virtual workshop by Jean Pederson had been cancelled.…
Captious: ADJECTIVE; formal; (of a person) tending to find fault or raise petty objections. “a captious teacher” synonyms: critical · fault-finding · quibbling · niggling · cavilling · carping · criticizing · disapproving · censorious · judgmental · overcritical · hypercritical · pedantic · hairsplitting · pettifogging · pass-remarkable In a search for the title of today’s post, I went…
For those of you who were worried about my sanity because of the recent influx of dancing animals, you will be relieved to know that this post does not showcase any NEW dancing animals projects. Yellowstone Dancers – the pause before commitment I am still working through my ideas around Yellowstone Dancers. I think I’ve landed on a plan, but…