Wednesday, November 29, 2006
More Snow images
Ok, maybe a bit excessive, but it just doesn't snow around here very often, so when it does it's a big deal! These photos were from Tuesday---just an inch or two, but enough to delay school for 2 hours, and when the sun came out around 10:30, it was time to take a walk and see what the neighborhood looked like before all the snow disappeared. Here's some of what caught my eye:
Monday, November 27, 2006
SNOW!
It's snowing on and off today---just recently tons of snow was falling from the sky, looking like large white feathers floating to the ground, so fast everything became white within minutes! It's not really cold enough to stick and stay around, but as quickly as it just came down, it blanketed everything, teasing us with most-likely false hope that it'll last...
On a side note, a friend stopped by today to show us his latest finds---these are King Bolete mushrooms---yes, that's really how big they are---no photoshop involved! They're known as porcini mushrooms in Italy, Bolete in English speaking countries. He found these in the forests near the coast. Lucky us, he left a smaller one for us to eat---guess they're quite the delicacy!
Hoping for more snow......
On a side note, a friend stopped by today to show us his latest finds---these are King Bolete mushrooms---yes, that's really how big they are---no photoshop involved! They're known as porcini mushrooms in Italy, Bolete in English speaking countries. He found these in the forests near the coast. Lucky us, he left a smaller one for us to eat---guess they're quite the delicacy!
Hoping for more snow......
Friday, November 17, 2006
Studio Friday---This is Me
Ok, so this isn't really "me", but it shows a bit of me---I love color---and this shows examples of how color is used in my studio and throughout my house. It also shows that I like the color red. My pastel studio walls are painted tomato red---a color my oldest daughter picked for her bedroom which once she moved out I was more than happy to keep! I work in fiber occasionally, but pastel mostly---hence the detail of a pastel painting we have hanging in our kitchen of my youngest daughter washing dishes while camping.
Happy Friday, & have a great weekend!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Beach Escape
Last Friday, I escaped with a friend to the coast for a weekend. There were supposed to be 3 of us, but one was sick, so sadly, she and her husband bowed out. The guys were to arrive Saturday---which they did around noon. It was a lovely place high up on a hill overlooking the Oregon coast---tucked into a wooded neighborhood off the main highway. We spent the first day shopping and then relaxing after a nasty, rainy drive over. The rain was falling at one point so heavily, if I could have safely, I would have pulled over to wait it out! Unfortunately tho, there wasn’t any shoulder or side road to tuck into, so to avoid being rear-ended I kept going, windshield wipers flapping furiously! It was still daytime, but real dark in the forested area we were driving through.
The next day turned out surprisingly pleasant, after a fast hail shower while we were enjoying a gourmet breakfast at the cafe` down the hill. We had a terrific walk up the beach with the sun warming our backs, then back through the small town, admiring the unique homes and cottages on the way.
That morning before headed out for breakfast, I stalked two deer that were grazing near the house, first noticing one thru the dining room window. After several mediocre pics thru the window, I sneaked out the front door to the edge of the garage for a few more photos. These weren’t tame deer---the slightest movement had their ears and heads swiveling. Luckily the tiny beep of the camera didn’t frighten them away (need to figure how to turn that off…).
We had a super weekend away, and are now looking forward to Thanksgiving----can it really be just next week?!?
This was a view from our bedroom at the house we stayed in:
The next day turned out surprisingly pleasant, after a fast hail shower while we were enjoying a gourmet breakfast at the cafe` down the hill. We had a terrific walk up the beach with the sun warming our backs, then back through the small town, admiring the unique homes and cottages on the way.
That morning before headed out for breakfast, I stalked two deer that were grazing near the house, first noticing one thru the dining room window. After several mediocre pics thru the window, I sneaked out the front door to the edge of the garage for a few more photos. These weren’t tame deer---the slightest movement had their ears and heads swiveling. Luckily the tiny beep of the camera didn’t frighten them away (need to figure how to turn that off…).
We had a super weekend away, and are now looking forward to Thanksgiving----can it really be just next week?!?
This was a view from our bedroom at the house we stayed in:
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
VOTE Today!
Just a reminder to those that might have forgotten---please vote today!
And some fun pics of a mural that was painted in a cool sign shop in Portland, which is becoming a coffee bean roasting warehouse---hence the mural. It was painted during the "closing this shop" party by invited sign artists one evening a couple of weekends ago---this is my daughter putting some paint on the wall to help out before we headed home.
And some fun pics of a mural that was painted in a cool sign shop in Portland, which is becoming a coffee bean roasting warehouse---hence the mural. It was painted during the "closing this shop" party by invited sign artists one evening a couple of weekends ago---this is my daughter putting some paint on the wall to help out before we headed home.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Artistically Connected---Studio Friday - Interconnected
An example of being connected artistically was this Wed. An artist friend traveled 1 1/2 hours to my house to hang for the day with the goal of painting or drawing together.
We started out our adventure by visiting the local university bookstore to shore up her drawing supplies. A quick bowl of soup to hold us for the afternoon was the next stop. From there we loaded our art materials and went in search of an agreed upon view, driving through the countryside down quiet roads and busy highways.
Sadly the lighting was not ideal. Clouds with the rare bit of filtered sunlight made everything look pale and like all the color had been sucked away! The fields were a bland brown, oak trees dark silhouettes, even the occasional fall color was pale, muddy yellow. Nothing sparked us, even though we saw plenty of possibilities for a future sunny day.
We stopped along a river at one point, walked down to the water, and tried to feel inspired by the few dark colorless reflections from the tree line on the opposite shore---the highlight was skipping rocks, and seeing some possible subject matter in the still water caught between the rocky beach and the river bank--but again the shadows were negligent, 2 dimensional, and lifeless!
As we walked back up to our car I heard the oddest sound coming from the dry maple leaves piled along the side of the boat ramp… *plick, plick….plick….. it was as if they were alive, and trying to shift! Then we realized what was making the sound---rain! Not just a short-lived small shower, it started to pour!! That cemented it for us---poor lighting, & rain so we headed back to town hoping to possibly sketch inside a cozy coffee house, looking out at downtown buildings. We checked out a couple of locations, but again just didn’t catch the spark.
During this whole time, although our search was in vain, we visited, talked, reminisced, and completely enjoyed the process!
Finally we settled in my dining room with a pile of Anaheim peppers and a pumpkin for inspiration and succeeded in fulfilling our goal to create art. We were warm with the wood stove blazing, comfortably listening to great music, concentrating quietly at times, then chatting amicably at other times---once again enjoying the process with one another. Artistically connected.
We started out our adventure by visiting the local university bookstore to shore up her drawing supplies. A quick bowl of soup to hold us for the afternoon was the next stop. From there we loaded our art materials and went in search of an agreed upon view, driving through the countryside down quiet roads and busy highways.
Sadly the lighting was not ideal. Clouds with the rare bit of filtered sunlight made everything look pale and like all the color had been sucked away! The fields were a bland brown, oak trees dark silhouettes, even the occasional fall color was pale, muddy yellow. Nothing sparked us, even though we saw plenty of possibilities for a future sunny day.
We stopped along a river at one point, walked down to the water, and tried to feel inspired by the few dark colorless reflections from the tree line on the opposite shore---the highlight was skipping rocks, and seeing some possible subject matter in the still water caught between the rocky beach and the river bank--but again the shadows were negligent, 2 dimensional, and lifeless!
As we walked back up to our car I heard the oddest sound coming from the dry maple leaves piled along the side of the boat ramp… *plick, plick….plick….. it was as if they were alive, and trying to shift! Then we realized what was making the sound---rain! Not just a short-lived small shower, it started to pour!! That cemented it for us---poor lighting, & rain so we headed back to town hoping to possibly sketch inside a cozy coffee house, looking out at downtown buildings. We checked out a couple of locations, but again just didn’t catch the spark.
During this whole time, although our search was in vain, we visited, talked, reminisced, and completely enjoyed the process!
Finally we settled in my dining room with a pile of Anaheim peppers and a pumpkin for inspiration and succeeded in fulfilling our goal to create art. We were warm with the wood stove blazing, comfortably listening to great music, concentrating quietly at times, then chatting amicably at other times---once again enjoying the process with one another. Artistically connected.
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