MsAdventures

Friday, January 20, 2012

Out with the Old...

from Every Day Matters

sketchbook journal entry dated 1/20/2012

And in with the new...

Once upon a time, a very long time ago (14 years plus or minus a few months), I began to work in watercolors. Some of you know that my main interest is in pastels, but I didn't start there. I began with watercolors.

Like any newbie, I made newbie mistakes. I bought a profusion of tubes of watercolors; Maimeri had a post-Christmas special at one of the big art supply places online and, since I didn't have a preference, I bought the entire set, many of which are still sitting in their pristine, unopened state. (Two hundred years from now, archaeologists are going to wonder, "What's that all about?")

Over time, of course, I learned. There are some that I can't live without, particularly what I call the "mud colors"-- raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber, burnt umber -- because they really are (were) made from the earth dug up around Sienna and Umbria in Italy. My palette will probably always contain Ultramarine blue and Cobalt blue, because I don't know anything better to depict warm and cool skies, respectively. Then, there are the remainder and these are more-or-less expendable.

So, as I began to contemplate the New Year, I made a big decision. After 14 years of paying my penance, I was going to allow myself to let go and do something really, truly wild: I was going to change my brand of watercolors and I was going to change the shades and tints I used. I know. It makes you gasp, doesn't it?

Oh, alright. Glib comments aside, I decided that I was going to reach for a different, more mellow look to my watercolor sketches... just to see what the overall effect might be. Same old pen and ink sketches (Uniball Vision, fine point, black) ... just new watercolors, this time from Da Vinci, which is a California company, instead of from Italy.

So, let the New Year begin!*

"Marriage allows you to annoy one special person for the rest of your life."

*In case you wonder: I have had the bulk of this post prepared for quite some time. I have been sitting here waiting for 3 backordered tubes of watercolor from DaVinci to be able to finish. Stay tuned! I have been working on a few other things while I waited and will post them soon.

Friday, December 16, 2011

My Little Christmas Wish...

from Every Day Matters,

sketchbook journal entry dated 12/16/2011

Friday, December 09, 2011

The Loft

It has been 2 years this week since I first walked in the door to the loft in the Old City of Montréal... Everything about it was perfect. The location was perfect. The gate and the walk to the exterior door were perfect. As hostess, there to meet and greet me, Ginger was perfect. And the loft was absolutely perfect...

from Mon Journal de Montréal

sketchbook journal entry dated 12/09/11

It had a superbly outfitted kitchen, was decorated with just the right country chic touches and had both a working fireplace and a tin pail full of firewood. Mother Nature cooperated by giving me just enough cold and snow flurries to give me an excuse to have a fire. Nothing could have been better than what the Universe delivered!

Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.

Friday, December 02, 2011

Baby... It's Cold Outside!

I was going through some spam email today and came across an ad for a pet catalog. When I saw it, I couldn't stop laughing and I knew that until I memorialized it, I wasn't going to be satisfied. So, I decided to preserve it in the only way I knew, which was to stop right there and draw it from my computer screen... Really, sometimes, things are just too good to let go and this was one of them!

from Every Day Matters,

sketchbook journal entry dated 12/2/11 (derivative work)

I don't know who the photographer was, or even the stylist, but I think the image is wonderful!

(And by the way, it's amazing what our dogs are willing to tolerate from us!)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Third and Fourth Thursdays

“Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!”

Every year since the mid-19th century, French vineyards have celebrated the harvest by producing Beaujolais nouveau as the first wine from the season's crop. It is a young wine made from the Gamay grape and is meant to be consumed during the holidays -- up until New Year's Day. Beginning around the early 1950's, the release date was moved from early December (but only in France) to the third Thursday of November, throughout the world.

So last week was the third Thursday of November...

from Every Day Matters,

sketchbook journal entry dated 11/24/11

and today is the fourth Thursday... Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Mon Journal de Montréal

I recently began a brand new journal... and chose this scene for my title page. I have always thought the lines of the bridge were absolutely elegant and the view is one of the best of the center city core.

Montréal Skyline from Lachine Canal,

I was working from a photograph I took about 18 months ago; I have been told that the city removes this bridge to allow larger boats to move in and out of the canal during the summer and replaces it in the fall and winter. I prefer to work on-site as much as I can, but in this case I am grateful that I took the photo because I was completely unaware that it moves around!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

At Last...

Belize City, Belize

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

I finally did keep my promise. I said, literally years ago, that I would publish my sketches of Belize and Cozumel, which were on the same trip as the Cayman Islands that are somewhere down below this post. Whether I just forgot about it or got side-tracked, I couldn't tell you. And wouldn't -- because it might be something I'd rather forget...