The very next thing . . .

. . . is SPRING!  That is enough to spring most anyone out of bed in the morning!!!  When daylight saving starts in a few days, I’ll think I am home free—bounding into my favorite half of our Wisconsin year. 

I have a goal in mind.  I love to walk; my desire is to carry a sketch book, and sketch along the way.  Also, I want to take more photos in my gardens—catching new spring buds, mature flowers, and later in the season those beautiful seedpods.

Suddenly flowers are dominating the art corner in our bedroom.  I’m extra-inspired to do flowers thanks to Ann Blockley’s exciting book, EXPERIMENTAL FLOWERS IN WATERCOLOUR.  For breathtaking views of Ann Blockley’s art, you can GOOGLE “UK Artist Ann Blockley”.  Her blog can be accessed through the website, as well—and it’s delightful to read. 

Along with a focus on flowers, Ann has inspired me to sketch and photograph subjects for painting—landscapes as well as close-ups.  I’ve read the same protocol from other artists, but finally the idea is beginning to make sense to me.  I’m also beginning to keep a log with each painting, listing the colors I use plus additional mediums such as acrylic ink, acrylic paints, water-soluble colored pencils, etc.  You can detect a desire for more discipline in my approach to painting.  Access to galleries has motivated me to make more art more efficiently, while growing and learning.

As for the sketching, I know that I can’t get any worse than I am now at it—so some improvement is bound to follow.  The strolling will be a joy in itself.  And I already have a lot of garden shots to pore over for inspiration.

Below is a favorite one, and someday I hope to be able to paint this little fellow:

He must have been just out of the nest, with absolutely no fears in his head.  I stroked his back; his fur was like silk.  He sat docilely, as if he enjoyed the stroking.  Then I ran indoors to fetch my camera.  When I returned to the garden he was still there waiting to be stroked again.

Our neighborhood prairie preserve:

And a character who came calling one Sunday afternoon when we lived up north:

I didn’t try to pet that guy.  I took his picture while sheltered by our living room window.

Anyway, if I choose to render any of the above on my Arches or Saunders Waterford paper, the subjects won’t look anything like they did to begin with!  🙂  So why not just dive in?!

Margaret L. Been, March 2015

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Winter Joys!

Winter is beautiful, at least in Wisconsin.  Winter is a wonderful time for hunkering down and losing track of time while immersed in creative activites.  A winter walk can be enjoyable, when we are buffered in layers against the elements.  And the cup of tea or cocoa upon returning home is reason for euphoria.

I love to paint the seasons.  Above, you will see my rendering “Deep Powder” in watercolor on YUPO® paper.  Below you’ll find the same painting, scanned and digitally altered.  Maybe that one should be called “Deep Powder at Evening”.

Margaret L. Been, ©2011

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Whispers of Change

Since May, with a few brief interludes where a light sweater was welcome, we’ve experienced an old-fashioned summer in Southern Wisconsin.  High heat and humidity—that special Lake Michigan area feature I’d nearly forgotten about in 8 years of Northwoods living—have reigned supreme, reminding me of those childhood years when we spent our summer evenings sitting on porches with fans.

Although we have air conditioning, Joe and I dislike the unnatural feel of it—so we have never turned it on.  We have 2 large windows which face south, and a patio door plus a front door facing east  The east side of our home is shaded from noon on, by a patio roof and the building on either side of our alcove. 

Each room in our home has a ceiling fan.  With everything open and the fans at full tilt, we are comfortable in the hottest, most humid of days.  Life is good!  How we are enjoying our languid summer! 

But yesterday we were reminded that we still do live in Wisconsin where seasonal change is a significant part of life.  We had news-breaking rain, flash floods, and violent thunder storms. 

The monstrous thunder cracks right outside our windows were disconcerting, until I immersed myself in the last chapters of Job, and reflected on the awesome power of our God.  Weather is our major reminder that, whatever happens and whatever people and governments may do, God is in control. 

God never changes, but weather does.  Here in beautiful Wisconsin, we are experiencing whispers of change.

Margaret L. Been, ©2010

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