Up close to a big painting

This kind of poem
is just broken up prose.

With luck
each line says:

         Consider these particular words
         before you move on.

When you finish:

        Step back
        Take a seat on the bench in the middle of the gallery

lines and phrases
color and stroke

        run together
        open a window
        reveal a path

into the bigger picture

And because no one reads this but me

 ...I want to add various paint doodles just so I can see them once in awhile. I have been painting in various notebooks and sketchbooks and if I don't put them here, I probably won't ever see them again. Perhaps not a great loss, but gosh, look at the pretty colors!

'Tis the season of squash

Gouache!
First adventure.
Added here because:
Squash!

(and because gouache and squash rhyme. At least in American English.)

 

Toast to opening day

Welcome spirits! Today is the opening day of the holiday season, which we start by remembering lost loved ones (a stout, fine port, and black coffee) and finish by toasting to new beginnings (champagne). Unless you extend the season by celebrating Burns Night (single malt whiskey), which includes toasting a dead poet, or even Valentine’s Day, which celebrates true lust (Strawberry Hill vin rose). I generally consider Burns night to be the culmination of holiday season. It's more fun than Christmas (eggnog with rum and nutmeg) with no gift stress.

So: the season of gratitude is upon us. And in gratitude, we enter the season of sharing—not out of guilt, but out of a recognition that we belong to a larger family, even if we don’t know everybody’s name or speak each other’s languages—linguistically or emotionally. Recognizing that anything we can do to help a cousin, no matter how distant, helps all of us. That sounds pretty self serving, but don’t let guilt about selfishness stop you from contributing time and treasure in aid of people who could really use some help right now.

Tonight we—those of us who understand All Hallows Eve as a day of remembrance--remember those who have gone before, those whom we loved or hated, those who fed us or abandoned us, even those were completely ignorant of our existences. I’m not sure I can go so far as to say we owe those blank spaces on the family tree anything, beyond acknowledging that we literally wouldn’t exist without them. More toasts! (old vine zinfandel or cider)*

Man oh man, I’m getting out into the weeds on this one. Really, all I started out wanting to do is post pictures of watercolor pumpkins. I shall move on to that (coffee with lots of cream and a splash of bourbon). But seeing how this post went, I would rather give them a less complicated post of their own. 

*I'm not much of a drinker. I consider alcohol to be more of a ritual drink the way green bean casserole is a ritual food: to be enjoyed on specific occasions**, and forgotten about most of the rest of the time. In case anyone was wondering.

**(Noted on All Saints Day:) And apparently to be forgotten even on the ritual days. Last night we had leftovers and water. Not a bottle of port or stout to be seen (And while we're at it, no trick-or-treaters either. Thanks, COVID!), and by the time we finally got to eat, coffee was out of the question. However, we are still in Allhallowtide, so perhaps tonight a deep red wine with beef bourguingon, sautéed green beans and carrots, steamed broccoli, roasted purple potatoes...finished with a couple of squares of fine dark chocolate. And of course, remembrance of loved ones who have passed on.

Tiny sketch books

     I learned to make a helpful tool from a YouTube video by this wonderful painter-naturalist named Cathy Johnson who walks the countryside and woods in Missouri, thinking and painting and getting lost as often as possible. She folds a piece of watercolor paper and cuts it so that you end up with a tiny accordion-style sketchbook. I love this idea--you can trial and error you way through the whole thing without fear of wrecking something more formal and expensive.

So here are a couple of the several I’ve filled up. These are just 9" x 12" sheets using Winsor Newton paints for the pink and purple side and handmade mineral paints from Jazper Stardust and Red Cover Meadow:

Side note: I've had this idea for many years about making geology art--quilts or paintings or weavings based on the curves of the land or on sedimentary rock. I think I have finally found the right paints to do it with! The handmade crushed mineral paints are made of, well, rock. So when I paint rock or rock-inspired shapes, I can at least get the color right. An inspiration in itself. Coincidentally, I find that I can paint fantastical pumpkins and gourds with the same colors. Bonus!