Carving Lessons

Taken from my 'afternoon chair' out on the deck. I'm going to miss the warm after school time of playing at the park or our back yard. This is a favorite spot to knit or draw while the kids get the crazies out they've been holding in all day :)

My daughter's first carving! We used the Dick Blick grey stuff.

My son's first carving... I can't believe we waited until he was 9 to start carving. Just didn't feel like he was ready to hold the sharp tools. He loved it and actually wants to carve something he can run through the press. Music to my ears!!!

Happy Friday!

Summertime...

My daughter and her friends usually end up doing a little ballet on playdates... in princess dress, naturally :) This woodcut is unfinished.

Mr. Darcy and I pausing in the perennial gardens... on one of our long, blissful weekend walks.

My son's drawings always make my heart sing.

I want to plant some of these in September!

Summer is in full gear around here and we are loving every minute of it. The kids are doing dance camps, vacation bible school... and lots of swimming. I'm trying new yoga classes and it is such a rich, satisfying experience. More woodblocks are in the planning and making... and a painting or two will begin this summer as well - itching to get out the brushes and dive in. Hubby is super excited to make his first batch of beer :) I'm going to come up with a lable and he can begin his dream of becoming a brewmeister!

It's Still Summer

Gleeful run through one of our favorite gardens in a brand new 'first day of school dress'. I love this photo of our daughter, happy, free and everything ahead of her. It was a perfect afternoon :)



On another note... a personal remembrance of 9/11.
I can't believe it's been 10 years. That morning, my mom and I were going to take the ferry to Victoria, British Colombia. My husband was in Spokane - as we were in the process of moving here. On 9/12, he was scheduled to fly to Boston for some class he was taking. We switched on the news in the early morning to check the weather and watched in horror as we all tried to figure out what had happened. The live coverage on the streets of NYC... horrific chaos. Naturally, no one went anywhere that day. A few weeks later, mom and I drove out to Spokane with my cat and it was still a 'no fly zone' in the US. Such a strange trip. The day that changed our country forever.

Sunset at the Lighthouse

New ink drawing on paper! I took tons of inspiration photos on our trip and this is a favorite subject... old architecture including lighthouses! The French prism lenses get to me... they are so beautiful, ordered and geometric. I may have to brush up on my perspective skills before tackling an interior shot of the lens. (used Twinkling H2Os paint on this one - it's got some sparkle). It's soon to be in the etsy shop.

We are one day away from the big, first day of school! It's bittersweet for sure... the weather is perfect and seems a waste to spend it in school. On the other hand - there's yoga to attend and art to be made in a quiet studio in the company of two little Corgis.

Sending out thoughts and prayers to the Hurricane Irene survivors... stay safe and hang in there. Thinking of you all out there in the dark. Happy Monday.

Nikki McClure at Contemporary Crafts Museum...Portland

This was a fabulous show... I have seen a lot of the original work in Nikki McClure's calendars and books but what a treat to see it in person! The black paper she cuts with an exacto knife is so thin and delicate. It's amazing what she does. Her sketchbooks, personal photographs that she draws from and mulling ideas on paper were all on display. I love to see how people work - it's such an inspiration to me. (wish I could've taken photos of them!)

By the way... we've just returned from our 2nd and last trip of the summer... to Newport and Lincoln City, OR. Toured many lighthouses, saw several artist's studios... ate fabulous food etc. Will share more in the coming weeks! But, today - it's time for school supply shopping, coddling lonely Corgis and more purging of old clothes and shoes. Happy Monday.

Off the Grid

We are soaking up this last month of summer vacation... sipping wine by candle light. Sleeping in, going slow and keeping a low profile. (the last is always my favorite). Hope you are enjoying the sunny summer in your own favorite style.

ps ... I can't seem to leave a comment - blogger is all messed up (google profile). Darn it! Thanks to Jenniffer for stopping by!

Flutter Kicks and Noodles

Here's where I've been for several weeks. It's amazing how fast they learn to swim when they're ready. Both the kids are having a great time in their lessons and then the reward comes: free swim! For me, it's like sitting in a sauna - with one benefit... my face is dewy. :)

I'm determined to get the bathroom painted before school starts. Will be choosing colors today. What are you getting done before September?

Do the Happy Dance

Here is my happy daughter... wearing her brand new swimming goggles. She and big brother will be having swimming lessons for most of the summer. I've never seen anyone get so excited about goggles. Too cute. This is an acrylic painting - in progress. Am doing a series of them because - well - I can't help myself.
Happy Friday!

Beach Haze

Where's Captain Jack Sparrow??

Beautiful fortress

Seamist

Tempting bill of fare

Mural at a lovely pub.

We're just back from our annual sojourn to the pacific ocean beaches. Cannon Beach, Oregon to be precise. Oh what a lovely time it was. I made a few new friends in Portland... we stayed there a few days as well. So much fun to get away and mix it all up.

It was mostly misty, rainy and cloudy at the beaches we go to but, went anyway! This time we got smart and brought much foul weather gear... including warm clothes. It all came in handy. We had a whole lot of kicked back family-together goodness. Always the sweet life when we head to the beach.

I had a funny little mishap at the end of our trip where I lost my new digital camera... I had taken a record 974 photos with it! But, it all came out OK in the end and met some new artist friends through the camera kerfuffle. But... that's another story.

Stay tuned for many new drawings, woodblocks and maybe even a few paintings....

Summer Patio Vibe

Nothing like summer patio time. Here are a few new drawings I've done in the past few days... the top one is with a very fine tip pen, the lower... a brush tip pen. (can never quite decide which one I prefer.) These will be going in the etsy shop, hopefully tonight!

As you can see I've been blessed with a new camera - thanks to my brother who found 'a good one' for me. Ahhh, I'm so relieved. It's rough to be without a camera!

Knightley update:

The youngest corgi dodged surgery but was in the emergency pet hospital over the 4th of July wkend. He finally passed (with much treatment and coaxing) some bone shards and later the big offender: half of a Pink Pearl eraser! Such a problem child he is... he's on the mend but we're still wondering what trouble he'll find next.

Naughty Knightley at it Again

Ringing in our youngest member of the family's birth month... the naughty Knitghtley is at the pet emergency hospital. He must have swallowed a rock or some foreign body a few days ago and now has a major problem. He'll be spending the big 4th of July weekend as an inpatient.. hopefully passing the 2 objects in his intestines so he can avoid a second surgery for this very problem.
Please, if you have time, say a little prayer for our Mr. Knightley... he'll be 2 years old on July 22nd if he can get past this current crisis. Why is it some pets (and people) are just born to get into trouble?! I'll update you on his status before the weekend is over. Fingers crossed, he'll get through without a surgery. Happy 4th of July!

Kicking Back this Weekend...

Just resting and exhaling this weekend after a VERY long stretch of hubby working. (that's 2 whole work weeks including the weekend in between.) Lucky me... it's a beautiful, sunny day and I can go dog walking for unlimited time!!!

Don't have a new camera yet. I'm still making art, though. Shifting gears for kid's summertime and just making art for me right now. The reality is... I can't stop making art. I can't NOT do it. It's too much a part of me. I saw a great poster on Etsy, exactly at the right time. It said: "I just want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares." Sounds kind of sad and funny... it resonates. I always go back to Corita Kent and her rules for art. My fave: "The only rule is work." So, I will work.

Celebrate the Solstice!

Illustration for the corgi book that is slowly being completed. (linocut)

Wow, the longest day of the year... and the beginning of new things. I've been painting on canvas on the easel... alongside 2 other artists. (we have tandem easels!) Sharing the paintings would be nice except some little elf broke my camera and... well, it's complicated.

Check out our daughter's new flip flops... golden like the solstice with butterflies. Perfectly summer. Dance around a midsummer bonfire or campfire tonight!

After the Party

Our son turned 8 about a week ago and these are the remnants of his 'first party'... the family party. (minus the train pile-up which he created to make room for the new toys and books he set up in photo no. 4 :) Yesterday was his 'kid party' where they played many field games, got hot, sweat and thirsty... played many more and finally pooped out. But, after drinks, chips and cake the kids were quickly resurrected. Oh to be 8 again!

Now that the party's over the girls in the family are treating ourselves to an outing. We are go to the Farm Chicks. Can't wait! Happy Sunday.

Shingle Shack Tree House - Cannon Beach

I finished up several gouache paintings today that had been percolating in the portfolio for quite some time. This scene is part of the fabulous little beach town of Cannon Beach. It's a good feeling to finally finish. It's now available in my etsy shop. Now on to the new!

Happy (almost) Friday :)

Rambling at Cannon Beach

Love the sign... looks just like a woodcut.

I was dying to eat at this place... but we never made it. It didn't look very kid friendly either - but what a cute spot.. and the bill of fare - very tempting. That's the sign - Bistro - is the only name it had. Will try to find out if they have a web site!

We've just returned from a much needed, lovely trip to the beach and Portland, OR. It was great except for the fact that our car broke down as soon as we arrived in Portland (after about 6-7 hours of driving!) . We waited about an hour or more for a tow truck to come and take our sad car to the dealership and ended up renting a car so we could still get to our 'beach leg' of the trip. Who can tell what's going to happen in a day!?

I took about a million photographs that are all potential paintings :) Now, I'm thinking about school starting on Aug 31 (yipes! we're nowhere near ready). I've been purging in the house, de-cluttering and clearing space for a calm, serene dwelling in the fall and winter. Our little girl will be going off to her first year of pre-school (she's got a Sept birthday and will be one of the older ones). Naturally, this is traumatic for moi... she's my baby! But, I'm thinking I may sooth myself by partaking in a bit of nesting and paint the living room, dining room, bathroom and hallway. :) Been wanting to do this for about 5 years now!

Summer Banners

Baby girl's banner...

Big brother's banner...

Special summer breakfast. (usually it's just Cheerios!)

I finally finished the first art quilt/fabric painted thing from all the 'Turtlemoon' exploration I've been doing since late spring -meaning the banners above. I used bias hem tape for the 'string' and it sure was easy just to open the package... no cutting out! Getting ready to start another big piece, I just have to decide on the subject matter. Better get back to the old sketchbook (drawing board sounds better!)

Summer Chamomile

Latest art quilt underway... it's summer, so of course I had to do a beach scene. Here it is drying in the hot sun.

The old water table is new all over again. I can't believe the hours of fun both of the kids have had with this thing. Our son dumped sand in it because he wanted to create the 'bottom of the ocean'. I thought the notion was pretty cool... not to mention my 3 1/2 yr old daughter asking every day, "Mama, where is heaven?" Makes for great conversation.

Here's the Granny's Flower Garden quilt I've been working on since late spring. I've had to back off a bit from it since looking down for such long periods actually gave me a stiff neck. Who knew hand sewing was a hazard to the old bod.

German chamomile that was grown from seed. I'm very proud of these little flowers since it's the ONLY thing planted from seed that ever grew from my amateur gardening hands.

And all the while some good old fashioned jazz playing in the background. It's quickly becoming the soundtrack of summer 2010 for us at 'Midnight Pines'. (all the kids in the family chose that name for our dwelling since it houses a bunch of night owls... not to mention all the Ponderosa pines in the yard.) Happy weekend :

More French Drawings...

Here are few more drawings... they are pretty 'doodly.' I don't know if they'll even make it into the shop because I'm not that happy with them. Maybe the sketchbook is a good place to go right now and hash out a few ideas.

It has been very warm here and the flowers are growing like crazy. There's nothing like checking the garden every morning to see how much growth there was. I like being that kind of 'busy' :) Thank you, summer, for finally arriving in our neck of the woods.