More miscellaneous

 

Miscellaneous

 

I want to add a tree but maybe I should stop now.

I really hate this but will post it just so I remember what not to do.

This started with some twigs from my yard. Coated them with brown paint and slapped them against the paper to create branches. Too faint. Added leaves, flowers, and a bee.

Can't decide about this one. Awful or acceptable.

No painting, just flowers and leaves from my yard hammered onto paper to release the colors.

My girls.

City girl goes to day camp.

Brooklyn girls on ship in East River, Manhattan in background.

Learning to paint.

Pressed (actually hammered) flowers. Nature's paint.

Soap bubbles. Experiment.

Soap bubbles with starfish and fish. Not one of my favs.

Just soap bubbles. 

More pressed flowers. Odd but interesting colors.

Just dragonflies. 

 

One of many fails, but I give myself an A for effort

 Here is the original photo, found on this blog. 

Below is my attempt to re-create it. I am not, not, not fishing for compliments. It's very so-so but I'm not unhappy with it. Next time I'll make sure the horizon is horizontal and I may ditch the foreground shrubs/trees/etc. This blogger keeps posting photos that make me want to paint. 

More paintings

 From the talented Margo of San Francisco.

More of my efforts.

More of my painting efforts

I’m not trying to be perfect or even good. Not ugly is all I’m aiming for. And relaxation. 

I’m so in!

 

First I cried a little. Then I gave the Dems $$$. Now I’m excited and hopeful. We can do this!

More beautiful paintings from painting friends

 

The top card is from Margo in San Francisco, my good friend since 1977 who is trying out our group. She's a busy lady so she might not continue but we've all enjoyed her contributions. She's been studying watercolor painting for a quite a few years and it shows. I've posted her paintings before. The second card and bookmark are from Zazzy who started this whole business. The bubbles are so delicate, light, and airy and the flowers are just right, not overdone. I've found that overdoing watercolors is a mistake. 

Not sure this will take, but I'm going to attempt posting every day. It's my way of dealing with the current state of affairs in my country. I MUST stop following politics. It's so depressing and demoralizing. Maybe if I direct my energies into blogging I can block it out.

Watercolor with friends

Here are the three wonderful cards I got from each of the three [other] card traders in Zazzy’s Great Art Project. I love them all! Humor, beauty, and whimsy.

I just mailed off my next three artistic attempts, which I’ll post after they reach the recipients. 

Lessons learned: my general style of life, in many ways, is to improvise, act impulsively, and not follow instructions. Watercolor painting does not lend itself to that particular set of traits. Can I change? Doubtful, but I’ll try. On the other hand I’m not a perfectionist which helps immensely.

The four of us, one in Australia, one in the UK a bit southeast of London, one in Missouri, and me in Maryland, are also chatting via WhatsApp, which I'm using for the first time. I guess it's a little like (or even just like?) texting with a group.

So far, I'm a little surprised at how often I pick up a brush and do a tiny bit of painting. I'm not very happy with most of my efforts. Some are OK, even fine. Some are not. But I'm stubbornly not going to reject any attempts I make. Watercolors are unforgiving. Correcting or changing something is almost impossible. I'll be half-way into a decent picture and then make one color choice that doesn't work and it's too late. So I plow on and finish the card. And send it off. 

And I stubbornly refuse to practice. Silly.

Zazzy’s Great Art Project

Zazzy, a blogger friend, invited me to join her Art Project. Four bloggers will attempt some watercolor painting and we’ll trade hand-painted cards. I recently  mailed my first attempt, floating balls, to Zazzy in Missouri, and today I’ll send my simple fish and my desert scene cards off to the other two traders, one in Australia and the other in Kent, UK. 

It was fun! We’ll see if I get any better with practice. I’m not counting on it. If this is the best I can do so be it.  Looking forward to cards now coming to me.