You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2012.
Sail Loft, Watercolor, 21" x 7.5"
This watercolor painting is inspired by the arrangement of a chair and music stand in the Sail Loft on the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Musicians from the Navy Band arrange to practice in this area. The musical arrangements are then performed at concerts and ceremonies both locally and on national tours. To hear music clips from the Navy Band and see their performing schedule, visit the U.S. Navy Band website.
These watercolor sketches show a contrast between a daytime scene and what it might look like at dusk. The house is Western View, the home of a friend’s grandparents and is located in rural Virginia.
Coffee with my Granddaughter, watercolor, 11" x 7"
This watercolor sketch is the only work I got done last week. I made another trip to help my daughter with her children since they all came down with the nasty virus. It was much more serious for the children, giving the 16-month old bronchitis and resulting in hospitalization for the 6 week old. Everyone is much better now.
But while I was there, I snatched a few minutes here and there to capture the morning’s activity… and then finished the sketch after I got home!
This watercolor painting was inspired by a visit to Assisi, Italy. There was a convocation of Franciscan monks later that day, but during the morning one could see the monks exploring this beautiful hilltop town.
I took the reference picture looking through a barrel arch which formed the entry into this sunny alley.
It was difficult to think of a watercolor example for this challenge. One of the things that my teachers have emphasized is to be careful when painting something unusual. If one paints a picture that doesn’t look right, the viewer is more likely to put the blame on the painter than on the subject matter. With that in mind, the following painting is unusual for me, a departure from the usual subject matter and approach. It is also the first work that I painted with watercolor on canvas.
The Music of the Spheres, Watercolor on Canvas, 24″ x 20″
This was painted for a show whose theme was “Music through an Artist’s Eyes.” The title comes from a hymn that was one of my favorites when I was a child. I remember asking what the phrase, “the music of the spheres,” meant and being told that at one time people believed that the earth was the center of the universe and everything else revolved around it. As other bodies orbited in concentric spheres, they produced tones, which when combined made music in the heavens.
I have been out-of-pocket for a little while, first helping with my granddaughters and then with a virus, and I have some blogging to catch up on. I have received my first blog award, the 7 x 7 Link Award, thanks to my blog friend, Katharine Trauger. As I understand it, the requirements of this award are:
- Thank my benefactors.
- Tell one unknown thing about me.
- Link to seven of my previous posts.
- Award seven other folks.
So, first of all, many thanks to Katharine Trauger. Katharine has a deep love for God and the Bible and a very clear way of expressing the truths found in the Scriptures. I have often found encouragement through her blog posts.
Since my blog focuses on my watercolors, there are many unknowns about me, but like Katharine, I have grown children, all of whom I home schooled at some point in their academic careers. I find that painting takes so much of my concentration that I deferred my interest in creating art while my children were at home. I determined that I was not going to tell them to “go away!” Now I have the time to focus and work without interruptions.
Since I started blogging at the beginning of the year, I don’t have a lot of previous posts to link to, but here are seven, chosen because these are some of my favorite pieces that I have shown.
- Nella Chiesa
- Brown Eggs
- North Head Lighthouse
- La Sera a Torgiano
- Coffee 3
- Severn River Sailing
- Which Cup is Yours?
The following are seven people to whom I would like to give this award. I have enjoyed their blogs and I think you might, too!
Since today is International Women’s Day, this post is about one of the most amazing women I know, my mother.
Mom is the younger of twins, born prematurely, small and fighting for her life. To me, this battle and her success characterizes her life. She is a determined person, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college, struggling against family pressures and choosing a career in special education so her life work would make the world a better place. When she was in college, she started having some health problems which were later diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis. Even though the disease landed her in the hospital at least once a year and several times had her paralyzed, she struggled back, teaching herself calligraphy and kneading bread dough to regain strength and dexterity in her hands, taking up long distance running at age 51 because she found it kept the M.S. in remission for a while. She raised five children, who have all graduated from college and are successful, happy people who enjoy getting together as a family. She taught literacy to adults as a volunteer, arriving at the lessons hobbling on her walker until the M.S. so affected her vocal muscles that she couldn’t talk clearly. She continues to encourage her family (including 19 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren) by texting on an iPad and writing cards even though she spends most of her time bedridden and her family lives all over the country. To me she is a stellar candidate for an exemplary woman and I am glad that she is my mother.
For more posts about International Women’s Day see: http://chittlechattle.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/international-womens-day-the-real-post/
This is the next painting in my Coffee series, inspired by all the different cups in our cabinet. Instead of rendering the cups with all the designs and colors, I have left them white and just painted in the shadows and reflected light. I limited myself to two pigments, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Siena.
“Which Cup is Yours?”, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 21.5″
