Gardening, Canning, and Self-Analyzing my Art.

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Well, I'm on my 10th day of Covid, I'm negative now, but still YUGGY!

Poor Hubby is hacking away and still +...all our big plans have been cancelled for two weekends, and we are going to have the Fish Boil next week if everyone tests negative.

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I have been in the garden this week. I did an 8 pint jars batch of Sauce; Hot peppers, garlic, onions, peppers and tomatoes...with lemon juice and salt. 

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Tomatoes taste fabulous this year, but they are just small and dense...crazy hot weather made everything stop producing for weeks. I didn't skin them, but blended the sauce with my creamer/blender.

We've had tons of rain, so every plant, bush, and flower is huge, but the veggie blossoms were too wet to be pollinated. Pickles are now drying up with crazy shaped weird cucumbers still on the vine. I never even did any fresh pickles made.

 The Crookneck bumpy Squash has been prolific and tasty. Last night we had small ones hollowed out and loaded with chopped Zucchini and squash seasoned and tossed with oil and Balsamic and roasted in the toaster/airfryer. NUM! I use salt free seasoning mixes and just a splash of Balsamic vinegar.

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Zucchinis of course are not there one day and then submarines the next. I don't think we will get any Beets, Chard or Carrots unless the large planters produce...it's so thick in there with squash leaves, who knows. Surprisingly the 'Broccoli has been good even with the heat. 

So much for vegetable gardening. 

Hubby has projects going (left for over a week) painting the back deck a dark forest green to give it a couple of more years of life. We will be doing paving stones professionally in the future, and repairing this and that. He has a new wire fence wall for the East side(for critter proofing----LOL), sitting and waiting for the mesh.

I managed to get the porch finally cleaned and cleared with the cooler weather, but I only seem to be able to do a couple of hours of anything.

In the studio....well...I'm taking an additional 10-day class with Louise Fletcher...in finding your style, finding what you like-through exercises and some serious analyzing of what you accomplish in class or don't. 

Do you paint/draw for yourself?---or others? 

Do you give a single bit about what others think?

What do you like about your work? 

What do you Dislike?

She asks some tough questions, and since I have no intention of ever selling anything...I do it for myself...but ....do I????

I share with you, for validation or to share the experience? 

Questions, Questions, Questions????

The classes are  supplemented with Q&A sessions as well as a sharing work on an FB private group. Golly I'm amazed at how so many students have such SERIOUS ANGST about putting fricking lines on a paper....jeesh! Louise's entire emphasis is on PLAY to see what you like doing? Interestingly it was the blind self portraits that people were angsting about...looking in a mirror at your own reflection...really!

Anyway, What I have learned so far.

I'm finding out...I don't like black (I already knew that) and I don't like white paper showing(I really don't like that). I love line/color movement and some sort of balance or composition. I love COLORS--all kinds of color. I love working in more than one media at the same time. I really work fast....so fast I am done far ahead of the timed sessions end. Here's a peek at a one of the studies.

15 minuted each, a Limited palette to mix your own colors, realistic subject matter, I chose watercolors as my main medium. No. 3-4 we added another drawing mediums first...then paint.

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My set up...with all the finished pieces. Each one was less than 15 minutes...except the last one was 14:50.

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No. 1...I was too caught up in the patterned cloth...and watercolor mushes when you work too fast and runs into each other. I was using colors full strength and too much water...so the colors are fighting each other.

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No.2 I worked in more simplified layers and got everything under control? I was compelled to paint blue/gray in the background...If I work on this further I will totally darken the background do a very dark shade.  I like the movement in the red cloth...the leaves are-Eh!

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No. 3 We added an additional drawing medium here (I chose watercolor gel sticks...which was the turquoise and bright yellow)-t

(These sticks break down in water and I LOVE THEM!)

The pitcher/pot got some attention and some gray/black/white treatment. My last bit was the dark green lines here and there...I like the mixing of the green/brown which was the red, blue and yellow mixed together. I actually left the white background...but, so want to paint it brown...lol.

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No. 4 Well by now I felt I had explored the horizontal, so I flipped the paper vertical.

The pot was worked/clarified with water color pencil and the wc gel sticks are the base of the leaves. I am happy with the stoneware/white glaze on the pot and actually left some paper white. I like the leaves in this one, using the red/green to create the brownish tones...bits of the dark green surfaced here also, and I would use more of that if I had time. This one was right down to the end of the 15 minute limit. I also like the red balance on this one...amazing how a color can take over a piece, and here the red doesn't.

MOST IMPORTANT...I'm learning to STOP when I am done, or satisfied....and not having to ponder on what to do next. Setting a piece aside and then going on to the next idea...on another paper. I think I will work everything in a series now, exploring what works and what doesn't. I'm still analyzing all my other class work with Louise, we have quite few projects yet to go. So that will be later...

Besides all the analyzing today, I used up a bunch of scraps and paper samples, cards, cardstock, printer paper, various papers ripped from sketchbooks, some with marks or splaxhes  and Aged/Altered them from techniques from Graphics Fairy in her Aging Papers series.  She really does share so much, I know she has a paid subscription, but I have been following her freebies for probably 10 years...and what a trip it's been. 

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The finished papers with the warm tones and neutrals with greens will be perfect for Fall projects. The Papers have coffee washes, washes made from Pthalo Green, black, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Pthalo Blue, Lemon Yellow Lt, splatters and lots of energy. I can't wait to use them in Collages and Drawings. 

I think once a week, I will just paint pieces for chopping up...for other works. Great way to utilize...mistakes, messes, and odd bits of papers. 

Well, that's it for today...Have a great holiday weekend, we are in quarrantine...so who knows what else will get done. New Mantra

Please Paint for Yourself!

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Thank you for your cooperation, 
Sandi 

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