Happy Mothers Day!

So maybe my decision to post everyday was a bit ambitious considering my busy job an erratic moods.. Perhaps I'll have to rewrite my intentions for the blog and all but I see no resin to up and quit just because I may not draw every day.. Hopefully the few readers that started with me on my first post won't hold a grudge :)

Today's weather was perfect for outdoor drawing and it just so happens I needed a gift for Mother's Day. Since carrying a hanging basket while on crutches is out of the question I spread out my supplies on a bench next to the Milford duck pond (quack). As I worked it was geese (not ducks..) that surrounded me in their search for lunch.
From my lap to the frame to my moms kitchen walls, this piece of paper from my art bag has had quite a transformation .

2 weeks of crutches, 2 days of drawing

After not being so pleased about my broken up drawing session and limited mojo last night, I received a bit of a pep talk before taking out my art bag tonight. I crutched my way through the sliding door to the patio with a full glass of white in waiting and the advice to paint something comfortable ringing in my ears.

Admittedly so, Fridays nights with wine, barbecue pork nachos and an art project are pretty great. Throw in the company of my favorite guys and it doesn't get much better. Since watercolors are my "comfortable" medium, so I went with them. But due to the fast approaching sunset and my wine buzz.. i didn't detail the painting as much as i'd like to..

The nachos pictured above are the real art here.

Only a few minutes after i toss my iPhone back onto the grass and start cleaning up, I get a confused return call, "Wait, you are literally sitting in the cornfield.?" Yes, yes I was, last night, and not driving by it on route somewhere else. Surprising to me, I seemed to evoke similar responses from a few of my coworkers despite the fact that they are also kooky artists. So all day I've been mulling over locations. There are seemingly an infinite number of spots to sit and draw but I'm not nearly as brazen as i used to be when it comes to setting up shop on just any piece of property regardless of ownership.

I've been craving a few hours with some of the spectacular daffodils, but at the tail end of their season, I found a thick garden of tulips on the Milford Green.

My lesson of the day when it comes to finding a location to sit and draw a while, especially when slow moving and on crutches... Scout out bathroom options first. Its definitely not favorable to pack up, get in the car and drive around, only to settle on a pee break behind a closed mechanics garage with my car as interference. And besides the obvious frustration, this charade completely interrupts my creative flow.

I like the picture to the left far better than the finished piece. In any given drawing, there is a line that crosses into the land of overworked. I blasted past this line and made it all the way to messy-and-confusing-ville. One can never really know where the line is without coming up short or blowing past it... creative bracketing, indeed. Chalk (pastel?) it up to another for the portfolio and the second of thirty-one.

May Day, mayday!

A new month and the first day of this experiment of mine to save my sanity and stay productive. While this will be the first month since teenage years that I will not log a single mile of running, it will also be the first time since art school that I make a consistent effort in developing my art... Not in the form of a silicone prosthetic hand, a gift for a loved one or a t-shirt for a road race. Go figure, not a coincidence either. This past weekend a wise old man of nine years remarked how lucky I am to be passionate about my artwork when I can't rely on running as an outlet.



Getting going on my first project was a bit daunting. I almost emptied my gas tank to find just the right location and hiked around the orange community center on crutches with no inspiration. Frustrated, I hopped back in the car and landed at the cornfields near my parents house.

I wind down a perfectly warm sunny afternoon sitting on green grass and dandelions. Pastels are really the only tools in my bag that I can even think about capturing this scene with. Fairly new with them, I realise why I never liked using pastels. I don't think I was ever patient enough with them. Tonight I took my time layering colors before detail until I couldn't stand the chill of the air or the absence of workable light.