My trip to Washington was to learn Adobe InDesign so I can put together the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. It was a business trip, of course. I worked very hard, of course. You’d expect nothing less of me, right? However, it was necessary to take another ferry ride to another town to visit […]
A California Artist Goes to Washington, part three
The reason for my visit to my friend Carol in Washington was to get some focused one-on-one help in learning to use Adobe InDesign. The reason for scheduling it in April was because I figured I’d have a decent number of drawings finished for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia, which is the purpose […]
A California Artist Goes to Washington, part two
In Washington, this California artist took her first yoga class. Being a get-‘er-dun sort of chick, I think we could have skipped the nap at the end, and possibly some of the soothing talk about erasing our minds at the beginning. (And how in the world is one supposed to “breathe with your spine”? I […]
A California Artist goes to Washington
Washington is a fantastically beautiful state. I’ve been there in many seasons and loved every one. The rain doesn’t bother me because I get to go home. The gray sometimes feels like a relief from relentless sunshine. Grape hyacinth become naturalized. There are trails in neighborhoods for walking. Churches offer coffee in their lobbies and […]
Four Benefits of Learning to Draw Before Learning to Paint
As a self-confessed color junkie, I’ve pondered the question of why pencil? Was I just a chicken? That’s all water under the bridge, and now I am just accepting the fact of 13 years of drawing with a late start to oil and mural painting. It ain’t all bad! Drawing in pencil helped me develop […]
Eight Reasons this California Artist Chose Pencil
My last post ended with this question: if I am so taken with color, a “color junkie”, then why did I choose graphite as my medium? Simple – I love to draw. Oh come on, there must be more to it than that! Okay, yes there is. 1. It is easy to find pencil and […]
Sources of Inspiration
Because I just began year #5 of blogging, I’m reposting some of my older articles for my newer readers. Hidden Garden 5, oil on canvas, 8×10, $90 Sometimes people ask what my sources of inspiration are. Most are probably asking about what gives me ideas for drawing or painting. It is an easy question to […]
Why Artists Choose Three Rivers, a rerun
Because I just began year 5 of blogging, I decided to repost some of my earlier blogs for my newer readers. When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices […]
Fourth Blogiversary
Today, April 16, I begin year #5 of blogging. There are many reasons that I blog. Since lists float my boat, here is the list for you: 1. It is fun. Remember Show-and-Tell in grammar school? For some kids it was a chore (and a chore for the rest of us to listen). For others, […]
Product or Process
In knitting, there are regular discussions about whether one is a product knitter or a process knitter. This is in reference to one’s motivation – is it the journey that you enjoy, or is it the destination? When it comes to drawing, I am both a process and a product artist. The pencil feels like […]