m. p i l g r i m (art)

In November a couple weeks ago, I was going to go out with Himself, my Patrone, for a hike and a paint. Himself is the one that I married after my first master's degree, and a decade  after my mother warned me to get a job that pays .  However, it was too breezy.  Some plein air painters would say, "that's what happens with painting outside," but I'm still too new to the genre to pull it off. So, I opened up an old ipad that I've repurposed into a reference photo repository to find something worth painting, (this is a pretty genius way to access reference photos, because you can pinch in to see details and isolate color) and came up with this image from Crescent Moon State Park, near Sedona.  .   I frequently begin my initial blocking in, and many of the later stages, without my glasses on.   I do this when painting out of door, as well.  It helps me to focus on the big shapes, and to ignore that anxiety that arises when I'm missing out on de...

  Badly planned, rapidly done. My first SP in oil.   You'll notice that I ran out of space. Did I say badly planned? I didn't plan it at all.  Where'd my chin go? Where? Rapidly done, on a 6x6 canvas board. I may yet poke at it to get rid of the darks around my nose.

 I joined a local group of plein air painters who goes to various locations around Albuquerque this past week.   It gave me a chance to test out my LEDER EASEL .  I bought this on Etsy, and it works pretty well, but you can save the maker the fees and buy it off his website .   Here's my set up at "Tres Pistoles" trailhead, or as the locals call it, "Three Gun".  This is the scene I chose.  I love the path, I love paths and roads. I love the shadows. I love the Sandias in the background.   I set up my board, pre-toned with transparent red oxide, and blocked in the scene.  For the sky, I chose magnesium blue. It wasn't a good choice. It's too transparent on top of that red oxide.   After roughing it in, I took is back to my home to work on it. Here's the end of the first day. Eventually, I felt like it was too "cool", including the sky, and decided I wanted to warm it up. I also felt it lacked some vibrancy, so I used some ...

 I like the silicoil brush-cleaning jars.  I do.  However, I'm not over the moon about them. They are not always leak-proof. When I travel, even if it's by car, I need more reassurance than that. The design is somewhat in efficient in that I can't remove the coil. I'm not 100% convince that the metal coil helps get the paint out from between the bristles as well as, say, a screen might. And then last week, when I was making cold brew coffee with my favorite setup I got to thinking about what a great brush washer that would make, if only it wasn't a quart large.  The screen would allow me to scrub the brush bristles gently.  Also, I like to dip my palette scraper in there from time to time and there's no room to do that with the silicoil jar. I was also thinking about all the canning jars I have.  I even have silicone lids for a number of them.  So, I purchased a very small cold-brew maker, one that fits into a pint or quart jar.  I also purchased...

 I used to try to grow tomatoes. However, they require attention and care, something that falls by the wayside when you're trying to grow a business. Luckily, I married a gardener. He took over the whole tomato growing enterprise this year and I was flush with them. I had tomatoes every day. It was heaven. This is the last tomato from this year's crop.  It popped out late in the season and I picked it this morning and quartered it.   I had some misgivings about painting tomatoes on an orange plate, but it turned out to be a fun exercise.  

 I admit to a tiny bit of hero worship to this guy . His tiny paintings of the mundane, ordinary things in life  are a wonder to behold.  He had a daily habit of painting a small painting and his rendering are amazing. The daily painting movement is designed to do this, to increase skill in rendering and painting. There are other movements as well, such as daily drawing, etc.  As a science-y type person, I have also wondered, if I painted a little painting from start to finish every single day, would *I* get better? I've had people comment things such as, "well as least you have your mother's talent." It's worth noting that actually, I received very little instruction from my mother. In fact, she discouraged me from a career in art, for practical reasons.  Anders Ericcson says that it is deliberate practice that results in expertise, not innate ability. ( You can read more about him here. ) And thus begins the experiment.   So here is: day 1. I d...

 Plein air painting has a lot in common with backpacking and painting.  In the beginning, you pack way too much stuff.  After hauling it around and struggling you finally sit down on your kitchen floor, unpack your gear, and start tossing things aside, "I don't need this--at least not enough to mess with it or carry it any distance. Still, I've been intrigued with developing this type of painting. I happen to live in one of the most visually and structurally interesting and pleasing areas in the US: New Mexico. Within a day's drive there is desert, mesas, rivers, forests, mountains.  I have a history of long-distance trail-running so being in the wilderness doesn't scare me.  I signed up for a plein air workshop through the New Mexico Art League. We have gone to three different locations so far. The first location was Placetas, New Mexico. I didn't really feel like I had a good view of the Mtn, and I wasn't inspired by the dotted houses on the hillside near...

 It behooves me to mention that I no longer have a studio.  I have a house, in which I paint. This past summer we spent a week in San Francisco in a friend's small apartment. When I got home I was thinking about space, and how one lives in their space.  My "studio" was a small extra bedroom that was darkly lit, and I was forever fiddling with the lights to get them bright enough in there.  Plus, it's also the room where I do Teletherapy, meaning I don't want all my easels and paints and related painting accoutrement in the background.  So finally I decided, enough. I'm a grownup, with a house. I rarely entertain, so why am I hanging on to that living room? We don't even have a TV in there.  I have a couple of Adeptus solid-wood flat pack carts, and one has a drop-leaf end . This is my tabouret. The other card holds drawing supplies and drawing pads.  They're both on wheels.   So here is the result: I presented it to my husband when he came ho...

 Throughout 2021 I've been trying to fit in that perfect work schedule and having time to paint.  I struggled with getting started again, and decided I needed to get more instruction.  I signed up for several art classes through the New Mexico Art League, including figure drawing, classical still life, and plein air.   I also attempted to re-enroll at the local community college, which has a decent little art department. It was a pretty onerous experience, with 19-year-olds explaining ot me that I needed to talk to an academic coach to get re-enrolled, and me telling them (repeatedly) I have advanced degrees, please just let me take some art classes.   Meanwhile: The Art League classes.  Advanced landscape painting I liked this class and felt at home here. I completed three paintings during the class. This first one I was not over the moon about. I feel like it's too Thomas Kinkade-ish. All that's missing is the glowing cabin.   Thi...