molly irwin

warming up

Played with a few oil crayons today, warming up for a design project for an auction, that is coming up very soon.  I'm trying hard to put my desires into practice here on incorporating elements of the hand into my graphic design work and trying not to chicken out on this by going with a computer-generated visual. I'm really not feeling like this is the right image, but by end of day tomorrow I'd like to have a couple other oil pastels that are more on track for what I'm after. 

A good Saturday evening was spent at our neighborhood progressive potluck dinner.  It's really nice to know we are literally surrounded by such nice people. 

inside ... out

Okay, well, that didn't go so well. 

This little (very young) house sparrow somehow managed to get in our house, presumably through the chimney, last week.  I thought I'd use the photos I took for inspiration on a theme:  Inside ... out.  I started this on Friday, and worked it a little more today, but I'm just still not happy with it.  There is also, an acrylic on canvas that I've started and might share later on if I can get it to where I like it.  Just trying to paint with the kids talk, talk, talking ... asking me to look at their paintings, lots of interuptions, etc.  I couldn't get into a groove.  They managed to bang out a couple of awesome watercolors though.

One thing that I did like about the way I painted today, was to have two paintings going at the same time.  This way, I could allow the one to sort of sit and dry before adding new color layers to it, while working on the other.  I like that!  That, I'll do again and again. 

polka dot bouquet

Here's another acrylic on paper.  I guess I am completely into these vibrant colors because it's about 94 and sunny here. 

I must confess, however strangely though, my thoughts the past few evenings are already turning to fall.  Maybe it's the chill of the AC that necessitates a woolen throw.  The result is I'm making goals, including my free-time creative work as well as several professional projects, including a good deal more graphic design.  July is busy.  So busy with family visits and things.  So I'm thinking August: planning a little sewing, a little working with felt and a whole lot more painting, though I'm feeling a shift to watercolors coming on as we head into the fall.  My notebook is already splashed with ideas.

For now though, it's color.  Maybe I have one or two more vibrant summer projects in me before that shift happens.  Who knows?

beauty @ Home Depot

Amazing what you can find there, isn't it?

edit:  I just realized, maybe somebody might think I bought a painting at HD.  No, in fact I did this one.  Just posted it really fast.  Had been thinking about this flower for a week.  It really did have these little x shapes at its very core.  Never noticed that before, in a flower.  Their insides are so complex and fragile. Alas, it was a "full sun" option, and we needed the "shade" variety that day.  Still, I may go back and get one for a pot on my sunny back patio.   

Thanks for coming by.

greek salad & fried eggs

Can a salad be artful?  Yes!  Oh definately yes.  Eating well, with lots of color is important for us, body and soul.  I saw one similar in Whole Foods and thought it would be easy (& less expensive) to replicate at home.  so here's what I did:

1 zuccini, peeled, diced large

1 cucumber, peeled (striped), seeded, diced large

1 green pepper, diced large

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, diced fine

handful of fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 can pitted black olives, drained & sliced

1/2 block of feta, chopped fine

dressing: 2 Tbl. red wine vinegar, 3 Tbl. EVOO, pepper & salt to taste

It made a big bowl full.  Ohhhh so yummy and summery!  (Note to self: new digital camera would be very helpful.)

And after looking at the way this little guy (above) turned out, there was an obvious story line about the lives of these simple blooms revealed. Could not resist bordering with same.  It reads:  The small blushing flowers were sweating like fried eggs under the pressure of their imposing sunny competitors.

I'm off to photograph (with my better 35mm) some 2nd graders, hopefully interacting with their teacher.  Onward!

watercolor pencil peonies

I did a fun little exercise today.  Thanks to some very timely watercolor pencil tips from Kal Barteski, I felt rejuvenated and went right back to playing with my old Faber-Castells.   (Note: the “unsatisfactory dogwood” is pictured peaking out from beneath my pocket notebook.)   

Things I did differently this time:

+ relaxed my attitude/approached it as a doodle

+ used good paper: Strathmore, watercolor 90 lb.  (what do I think I'm saving it for?)

+ did not illustrate in pen and ink.  Used pencil to sketch out plan

+ chose a different subject from our daily walk.  A neighbor's peony.

+ borrowed Kal's subject-overlapping-border style.  (love that) It's absolutely a take-off on her work. Hope that's okay.

+  remembered from college art classes to use to variation in depth of color.  Was always timid about laying down too much color and consequently never had as much contrast as I would like.  Not so this time 'round.

+  could not help myselft, blended with brush a little too much. Oh well, no harsh critisism today.

+ looking at this reminds me of the peonies from the south side of my Granma's house by the cellar door.  Jotted down a few words about that memory. (Used a black, Zig Millenium .03 point)

I did this outside while the kids rode their bikes and kicked balls in the yard.  I made time to fit in a little project and Joan (5) really enjoyed (& learned from) seeing me do this.  I had to be outside to watch over them anyway, so it worked out well that I got to do something fun for me at the same time.  Although I see things that I will do differently going forward, I am only thinking those things as a result of having done this piece.  Gotta walk before you can run!

Overall I'm happy just having put the color down.  Happy day.

More

Today I sketched a dogwood leaf with watercolors.  It was so unsatisfactory that I don't want to share it here.   It's frustrating, this starting over, because I used to be pretty good at this stuff.  I just want my hands to match what my eyes are interpreting.  Is that too much to ask?  Rationally, I know it is, yes.  Too much since I am out of practice.  But I feel good about continuing this little-bit-each-day approach. 

Part of the reason I started this blog was to track my progress.  I'm hopeful that a year from now, I'll look back on these early posts and say: "oh, okay - I that's more like it."  I wish I could simply say to myself, no hurry, just living life like everybody else, but a BIG part of me feels a real growing urgency about this.  Only way to deal with that is to just do MORE of it. More sketching.  More playing around with materials.  More working it out.  More seeing where this will go. 

The drawing is only one of the skills sets I am working on, so I'll keep it up.  Better to start over now, than at 50 or 60.  My Dad (a very talented architect and artist) died leaving an empty sketch book - only the date line on the first blank page and then white throughout.  I don't want this to happen to me.  This idea of an ability, a talent left undeveloped.  I feel that if Dad were here now he would implore me to go through the pages wildly, documenting each discovery.  I have his old book and those pages are calling me.  I hear you Dad.

seeing

My hands are lacking the skill that comes with familiarity, with doing.  My brain is lacking the confidence I once had that I can draw.  But my soul desires the feeling of expression through forming shapes and lines so I serve this need daily in small ways.  In ten minutes before dinner time I can take the time to carefully look at something.  Drawing requires seeing more deeply; clearly.  I can sketch a representation of something recognizable, but in order to draw better we need to see better.  Quentin Blake said recently "we live under a bombardment of manufactured images, and in the face of that we need to be able to draw as a way of discovering the reality of the world about us, as well as the life in ourselves."   That sums up my renewed practice pretty well.

Happy weekend.  Happy Mother's Day.

a crayon sketch

Well, this is surely not high art -- you can see that I don't take myself too seriously.   Just testing out my new site and the uploading process for images.  This is just a little something I did when coloring with my kids the other day.   I could not get this out of my mind; always want to give credit for inspiration where its due.