March 10, 2018
At last! It's finished. Still haven't decided on the title.
'One Escaped'... 'Harmony in Red and Brown'.... 'Apple Basket' is not an option!
My desire to paint the basket was stirred by my delight in seeing old objects that wear a sense of their history. The basket has been in existence since circa 1850. That's a long life, with it passing through many hands and holding many items. Even during the 48 years I have owned the basket, it has held fresh eggs from the chicken coop, fresh vegetables from the garden, fresh flowers ( wrapped in wet newspaper) cut from the flower beds. The past few years it has been the keeper of some of my antique lace pieces. It also holds memories of where it has been in each of the homes I've we've lived in over the years. All of this is a part of what Wabi-Sabi, that Japanese aesthetic of what makes something beautiful.
A few days ago, a friend saw the blue color on the light side of the basket and asked if it had traces of blue paint on it. I explained that the blue she was seeing is the reflected light on a dark object. It reminded me of a time when I was traveling down a country highway with a friend and he mentioned that a house in the distance was painted blue. The house was white, but what he was seeing was the shadowed side of the house on a sunny day. The house was reflecting the color of the big blue sky overhead.
Colorfully,
Sandy

I started a new painting today, of one of my irises in my garden. Irises are one of my favorite flowers and the garden has about 40 of them scattered through out the beds. This one is called Champagne Elegance...one that I've had since the late 1990s. I was able to get lots of photos of it after a storm passed through this past May. As the cold weather is starting to come (it was 31* this morning!), its time to emerge myself in this delightful late spring memory.

It took three hours to draw all the details onto the watercolor paper. This allows me to enjoy the painting process without having to be concerned about where I will place each stroke of paint. Watercolor corrections can be very difficult at times.
Colorfully,
Sandy

BUMBLE BEES

watercolor, 13 1/2" x 10"

October 19, 2017
Finally completed this small painting of the foxglove flowers from my garden. It's more a study of bumble bees than the flower. I always have many foxgloves blooming in my late spring garden. These are the favorite flowers of those large carpenter bees. They were in heaven this year! I had more than 30 stalks in bloom at one time.

BROKEN #2

Watercolor created Jan. 2017 is now on exhibit at

the Muskegon Museum of Art

September 28 – November 8, 2017 

Muskegon Museum of Art 89th Regional 

Note from the MMA Curator…

“358 artists from around Michigan submitted 691 works for jurying. 156 works from 145 artists were ultimately selected. The level of craft, conceptual content, aesthetic, ambition, and scale was amazing, and made for a significant challenge for our juror, Petra Fallaux. Last year’s show was one of the most exciting, experimental, and materially and conceptually diverse Regional exhibitions in recent history, and this year’s selection builds on this success.

The features representational and abstract painting, sculpture, ceramics, installation, printmaking, drawing, textiles and fibers, and photography covering a range of subjects. Always a something-for-everyone experience, the 89th Regional offers an increased display of artistic skill and what we hope will be some real surprises.”

 

GOTHIC PLUMS

watercolor completed today, September 16, 2017

While shooting set-up ideas of the plums I bought at the Farmer's Market, I searched my studio and the rest of our cabin, for unusual or unexpected items to use with them. I came across the poster from the Chicago Art Institute, of Grant Wood's American Gothic. This has always been one of my favorite paintings, perhaps because Grant Wood was from Iowa, neighbor to my home state of Illinois. I've been to the tiny village where his studio was, and where he taught classes.

I placed the poster behind the set-up, just for fun. The farmer (Wood's dentist)was looking sternly at me for my foolishness, while his wife (Wood's sister) looked at the plums and wondered if she was suppose to make jam with them. 

You are cordially invited to view my newest painting at

Grand Haven, MI Art Walk 2017

Grand Haven ArtWalk is an annual collaboration of artists, local businesses and members of the lakeshore community in a collective celebration of art. Artists from the local area and beyond participate in an art competition in the following categories: drawing, painting, photography, sculpture(3D) and mixed media.

ArtWalk will take place Sept. 28- Oct. 8.

My venue this year is

J. MORGAN LTD fine jewelry   located at 119 Washington Ave. in Downtown Grand Haven.