Pep Talk

It's going to snow . . . again. Who needs a PEP TALK? I do.

Boston

As I was watching the coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing on Monday, they kept playing the footage they had of the first explosion over and over and over. At some point I noticed that a small bouquet of yellow balloons rises into the air seconds after the smoke erupts - did you see that? It was an image that stayed with me, so I did a watercolor painting of it. 

Such a senseless act. I've only ever been a spectator at marathons but they are such a warm and, for lack of a better word, triumphant place. Hundreds or thousands of people run past you, mostly strangers, and you cheer and you cheer and you cheer. It's such an obvious testament to the human spirit, pushing through pain and distance to finish your race. Maybe that's what the balloons make me think of.

Dabbling in watercolor

I'll admit, I used to think of watercolor as kind of a "wimpy" medium. All ho-hum, take a nap, landscapes and vases of flowers. Lately though I've started noticing (I say this with full knowledge I'm - like with most things- behind the curve on this) some really interesting work being done with watercolor. Stuff that doesn't at all feel like something an old lady does in her spare time - apologies to the old lady watercolorists. There are some beautiful paintings and multi-medium pieces out there (I'm loving EvaJuliet Atelier, Amy Borrell, and Geninne Zlatkis) but watercolor isn't just showing up on paper, it's on throw pillows, scarves, dresses, shoes, everywhere! Here are a few things I've found while scouting the web:

1. Amy Borell print.

2. Placemat found on target.com

3. Dress from Modcloth.

4. Palette pillow from CB2 (no longer available).

5. Dinnerware from Target.

6. Shawl by artist Virginia Johnson.

So while I've been re-discovering my "art habit," I started giving watercolor the eye. I never paid much attention to it before but I find myself drawn to it now for a lot of reasons: the loose, translucent quality you can achieve and let's face it, it's less messy than other methods of painting and I can move it to and from my kitchen table (a.k.a. art studio) rather easily. I'm really liking adding a little watercolor to my drawings. I recently took an online watercolor class with Nicole's Classes, which was great because it "forced" me to spend some time with watercolor and actually complete some paintings. I need a little motivation most of the time. Below you'll see a few of the paintings I did. I'm liking it, I think I'll keep the ol' watercolors around.

In the beginning

Another little piece of inspiration for me. I've heard this Ira Glass interview before and I love what he has to say about the beginning of any creative endeavor.

Oliver Jeffers

I love this! Now it's here so I can always find it.