An Unusually Eclectic Studio Tour

Above, acrylic on canvas, watercolor, and acrylic on a drum. 

There are times when I look around the studio and am surprised by the sameness of my work that hangs on the walls. 

And there are other times, like today, when I look around and think to myself,  "My goodness, what an odd collection of media and style of working!"

Below, silver foiling, painted silk mandala, memory collage, watercolor birds, and acrylic birds.

Above, a feather collection, library, art & craft supplies, plus two watercolors and a fabric collage.

Below, acrylic baby crow, gold foiling on black canvas, and a watercolor cat.

Above, two watercolors and a fabric African theme collage on black canvas.

As long as the Nasturtiums are blooming, there is at least one (if not more) little bouquets of them in the house - and often on my desk.

Above, the desk side - which has a large opening to the front entry hall of the house. The studio is in the "sun room" of our quad home, and the light from here fills the entryway, when the front door is closed. We keep it open a lot, just to let more light in.

My art table, relatively clean at the moment. Lots of stuff under it - pastels, colored pencils, other drawing supplies, and meal worms for the Bluebirds. I order them in bulk, as it more economical that way.

The sliding door leads to the covered porch, where I spend most mornings drinking my hot tea and swinging while watching the birds who stop to visit.

Below, I'm sitting on the wicker porch swing enjoying my morning tea.

And a few more nasturtium bouquets for fun & color!

Hope you enjoyed a little visual tour of my creating space. I love the light in this room - it really helps, especially in winter and on dark, gloomy days, to remain more cheerful and creative! Nasturtiums help, too!

Mixing Media

Rockville Farm in Snowstorm - (c)Pat Dolan - mixed media - 10.5"w x 8"h

Getting back into painting has been more difficult than I had expected, however, a new issue of Watercolor Artist Magazine arrived yesterday full of fun ideas mixing different media with watercolor. In a way, it was just the "permission" I needed to experiment with a painting I was attempting to rescue. Working in watercolor can be quite restrictive, especially if one is a purist with the medium. Nearly all of my education with regard to watercolor has been from that purist perspective. But here artists are combining pure pigment dust particles with water in their watercolors! Others are using pastel sticks almost in equal measure with watercolors! What a liberating issue this is turning out to be!

On my easel, Rockview Farm in the snow has rested for several weeks. I was at an impasse as I had actually started this painting back in December, but then put it away when surgery arrived. Once I could paint again, I realized that the masking fluid that I had used to preserve the white snow had dried and firmly adhered itself permanently to the paper! So the painting sat, begun but frozen in time/space while I debated throwing it out or turning the paper over to begin a new work.

But then the magazine arrive, and I immediately got out some white acrylic paint, my colored pencils, my ultra-fine-line markers, along with the watercolors and went to town. It's certainly not my best painting ever! but it gives me the freedom to paint what I want HOW I want, using whatever media and/or tools I choose to achieve my goal. I'll make many mistakes along the way as I explore blending mediums in my work, but I'll be having a great time. And having fun is what being an artist is really all about!

Thoughts on Facebook and Blogging

Facebook is quite amazing, isn't it?

I've been Facebooking for many years - and Blogging for even longer (11 years and counting). Facebook, at first, was a great way to stay connected to my kids and grandkids... but now, only one of the three of them posts much on FB anymore. One is way too busy in his final year of college as a double major science whiz. The other one is a busy mom of 4 year old twins and she barely has time to eat, let alone sleep or doing anything on FB! The one who does post on FB is the manager of an organic farm affiliated with St. Joseph's University near Portland, Maine. I love her posts - lots of photos of fresh product, baby animals ever growing up, and all the labor intensive work that goes into farming. I've even painted (and posted) some from her photographs of sheep.

Over the years, my Facebooking revolved more around reading about fellow artists and photographers. It's been a great way to keep up with the swiftly changing world of art supplies, techniques, and styles as well as stay connected to artists whose work I admire.

And yes, I can & do keep in touch with family - near and far, via Facebook. And I'm able to keep up with some genealogical sites, too - which is cool as well as informative.

But more and more, I'm noticing that Facebook is fading in relevance, for me, for my family, and for my friends. And the politics of the past few years has definitely influenced, and for me, contaminated the air waves, the posts, the sharings, the photos, etc. I'm dreadfully tired of seeing that same face making with nasty expressions in so many places. Not to mention that catching up on Facebook these days takes a LOT of time!

I'm realizing that I am missing the thoughtful posts that blogging offers. While there's not the same back and forth dialoging that FB instantly provides, blogging is an opportunity for a more in-depth approach to whatever is on one's mind. Neither is fool-proof, of course. Lies and half-truths will abound. Opinions will rise to the foreground, but with blogging, there is the time/space required for more thoughtful consideration of whatever the topic. And fewer off-the-cuff responses that often miss the point of the conversation.

Finding blogs with detailed before, during, and after photos and explanations, particularly of art projects - this is delightful! It's even better when the artist provides a commentary about why they are choosing to do what they do when they do it, as well as HOW they do it. I guess that's what makes really great teachers, those who can share the internal processes as well as the external ones that lead from a concept through experimentation and into a completed work of art.

What I have lost is the "how to" find blogs that would interest me. There used to be a great way to be in a blog chain of sorts, to link up with other sites along the same line, to explore those writing about similar topics. I can't remember what it was - and that was years ago, anyway.

If anyone out there is listening/reading, would you offer your ideas and suggestions as to how to find other like-minded bloggers posting about their creative processes in watercolor, pastels, photography? Of nature, beauty, life and more? I'd love to learn more and to find the niche where I may fit in and learn from and share with others via blogging vs. Facebooking.

Thanks!

More "Old" Artwork - This Time: PASTELS!

Looking over the old pastel paintings, I'm surprised that they all are portraits. I rarely do portraits, yet pastel is a perfect medium for doing them.

Pastels are all concentrated color/pigment and one can work rather quickly with them or slowly, if that is preferred. The latest pastel artists are now doing watercolor and/or acrylic underpaintings prior to adding the pastel to complete the piece. Other artists are now using pastels in their mixed media work. Maybe it's time for me to play with pastels a bit!

The one below is a portrait of our son during those rebellious years... He grew up but remains a bit of a rebel. I guess he inherited that from my side of the family. Dad and I have both been considered rebels!

For anyone living in central Pennsylvania, our local Pastel Society is having a show at The State College Framing Company and Gallery for the next 6 weeks. Tne gala opening is tonight beginning at 5:30 in the Hill's Plaza on South Atherton Street. No, I'm not a current member, but I was when we first moved here! It's a great group!