Student Economy Art Supply List
Topic: Watercolor Class
I've spent ages trying to get this file small enough to take up less bandwidth so I could put it in my blog. In all that time I could have typed it. (I was trying to avoid having to type!) I couldn't get it smaller. I hope it will be legible. And since I wrote this list, I've been to one of the local art stores, Rockport Blueprint in Camden, and have learned what they carry (and have in stock) in this grade of watercolor. For the Reeves tubes they have a much larger set, 24 colors, about $13. They have a set of 12 tubes by ArtColor, for $6.95. I haven't finished my sampling of them yet. There is a very nice box of pan colors by Alvin, 12 pans, about $15. A new line of economy brushes by Robert Simmons called "Simply Simmons". They are only $2.99 a piece. I just got the 3/4" flat, and so far it is very nice. The biggest round brush of that make that they had is #10. They have a few in stock. This is not quite as big as I prefer but together with the big flat is a good combination... So here's testing. You should be able to drag this to your desktop and print it out.
Student Economy Art Supply List p. 1
Student Economy Art Supply List p. 2

Watercolor Class Lesson This Week - Barn and Flowers
Topic: Watercolor Class
This is the project I gave my watercolor class this week. I'd been saving this one for the return of one student who'd been away. I thought she'd like this one. (She did.) It's the barn and flower seedlings at Agricola Farm in Union. I was there on Open Farm Day in July set up with my cards and prints and paints. I worked on a different version of this scene (which I still haven't finished)..

We started our painting session with a lengthy warm-up of direct painting on practice paper. First exercise - create a pattern of color spots that express the quality of the flower bunches. Then paint around them with green. Do it all calligraphically. So as not to run the paint together and to maintain fluid brush strokes, leave space around the color spots (flowers).

Second exercise - paint the green shapes first, expressing some quality of foliage, and leave negative areas for the flowers. These white shapes, the negative areas, should have a feeling of groups of flowers. Paint in the color spots.

We did some follow-along practice for drawing the barn. By "follow-along", I mean that I demonstrate a line or two then the students copy on their own paper what I've just done. It is amazing just what a student can do when imitating step-by-step. After all, we learn to speak, to write, to do just about everything, by mimicry.

And then it was time to draw the scene loosely on the real watercolor paper and proceed to paint. We often get a bit nervous once we've done the drawing and it is time to paint. One student finally got herself through that stage but had to leave before she could get the flowers painted. She asked while packing up, with a look of glee, "We get to paint the flowers any color we want?" Yes. It was good to hear her have such anticipation for the work she'd do at home.

Ramblings: do we really make things happen?
Topic: Life
We get frustrated when things go wrong because we believe it is our actions that make things happen, that if we do xyz, then abc will inevitably take place. Because we put so much faith in this, we are inevitably frustrated or disappointed when things do not happen as planned. We believe this most strongly in our constant pursuit of machines, technology. We are under an illusion that we can control things. But I'm more and more convinced that things work because of intention, or because life in general works, not because we make them work. If Life didn't work in general, we just wouldn't be here. With all the mistakes people make, all our careless actions, by rights a lot more should be falling apart all over the place. Life in general goes right despite our actions and mistakes. Why is that? What is keeping that balance?

I can only believe it is the power of Life, the Universe ( God, All That Is, Spirit, Life force, Nature, call it what you will). Our actions are the expressions of our intentions and desires. The results of our actions are like tracks in the sands of matter showing where we were. We run after our machines and whatnot because we think doing so will make our lives better, safer, or whatever. And the irony is that the reason technology works, despite all the things we do wrong with it, is because the very thing which we think we don't have, a benevolent universe or spirit running through everything, is what is keeping everything working (most of the time).

We don't need the machines (and all the stuff), but right now they are the story we are in the middle of. If we could view them as no different than the words (language) with which we speak, the dishes we cook, the songs we sing, the rhythms we dance, that they are the ocean we swim in right now, we might find that our happiness comes from deciding to be happy and act in this play joyfully and meaningfully, rather than from whether or not we can get things to turn out the way we think they should. The fun, the life, is in the trying. A desired result happening is icing on the cake. I suppose though, there are some of us who only like icing. (I wonder if the real reason one likes icing is because it means cake, and cake means special occasions, ie. its you're birthday, you're special?)

I've probably mangled writing the above. Hope someone can make sense out of it, or find resonance in it. Maybe I'll manage to say it better another time.

I Do a Watercolor Demonstration at a Farmers Market
Topic: Art
The Camden Farmers Market invited me to set up with my art and do watercolor demonstrations. They try to have a different event or presenter every week. I sent an announcement to the paper that I'd be there and if time permitted I'd do mini art lessons. The market sent their own announcement, "Try Your Hand at Painting", saying that everyone at the market would have a chance. Oh boy.

Last Saturday was the day and it was perfect. And went a bit differently than I'd expected. First I finally got to meet a couple who have either gotten their orders from me by mail or picked them up outside my door.They'd seen the announcement and had come to say hello. Then I had a lovely experience with a couple who were wishing I had a print of belted galloways (the 'oreo cookie' cows Aldermere Farm, Rockport Maine, is famous for) in a smaller more oblong format.Their desire inspired me to try a painting in that format right then. They watched me paint it and then bought it.

I was quite busy all along selling prints and notecards while working on this "demonstration" even though I'd only brought a limited display and inventory. After I finished their painting, I worked on another version in a different style. This I just drew with rigger brush in ochre line. Got it pretty well drawn in. A boy (12-13?) from one of the vendors expressed a lot of interest in whether I worked in other media. I found out he is very interested in art, keeps a sketch book, but had never tried watercolor. He came by again to deliver a huge basket of goodies which the market vendors give to the event 'presenters' of the day. (My goodness what they put in there - meats, breads, jams, lots of veggies,). Then it dawned on me that he might have been wondering when the "try your own hand" or "mini lesson" would be. I'd been so caught up in everything that I'd forgotten about the "lesson". I called him back over and we set about doing a quick follow-along painting of belted galloway cows.( I realized later how appropriate the subject was for him - the family business is beef.) A professional illustrator, who was doing a booksigning at the market, came over to see my work and was very impressed with how the boy was painting. I said the boy had never done watercolor before but this was what happens in a follow-along lesson. It was good for the boy, who'd been saying to me that he wasn't doing well with his painting, to get such a spontaneous and genuine reaction from a professional illustrator.


The following is part of my thank you lettercard to the market vendors. Last year when I did a demonstration at the market I'd also had such a nice time and been so floored by their generosity that I felt compelled to draw a special farmers market card. This time I had an even better time, and so, made another lettercard.

And then there was your basket of treasures which still amazes me. It barely fit in my refrigerator there was so much food. Every meal I've had, I've been writing to you in my mind the descriptions. So please indulge my descriptions: I had a very late lunch after getting home Saturday because I had to spend quite a while writing a tale of the morning's experience to a friend. That completed and me starving, I could finally dig in. Slices of the long wheat loaf with (my own cheddar cheese) accompanied by the band of fruit flies that had just invaded and gone bananas all over the bread. That was a surprise. I had to put all breads right in the fridge. This was coupled with a cucumber sliced bit-by-bit and dipped in a simple wine vinegar, salt, and sugar mixture, until eaten (at one sitting). It has been a long time since I've had cucumber. I didn't realize how long one has one after one has eaten it... Dessert - a biscuit with raspberry jam.

For dinner I had several questions about foods I didn't recognize or had had no prior experience with. Fortunately, my landlord, who is also a chef, was working right outside my kitchen window working on the house. I stuck the scallions-young leeks-or green onions out the window at him. Young leeks, and watch for the soil that can collect just where the white turns to green. They look like they've been grown in high mulch to give them a long white section. And what is this bacci ball? Looks like a French? melon. It's like cantaloupe... I opened the packet of hamburger meat, formed a generous patty and sauteed in my cast iron skillet. It was soon cooked to a nice rareness. I put the hamburger aside on my plate to wait for the sliced potatoes and leeks which would cook in the pan where the hamburger had been. Just peek to see if the hamburger is cooked right. Oh that is delicious, there is a bit of sweetness to it and it doesn't need salt... It ended up being my first course while I stood there frying the potatoes and leeks. These too were so good even though they had to be eaten without the hamburger... And a 'bacci ball' melon for dessert.

And so, I have been eating like a king all week... I started the week wanting to write here about my farmers market experience, but ended up writing several versions for various other letters. It has taken me til now to write for here. I am putting aside for now my reactions to Katrina and her aftermath.
****************************************************************

Belted Galloway Notecards and Prints
Order Cards and Prints



Aldermere Farm, Rockport Maine
Camden Farmers Market

Found the answer to a problem previously described
Topic: Putting up a website
Well fancy that, I've made some more sense out of the options offered in the Tripod photo albums. I found out one can put links on the page to other pages. So I've now got "Home" links on each of my album pages. Must put "contact" or "to order" links as well as "next album".. links.

I find it interesting that I knew this was a problem, I tried to find an answer, found none; but when one of my siblings told me this needed changing and I defended myself saying there was no way to fix it just now, I felt prompted to
a) write about it
b) look again to see if I'd missed the answer
Sure enough, I had. The lesson being 'How we do affect one another whether we think so or not!' I'm sure there are other lessons in this too (besides the practical one of how to add a link to a Tripod photo album).