Thursday, March 27, 2014


'lavinia' ~ acrylic paint on hardboard, 5" x 7"

underneath lavinia lies almost all of the painting that i did for two weeks.  beneath her are two others that i spent hours - *days* on!   i have *glared* at this piece of hardboard, ha!  

watercolors and liquitex varnish in zecchi journal

i don't remember exactly, but i think lavinia was finished for a few days before i had any interest in painting again.  then one night i woke up and decided to paint in a little watercolor book that had a few blank pages left in it.  i looked at some of henry miller's paintings before i started, and then i painted what came to me.

watercolors and liquitex varnish in zecchi journal

i had so much fun!  effortless!   

watercolors and liquitex varnish in zecchi journal

houses, plants, and more houses...    

i've (carefully) covered these with liquitex satin varnish.  i like the way that it makes them look, and, no amount of water will make them run now.  i ordered kamar spray varnish to use in the future (after much going back and forth - to use toxic spray varnish or not).


i'm quite thoroughly under the spell of watercolors at this moment, and i think one reason is the isabey 3/0 squirrel mop brush that i got a couple of weeks ago.  it's a *joy* to paint with!


the small watercolor journal that is now finished.  i started it in 2010...


it was beautiful every day last week so i was out walking.  at this time of year i'm mostly looking for wet weather streams;  they're one of my absolute favorite things.  i like to walk beside them, knowing that in a few weeks they'll be gone.


 i was happy to see the first wildflowers!


 and tiny bones excavated from an owl pellet...


i think of last summer as the 'rust summer' because i found so many rusty cans for drawing on, but this spring/summer is off to a good start!

ruth

last fall i resolved to buy a good daypack - one with a hip belt and one that did *not* make my back sweaty!   i was determined to save up for one, no matter what, but i didn't have to because my sister gave me the pack that i wanted.  it's a mira 26, by osprey, and i've named her ruth.  she makes walking even better...


before i go, a couple of artists that have inspired me lately...   takatoshi sano and pablo auladell.

* * *

"Just as there are days when I can't talk or write French, so there are days when I can't draw at all, even a rectangle.  Itching to paint, nevertheless, I concentrate on color.  If I can achieve the color combinations I am after, to hell with the drawing (I can always go 'abstract' or 'non-quasi-modicus.')  So I begin mixing colors.  If i am in a quiet, patient mood I will lay down thin, transparent washes, working on three or four paintings at once, in order to permit each layer to dry before applying the next.  To work in this manner is a joy.  Though the procedure demands patience it also stimulates the flow of ideas.  One works cautiously and cunningly, as if stalking one's prey..."

~ Henry Miller, 'To Paint is to Love Again'

24 comments:

  1. I'm glad you persevered, the result was worth it. Love your little watercolours too.

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  2. Lavinia has beautiful color and such an innocent expression and I love the texture in the upper left corner. Oh your watercolors are so free! No wonder you love it so much...my fave...the second one...the composition is perfect.

    The woods and Ruth are MADE for each other...and you should be able to carry A LOT of art supplies on your walks now...WITHOUT a sweaty back. :)

    I love your blog posts. Have I told you that?

    xo

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  3. isabey ! my favorite ... i now have a isabey travel brush ( :
    i love your backpack and of course the paintings .
    xxoo

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  4. This post brings me great joy, Lynne. Thank you for Henry's words and glimpses of your always-inspiring work.
    xxxooo, sus

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  5. I love Lavinia, it's something about her eyes! It's funny sometimes, how when you keep going, you can create something really spectacular. I always find it's hard to believe that during the process!
    Happy walking days ahead. Now up here, if the rain would just stop :) or perhaps we could just send it where it's needed most.

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  6. Lavinia brings to mind those wonderful folk art Colonial portraits. Love her.
    Your watercolors remind me of my August Mack phase (18th-century impressionist).
    Wonderful! xo

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  7. Hello my lovely, Lavinia is a sweetheart love the green background and the little watercolour studies are priceless glad you are back playing with the old fav...so happy that you are also out and about shaking off the cobwebs and playing with rusty substrates ,poor prisma,s must get a workout lol your sister is a gem and you are spoilt lol luv ya

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  8. Lavinia is lovely and i would enjoy meeting her, she looks like a kind soul.
    congrats on your new pack Lynne, I wish you wonderful wanderings. our meadows are becoming lakes, and seasonal creeks are rushing, you would enjoy them. Thank you for sharing your brush... brushes we love are such a joy... now off i go to my watercolor painting... sweet spring to you.

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  9. I was delighted to see that you had taken the time to share a post...as always your art inspires me...I love the little houses. I also dream of owning an osprey. What special gift...

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    1. hey anita... smiling to see you... : )

      thank you about the little houses... i love them too! painting these effortless paintings i paint things that i have often *wanted* to paint, but haven't.

      i hope you do get an osprey one day. they're a dream...

      love...

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  10. mmmmmmmmmm Lynne, I love your house paintings so much, they are touching me in that place where I am right now... any sense of home, what home is tugs at my heart strings...so for now home is in my heart...she is there waiting to embrace what is for, missing. The colors make me smile and I need a lot of color right now...I need to know that no matter how grey my world might be right now that life remains colorful and brilliant. LOVE Ruth, oh the goodness of a good back backpack, years ago on two hiking trips in Wyoming I learned what a difference good hip straps can make, that no matter how much is stuffed in the pack that walking is almost effortless. I think you and Ruth are on the way to becoming very, very good traveling companions. Happy trails.xxxoooxxxx

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  11. Lynne, What a beautiful post and Henry Miller too! That is some back pack! I have been finding lots of rust too, I have a friend who would love those little bones, she makes beautiful jewelry with them. Your painting is always so calming to me. xoxo

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  12. She took a long time in coming but she's emerged filled with life and emotion. :) A lovely painting! I love your little watercolour sketches too, so beautiful in their spontaneity. I've found this post very inspiring as I'm slow to paint today, thinking I have to draw when all I really want to do is to play with some dreamy colours! Have a lovely weekend Lynne. xx

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  13. I sure do know about paintings under paintings! Lavinia keeps her secrets well!Thanks for sharing those other artist's names and work! Your little houses remind me of when I was a child and used to have a daydream about finding a little house in the woods that was just my size - furniture and all! haha! xOlivia

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  14. Siberian blue squirrel?? Nooooo! Profoundly shocked, sweet Lynne.

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    1. hi liz,

      i can understand your feeling shocked... i could write many, many things here in response, but i will only say that i understand...

      love...

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  15. Love the little bones, what a treasure. Also wonderful to see your paintings. <3

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  16. your pieces are so magical... and so happy that you will soon be out in the forest again.. such inspiration that I will certainly miss... like magical cold water creeks that disappear.. been looking for a good varnish.. sending big huglets.. xxxxxoxo

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  17. you are so focused. my love of art is so extensive that i am often all over the map. i must be crazy. your work is at the top of my list of must sees every time you post both here and on tumblr. any hope of an original of yours soon?

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  18. Sorry I am late... :) I am glad to have found you in the woods, I do so love the glimpses into your beautiful world. I too have a morbid fascination with owl pellets, I remember dissecting one as a child. Then for many years I drew Owls constantly!! Your little house paintings fill me with excitement with the energy they exude....

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  19. love your work SO much! it's so lovely to hear more about your supplies and inspirations to see your gorgeous paintings! i've been so into paintings that feel effortless lately too... and watercolors! a new found love! cannot wait to try that brush you mention! thank you for all of your inspiration!!! xo juliette

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  20. Your Henry Miller-esque watercolors are just perfect - they even look as if they came without effort!

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  21. Lovely post Lynne! I so love your work!!

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