This is work on a painting of the backyard pool- a classic above ground beauty, circa 1970 or there abouts. So far I’ve almost accomplished an under-painting – details defined in umber and washes of greyish blue and umber. I have lots of snap shots of this pool in my mind but my favorites are the darker ones – too cold to swim, a steely, cloudy day, leaves and japanese beetles floating on the water. I want to show it to you past its prime, listing a little and rust insulting the happy stripes. I was attracted to melancholic things as a kid and I still very much am – I think there’s a shadow of melancholy in almost everything I do. I’m happy to fully indulge that inclination for this picture. I’ll begin to add color this week (I might share a snippet of progress on instagram or facebook) and I’ll post the bleak scene here in full color next Wednesday.
perfectly wretched
A sharp eyed friend surprised me with this ruined Edwardian bodice.
In the years that I have been transforming these sorts of things there have only been one or two that were this fabulous. I love the faded greenish black color, the fine wool texture, the extensive wear and it’s personality and presence.
The lining and button holes have unexpected handstiching in bright red and there’s a little pocket on one side for a little watch maybe?
I can’t wait to take it apart and see what other suprises it has.
( thanks so much laura)
wild strawberries and bluettes
(click image for larger version)
I’ve been working on a sketch for a painting. The plants and trees and flowers have continued to be on my mind most. On the north side of the house, outside my bedroom window, there was a dogwood tree and just past the picnic table there was a funny little tree with round jingly leaves we called the money tree. I don’t know what it was – an alder maybe? I’m trying not to get too stuck on being botanically correct – I’ll drive myself nuts. The grass was sprinkled with bluettes, tiny wild strawberries, orange hawkweed (indian paintbrush), queen anne’s lace and purple clover. Ferns and violets grew in the shade near the stone wall and marched down the little hill.
This week I’ll start to make this into a painting. I’m also thinking about what to draw next: If I follow the violets down the little hill I could go across the road and past the wild tiger lilies into the far swamp. Or if I turn right at the dogwood tree I could show you the Japanese maple and a classic 1970’s above ground swimming pool. I’m leaning towards the pool.
this is where i am from
high tension wires – pencil drawing – 2013
That’s the subject for my year long drawing and painting project. The place where I grew up, my memories of the place and the experience. I’ve only made a couple rules: it must be two dimensional work on the aforementioned subject and I must post progress here each and every Wednesday of 2013. If I don’t work on it steadily every Wednesday of 2013 will be pretty humiliating for me. And that’s the idea, to push myself into the habit of drawing and painting regularly.
Today’s drawing is of the high tension wires (power lines), one of the far limits of my small self’s territory. And some things found closer to home – the lilacs, the big pale pink roses and the old gray fence that were just outside my back door.
happy holidays
And see you in 2013. I’ll be back on New Year’s day (postponed for at least a day or two- I’ve got the flu) with the details on my new year long drawing/painting project. I’ve continued to poke around in my old painting and drawing files as I get ready for my new experiment and I’ll leave you with one of my favorites.
(you can click the photo for a larger image)
I hope your holidays are lovely,
ann
drawing and painting
I used to draw and paint a lot.
merriwether lewis 2005 (after the Charles Willson Peale portrait)
illustration for film poster 2005
And my begining here, this blog, was making marks on paper – the cardboard horse project.
And then all of a sudden I was sewing. A lot. And as I sewed more and more the drawing and painting went away. I miss that kind of work and that kind of expression but even though I feel inspired in that direction I keep not doing it. It is very easy not to. So I’m making it mandatory and planning a project in the 2 dimensional world for 2013. I have figured out what it’s going to be, the focus, and I’m excited about it but I’m still working out the particulars of how I’m going to share it – when I get that figure out I’ll tell you all about it.
shop update
I’m having a little shop update Monday (12/17 – 2pm ny time), you’ve already seen some of the new things- toadstools and little owls – and there are a couple new ships as well. One is paper mache:
And the other is made from an antique quilt fragment – pretty grays and lilac.
Both have little owl captains.
There is also a new dark toadstool with a little teal owl perched underneath- both made from turn of the century garments.
The new things will be available in the shop on Monday- 12/17 at 2 pm (new york time).
please meet these owls…..
(special thanks to oscar the cat – you really nailed it oscar )
Find the sewing pattern to make your own little owls here.
new little birds
I made some little birds this past weekend and had fun photographing them today.
Fannie and her bundled up friends are in the shop.
fortuny collection
sponginess and some irregularity
These are the two of the qualities I wanted my mushrooms to have – a sense of sponginess and sometimes a little oddness in the shapes.
I also very much wanted a concave underside for the cap – that has been the biggest struggle in creating the patterns and process . I didn’t want to make something realistic or botanical, not this time anyway, but I did want a great deal of mushroom-ness. Mushroom strangeness. Also contributing to mushroom-ness, I hope, are the curvy stems and tilted caps – impossible balance but for stem bottoms weighted with glass bead fill thanks to a tip from abby glassenberg.
It’s marvelous stuff. It is also magical stuff- pretty and sparkly and there is some delight and ceremony in taking out the wooden box I keep it in and spooning a bit into the stem.
There are new Fortuny toad stools too- I’ll show you those and more new things from that collection tomorrow.