“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is a painting that is felt rather than seen.” Leonardo da Vinci
It always is fun to meet new people and you never know the stories that people you have never met will share. Such was the case last week while Alan and I were in Nashville TN.
I need to first back-up and put a back story to all of this.
“Drawing is the backbone. It is no good having a lovely sense of light and color if there isn’t the firm foundation underneath.” Alexander Creswell
This weekend was spent in Terri Myers Wentzka‘s studio paying attention to drawing and developing a composition for a future watercolor. It was a wonderful weekend with lots of personal attention and learning along side the other participants. Terri paints beautifully and her drawings are awesome.
Having just spent a week-end at our lake place near Alexandria, Minnesota I was struck by the beauty of the colors that just popped into peak fall color. Why does after 60+ years of noticing fall colors I am still in awe of what nature delivers to us this time of year? Spectacular once again!
A couple of weeks ago I painting this impression of fall colors and I think the thoughts of Mary Oliver in her poem,
It is Labor Day weekend so the labor of art is an appropriate topic.
I have spent the last couple of weeks (on and off ) working on a watercolor of a stack of rocks that someone had made in a ditch near our home. The painting idea began in my sketchbook with studies of positive/negative space, a focus on shapes, and then value drawings. I thought I would be able to go back to my studio with all sorts of reference drawings and begin the painting with confidence.
When I was young we would visit with my out of town grandparents. It was a trip that always held the anticipation for having good times, being spoiled, and a change from the home life routine.
After a week, as most kids probably discover, it became not as much fun. My bike was at home, friends were missed, and the few toys at Grandma and Grandpa’s were minimal. However, there were a stack of Arizona Highway magazines.