...more COLOR!

"Taylor in a Towel"

Sunday was the first day I have painted for several weeks.  Hey, I've been busy. I decided it was time to paint something summer-ish.  What could be more summer-ish than a smiling grandchild in a beach towel!? My daughter Rachel takes the most colorful and happy photos, so I like to STEAL them and make colorful and happy paintings! Thanks, Rach!!  Taylor will be entered in the Amador County Fair this year....this little painting will make people smile!

Seriously, portraits bring me the most joy. It is the one subject that I keep returning to whenever I need a lift. I love capturing the expressions most of all. I cannot say they are the easiest work, but they are by far the most satisfying. Children are engaging, and animals are just plain fun. I catch myself giggling while painting fur :)

Sometimes, I can go along for several weeks without wanting to paint~ it is like I am trying to work something out. I'll feel a sea change coming.  It is not always a comfortable feeling, it is just a little niggling at the back of my neck, I feel like I am forgetting something important. I feel listless, and bored. Then I will see an image...inspiration strikes and I can't wait to get in and start working!! 

I learned about saturated color while working with Casey White in Martinez during the eighties. I was putting a LOT of time in graphite and charcoal drawing, so color was not high on my priority list. When I saw her work at a local art show and met her, I knew she had knowledge that I needed. Her passion for rich, juicy color has stayed with me for all these years, and I am so grateful.  I used quite a lot of prismacolor pencil in this one. I love the vibrant colors in this portrait, and the love in Taylor's face just shines out of her eyes!

....Taylor gave this painting a "thumb's up" rating...

...celestial celebrations....

This gorgeous photo was found on the web-photographer unknown, but greatly appreciated.

What is it about the moon that is so intoxicating?  This Saturday night there will be a Super Moon…even during the most minor full moon I don’t sleep….I listen.                         On quiet nights on Fiddletown Road, sounds carry for long distances. Crickets and frogs, hunting packs of coyotes, deep-voiced great horned owls, big diesel trucks winding slowly up the curving road, the whizzzzz of a mosquito as it buzzes by your ear.

The soft rustle of the breeze in the tallest pines is a reminder of the night passing. You will often find me wrapped in Granny's quilt, sitting out on the deck, just listening.

....all is well.... 

...practice, practice....

"Mossy Walnuts"

I practice watercolor painting. Not like a physician practices medicine, rather I practice because watercolor is part craft and part magic. The craft is all about the learned skills-how to use the tools, how to master a wash, saving light, which colors blend well together. The magic comes from within the artist.  It is in the choices she makes ~ the colors she chooses for spring grasses, the way she shapes a branch.  

Some paintings ~ the special ones ~ have an extra...something...it is as if a higher power speaks through eye or hand, guiding the efforts of the artist.

So I practice. I seek inspiration in my daily travels. I choose my special blends of colors. I use my pens and pencils to enhance line and texture and color.  And every time I paint, I wait in anticipation of that moment when I feel the guidance of something beyond the normal experience that turns it into magic.


...art is born in the soul of the artist...

Summer evenings

The warmth from the day lingers and I settle on the deck. It has become a ritual. Listening to the crickets...all is quiet as the sun sets. I listen and hear clearly the small sounds of comfort. I hear the sound of a doe drinking in the barn, another munches her hay. The hens cluck in soft voices to each other as they settle on their perches for the night. 

The dogs lie at my feet, sighing with dog pleasures.  I am there.  All is well in their world.

Deeper and deeper sky blues and purples, shadows inky indigo, the light fades from the tips of the tallest pines on the ridge behind me.  

The robins like the twilight.  Their songs become more strident the darker it becomes. 

I count my blessings.  

...I have so much to be grateful for....

...summer nostalgia....

Reliable transportation :)

Walking through Pokerville Market tonight with my Pokerville Pizza and my good Cooper Vineyards Barbera, I watched several local grammar school kids grabbing snacks. They had on their summer gear, shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops. Their hair was messy and their legs were already showing a healthy tan. It was 87 degrees. PERFECT summer weather. 

I remember those days just as summer vacation began, running home from that last 1/2 day of school, report card in hand, yelling with my brother and friends. That unequaled feeling of freedom...that anticipation of carefree weeks and weeks and WEEKS of perfect sunny days and warm nights.  Barbecues and roasted marshmallows, music and...fun...watching Antioch's Fourth of July firework shows from our hillside backyard. I have great memories of going for rides in the back of my Dad's pick-up (before it was unsafe and illegal) down cool country lanes closely lined with spicy scented walnut and fruit trees...picking cherries by the bucketful out of a farmer friend's orchard. (Sandy, Wayne and Charlie will remember that ;) Dad would drive slowly ~ he always was fascinated to see how straight the farmers had made their rows. Mom would just sit and enjoy the views. I can remember the fresh smell of the irrigation canal that all the Byron kids liked to swim in, and the fluting sound of the wings of the mourning dove as they rose off the road just ahead of us. I remember exploring the twisting, rutted roads along the river and fishing for catfish with Craig and our cousins, and that day that I caught a large snapping turtle--Granny cut it's head off! I remember my cut-offs and bare feet and white-blonde pony tail. Later, I remember spending hours on horseback, just me and Maggie, exploring farm roads and watching wildlife. How thrilled I was to catch a glimpse of a  jack rabbit or a gopher snake! What simple, uncomplicated days and nights....


...I remember the sounds of laughter...   

...Gemini issues....

Yes, I know, it looks like a Wendy painting. :)

May is my birth month, and this year I am officially turning the age of 

"Old Enough to Know Better." 

Geminis are touted to be "ever youthful and fun", creative and clever, and of course, there is that all important battle between the light and the dark. 

So far, the light side is winning ~so far.

So when I opened my birthday gift from my Mom, who looks amazing, it included a bottle of Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream.  LMAO!  Yes, she is a Gemini, too. She is creative and clever and all those things. HA, HA, HA, Mom.... 

...rule #3 is "NEVER lose your sense of humor."

Volcano ~ Hen House

"Volcano ~ Hen House"

I have been admiring this hen house for years.  It is in Volcano on my daily route to work.  I have viewed it in all kinds of light ~ soft misty light, strong sunshine, sunset...it has a hundred different faces.  This is my favorite.  It is a bright, sunny, but cool morning~ about 8:30 am. The sunlight is just peaking over the ridge, back-lighting the trees. It highlights the wire and the edges of the roof line ~ casting lovely shadow patterns on the faded red paint. 

I had fun adding the green lichen on the building and the oak tree with my colored pencils....

I love to paint old buildings. I like painted surfaces, wire, old galvanized tin. Chicken houses have a special place in my heart. This house is hen-less, of course.  You can tell by the grass happily growing inside the wire pen. :) It needs hens.

Spring is here, friends. The hills are vibrant, lush green...painted with cobalt blue and quinacridone gold. Today, the trees are enjoying a sweet shower of rain, sprinkled with birdsong and sparkling diamond drops of light.  

....all is well at FiddleSong Studio...