So much of my garden is dehydrated beyond the reach of even hose watering. The shaded hydrangeas that had a few blooms this spring (above) are as droopy as I've ever seen them, even with buckets of water. We need rain so badly.
It's been a restive weekend with a busy visit with the grands. Spent some time working on watercolors....with results that I'm especially thrilled about.
I feel like I'm in a bit of transition, art-wise. I've moved to using watercolor paper, though I find even that (Arches 140#cp) buckles--but it does take quite a bit of abuse! And so I'm getting used to that.
But more, I have these images in my mind, visions of other artworks I admire that I wish to emulate, but find myself unable to duplicate their techniques or results. Frustrating. I recognize that I've been in this spot before ... many times, actually. And I have to admit, difficult as it is, that there often comes from it a bit of growth, something added to my own work from all the concentration, and 'thinking' and 'searching' and 'figuring out.'
In the meantime, I'll keep up my daily practice and 'try' to keep my frustrations at a minimum while I work thru this period.
And I"ll keep praying for rain!
8 comments:
I love the way you have created an impressionistic view of this -- almost as if it were done in oils -- but much harder to achieve in watercolors. Good luck with the watercolor paper -- it will allow you to have so many more textures and achieve interesting effects.
Hugs,
Lorraine
Oh that dreadful transition period ... Its easier said than done, but when I'm in that spot (as we all are at times) I try to remember ~ it's the journey, not the destination ~
Sorry about your lack of rain. We received almost 1/2" last night... and our plants are loving it.
Your painting, the hydrangeas, does not show your frustration ...
very pretty, droop or not.
You are doing great in the WC class! And transition is a good thing, if we stay in only one place, we miss out on wonderful new experiences and growth.
A droopy garden always saddens me too...then I pick as many flowers and foliage that I can and put them in vases in the house...
Ronell
My little hydrangea, which I had nurtered as best as I could, still is so droopy and dry that I fear it will never recover. I think we ALL need rain in the south. Maybe the upcoming season will bring us some water.
And, oh my, do I ever understand that transition spot (as one who seems to go through it fairly regularly!) Still - keep going and you'll come out the other side much stronger! From personal experience, I'd add that, while it might be a good time to experiment, you want to be wary of abandoning one medium and jumping into another at this time ... it's easy to muddy up the waters right now!
;-) You are really doing BEAUTIFULLY with your watercolor work!
(By the way -- you will get little to no buckling from your 140# paper if you soak it really well then stretch and staple it down to a board.)
The fence in this just works perfect! As to your frustration; I seem to be in the same spot you are; I look, think, try and slowly INCH forward...Your art seems to have jumped forward so much in the past few months, just look back...
I just found this page of yours. I don't surf much cause I have dial up and takes me forever to comment. Trying to get cable but that's a whole other can of worms. That's taking forever. Sorry to hear you are in a rut. If I can ever answer any Questions or be of any help don't hesitate to ask. I'm glad to hear you are using H2O paper. I always soak , stretch, staple, and tape my paper on gator board. It won't get too rippled unless you really get it water logged.
The hydrangeas in your painting look like a little beacon of light. It's a lovely painting. I hope they (and you) will survive this awful weather you're having. I'm so glad to hear that you're using watercolor paper now--good for you! And transition means you're moving from one level to another...a good thing...as are all the exciting ideas for paintings you have.
I love your sketches. I'm praying for rain, too -- wherever it's needed, as it is so badly here on my mountain. It's a grief to see things wilting so -- but to use the water when it is so low seems a sin.
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