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| First pass, Dying Mums, watercolor, 71/2 x 7 1/2", 2012 |
With my absentee ballot signed sealed and mailed, mum's the word on who I voted for, and mum's the word for any more political chat from me on this blog. Mum's the word too as my mums are dying in the garden as temperatures cool.
This is a non political work of art UNLESS you really hate mums and have a strong preference for asters as the superior flower of Fall? Above is my first pass, a work in progress. Below is my last pass, the finished work. What I'm really doing doing this watercolor is postponing my designing obligations one more day--procrastinating in other words. My cold is gone and it looks like tomorrow I will have to get back to work. I wouldn't be surprised if those pens have clogged up again.
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| Dying Mums, watercolor, 2012, Final pass |
Not sure what Dying Button Mums means.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the vote for?
At least I'm not too stupid to think the painting is bursting with a wonderful energy.
Pat bought 3 watercolours from Maga Fabler in Poland (see my sidebar)... they arrived yesterday. Really gorgeous.
Hope your headcold and aches and pains have gone.
Yes they have. Dying mums means just what it says. My mums are dying in the garden as the temperature drops. There's a lot of brown and a lot less white on those button mums.
DeleteAs for my vote in in the Presidential election 2012, it's done. I voted via absentee ballot this morning and mum is the word, (a phrase that means I'm not talking) as to who that vote was for. Thus ending any more political talk on this blog. From your response, I'd better add another sentence.
Other people's watercolors are lovely. This one has potential. What it tells me is that I could have made a living designing patterned fabrics and or wall paper, since I adore equality of positive and negative space in paintings--or actually all spaces in a composition being positive. I have no real desire to be a watercolorist. This is me doing a design side step--in other words procrastinating. Watercolor isn't strong enough for me; I'm very nearsighted. Watercolors are up close paintings. I like paintings that hit me from across the room, are high in contrast and strong in design. Aren't I getting to know my artistic self! That's what I'm here to do.
OK ... 'mum is the word' I get (the election seemed ages away and suddenly !!)...but mum as a flower is new to me; so either I've never heard of it or we call it something else :0)
DeleteAAAAAAHHHHHH chrysanthe....mums... sorry, the penny just dropped
Chrysanthemums, Mum for short.
DeleteI like this water color painting. It got deep darks and sparkle color, it's very dynamic.
ReplyDeleteThanks Roger. It was nice getting back to normal. I'm thinking I might just want to tint the paper with tea tomorrow to make those mums look more like they are dying. --As the flowers wither on the clump, they do have some beautiful colors you have to get real close to see.
Deletelike it alot linda !
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. I take it you did get my comments. I had a lot of trouble with word verification on your site and admittedly was losing patience. You can get rid of that in settings.
DeleteYes- you could make a living out of creating wall paper, patterned fabrics and even quilt designs. It's a valuable talent you have. As much as I love your portrait work and your brilliant paintings, your watercolors are a visual delight. But then, my first art love was quilting and I still think in terms of pattern and design.
ReplyDeleteI suspect once you get into the throes of your latest design commissions, your energy will rise to the occasion. (Or I could just be speaking out of my ass. Hahaha!)
I always enjoy your blog Linda. Glad you're feeling better.
Yes, I am thank you. As for the state of my design interruptus from painting: I have finished three of the projects and will finish the fourth today. As luck would have it, I did eventually stumble into my expertise. It was a hard trip.
DeleteWhen I went to high school(grad 1958), and was considering colleges, there was nothing said about career choices in art or anything else. Kids were left to figure that out with their parents. My parents thought I had to be a teacher. I thought I wanted to go to Pratt School of Design for fashion design in New York City. It was out of the question--too far from home, no dormitories, big,bad city, young defenseless female, blah-blah. Being a fine artist was out of the question too even though I could draw well. My dad said I would starve living in some attic if I went for that; did I want to be poor? No. I applied to U. of M. the school of architecture and design and was accepted. But all summer long before the first school year began, my parents talked teaching, teaching, teaching. There would always be a job for me teaching ( now don't laugh). So I switched to the LS&A curriculum and proceeded to flunk out. After writing a wonderful essay, I was accepted back in, but chose not to go and to go the the new art college in Detroit where once again the number of things you could do with a BA degree were never really discussed. It was car design, graphic design (lettering and advertising layout were the only design mentioned), FA sculpture or painting. I chose sculpture. I could draw, but I also liked to put things together; I liked to build structures. (I was eighteen when I sensed that).
When I say I think I could make a living at pattern design, I say it with a smile. Today at seventy one, I do know the various disciplines artistic kids can pursue and make their livelihood. And I do hope that in the high school art classes someone is talking to them about such things like pattern design in textiles, interior design, architectural design,special effects in film making (my favorite), stage set design ((Hockney's favorite), comedy writing and cartooning and all the rest, besides fine art sculpture and painting, advertising design, automotive design and, of course, teaching. I do hope guidance councilors and art teachers are guiding the artistically talented with regard to career choices and business practices and livelihood possibilities. I do hate to think of talented kids having to stumble around in the dark as I did. Thank God for destiny.
This is one of my favorite painting of yours, full of energy and contrasting colors. Thanks for your visit also.
ReplyDeleteWell thank you Helen. My pleasure to visit. I've been a little slack this last week. I was thrown for a loop suddenly being thrown back into design and I think I rebelled by getting a cold. But I'm better now and my design is under control. I'll have more time for aggravating myself with portraiture and playing with the watercolors.
DeleteReally beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret. It is such fun to walk out into the garden, zoom in on the flowers withering in the cold and noticing all the beautiful, subtle colors of decay. I played them up here in denial that indeed summer is over and we're seeing the last brilliant display before colorless winter. Maybe I'll try them again tomorrow and get something more morbid looking?
DeleteNow that is a great floral....woooo hoooooo I do love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Celeste. It was fun after T squares, angles, compasses, protractors and the like.
DeleteI wish my watercolors were so vibrant as yours! Love the dying mums!
ReplyDeleteAbandonment is the key. Pushing the color is the key. Stepping away from reality is the key.
DeleteTry it. It's fun. I needed some after sitting at the drafting table with my calculator. Thanks Judy.
They are not dying, they are making a fuss with all the intense colours which are mingled beautifully!! Ok, maybe they are dying in the garden, but at your painting they are alive and gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAs for votes and politics, not another mum about them! I've heard enough those days and still believe that people are out of their minds calling all this mess politics... grrr (of course I hope you see that I'm not referring to your posts and blog Linda-unfortunately I have many people around me who can cause that grrr with the minimum effort)
Hugs and smiles.
Thank you Konstantina. Sorry about my political thoughts popping up--thoughts I never really think about. The surge must have been due to having to vote my absentee ballot. When you're old--sixty and older--you can have an absentee ballot sent to you at home even though you're not going to be traveling on election day when everybody goes to the polls. I guess the young who make the rules think at sixty most likely you're infirm? I actually enjoyed my posts. Particularly the one where I showed some great examples of political paintings. The people who cause you that grr do so because they think their right and anybody who doesn't think as they do is wrong. Little do they know that both of you are right. That's the confusing part about politics and why its a waste of breath talking about them. The other topic to avoid is God and religion. There's a whole can of worms. Hugs and smiles back to you.
DeleteNo need to apologize my dear Linda, as I said, I wasn't referring to you. I'm a painfully and constantly thinking mind, thus I couldn't be anything less than a political mind too. But you're absolutely right, usually both sides are right. Then both sides must find a common spot of reference or the world would stay exactly as it is... which currently is a mess and here comes the grrr :)
DeleteLovely .
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was fun just getting back to the studio and doing some free hand painting of a non serious subject.
DeleteYou may think me a crackpot, but I really prefer the first pass, it is beautiful, free and loose and says just enough.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't decide to go on or not. Then I figured why not? On the first pass, I got intrigued
Deletewith drawing out from the wet paint puddles with the brush handle. On the second pass, I did a little more of that plus some dry brush swipes. I have difficulty letting paintings with frail looking colors be. Coming from sculpture and then building for many years, I like to FIRM things up. And that often leads to over doing when painting. These kinds of paintings I do for fun, I regard as potential hand painted stationery. You fold the picture in half, you have nice note paper--useful for my generation that still drops notes every now and then. :-)
Dying or not, I do love your mums! Beautiful, strong and so expressive.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathryn. Did I miss a post or two of yours? I was trying to catch up yesterday and I didn't see you. I'm going to scroll again as soon as Ellis unchains me from this drafting board.
DeleteDear Linda, this is an explosion of colours, I love this watercolor. Warm regards
ReplyDeleteThanks Eva. I just went and saw your hibiscus painting on the day I happened to have trashed my potted ones from the deck. I wintered them over from last year, and they came through--but not good enough to give us what we would call an abundance of blooms. We'll start with fresh next Spring. The mums always do well.
DeleteLove the free wheeling color and brushstrokes of the mums - they are so lively on their death beds! :) I find myself wondering just what their political thoughts are....
ReplyDeleteVery funny! Mum's the word from the mums.
DeleteThis painting is so fantastic!! Just wonderful. I like your bold use of black and white. rarely seen in watercolour. Just fab!!!
ReplyDeletei come to watercolor from acrylics. That explains it. Thanks Nora.
DeleteMAGNIFICO!!! Love it!
ReplyDelete