All the Lovely Colors - A beginning...

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." ~ Pablo Picasso

Thanks to a good friend and fellow artist, I have taken up the brush once again. It's been quite a hiatus. I've done art since I was a child and even took a year to study art when we moved to Tucson. In all that time I've never tried watercolor because it's so unpredictable. But as my life has gotten more and more unpredictable I've appreciated what this art medium has to say about just being in and enjoying the moment, being spontaneous, looking at things a new way, looking for beauty. Like many artists, I have this inner dialogue going on holding me back - that inner critic that tells me "no", "you can't", "you're not good enough." With Patti's nudge, I started acknowledging that other voice - that artist's voice that is tired of being ignored. It's awakening something and making me happy on the inside. I figure that can't help but spill out into a more joyous and satisfying outside. Life is hard - but it's also beautiful. You have to open yourself up to the beauty all around you (and it doesn't hurt at all to live in San Diego!) If nothing else I figure it will be cheaper than therapy and way more fun! This blog is mostly for my own enjoyment -  to record and enjoy this artistic journey which will likely also include some creative writing at times.

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. 

The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." – Norman Cousins

This is "The Beginning" of my new and colorful art walkabout - literally - because from 2017 forward I intend to carry a sketching travel kit with me everywhere seeking inspiration wherever I can find it! I've been researching for a week and this is what I've ordered. Got some things in the UK because of better prices and selections. Those items still coming, but I got my Gouletpens.com shipment today!

Contents of future travel kit:

• Stillman & Birn Delta softcover sketchbook ( 8.5x5.5 landscaped)
• Lamy Joy fountain pen w/ diff nibs & Duke 209 bent nib pen
• Noodlers inks for both line and washes of color
• 3 shades of gray Copia markers
• White Uni-Ball 153 Signo Broad Point Gel Pen
• 3 pocket brushes from Rosemaryandco.com - UK (squirrel mop, sable dagger, & sable rigger)
• On my wishlist (because I already spent all my Christmas money!) is this Whiskey Painters Master Travel Palette. 

Update: As of May 2018 I still haven't locked down on a medium. I love oil, watercolor, gouache, fountain pen urban sketching, oil pastels. Art makes me happy - so I do it a lot. I've always written poetry and love creative writing, so for lack of anywhere else to archive it, herein it resides. 

  

And so begins...

all the beautiful colors... and words!

...and words