Life is difficult . . . sometimes

This has been a very difficult season. Over the past three months, we lost three beloved members of our family. Following a broken hip and surgery in June, my mom had to enter hospice and lost her fight for life on July 23. In the first week of August, we had celebration of life services in our family circle for both my mom, age 90, and another great grandma, age 96. Both of these strong-hearted women had fallen and broken their hips within a week of each other, and they died within a week of each other. Even though we are so thankful that neither of them is in pain anymore, it is excruciatingly hard to lose your mom. And then this past week, the much-loved father of our daughter-in-law, died suddenly of pancreatic cancer. We feel like the earth is shifting beneath our feet. Yet it is in times like these that we know that God is walking through the pain and muck and overwhelming sadness with us. We are people of faith and we are holding on to God’s promise of good in our lives.

And we are actively living out this hope. In the midst of the grieving – exactly at the time when they say not to make any big decisions – we have joyfully stepped into the world of a puppy. On August 23, we picked up our newest family member, Clare, age 3 months, and she has quickly established herself as the center of our household. We are in week two, and our other dog, Kirby Puckett (age 13); and cats Zach (age 18) and Bailey (age 5) are coming to terms with this new intruder and there have been some occasional moments of calm in the house. Thank goodness! 

And I'm beginning to emerge from the brain fog of the traumas of this summer, and picking up my brushes again. It is a delight to be back in my studio and able to finish a painting started in the July online class with Artist Alicia Farris. It has been 6 weeks since that class, so it’s such a joy to be able to re-immerse myself in Alicia’s lovely watercolor techniques and complete this “face” painting of a contemplating woman. This painting used a limited palette of only six colors – three warm and three cool. Consider This, 9” x 11” on 300 lb. hot press watercolor paper, reflects the light and vibrant colors of a woman in deep thought.

Bold, Expressive Faces

Since the first part of April, I had been looking forward to this past week and the opportunity to participate in a  three-day online Zoom class with recognized artist, Alicia Farris (alicefarrisfineart.com). I had taken my first class from Alicia In 2019, when Paul and I, along with our cocker spaniel, Maddie, drove to Springfield, MO, to take an in-person, three-day watercolor class from her. Among her creative talents, Alicia is an extraordinary instructor in painting amazingly expressive faces – not portraits, but faces. Painting on hot press block watercolor paper, she employs a unique method of not mixing the paint, applying the paint in layers and using limited colors.

I started this week’s painting in class and then finished it up after the workshop ended. It is painted with just six colors and the application of five distinct layers of watercolor. “Alaskan Sourdough,” 9” x 11” watercolor is painted on 300 lb. Arches hot press paper. According to author Bailey Berg: “Being called a “sourdough” remains an honorific in Alaska. Over time it has become shorthand for an experienced Northerner, someone with tenacity, grit, and know-how who has survived untold battles with fickle Jack Frost.” (See: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-sourdough-alaska)

Thank you!

Special thanks to wonderful galleries and those who support original art. Sold today at Arts In Hand Gallery in Spooner, WI, “Where are the Sheep?” Thank you!

July ramblings

The quiet is noticeable here at the lake. After a long weekend of holiday cabin folk and nightly 4^th of July festivities, it so nice to hear the quiet again. And we are rejoicing that the rains finally came! After a month of intense heat and no rains, we’ve received almost 3” in 24 hours and it is such a blessing! No amount of hosepipe (BBC/Monty Don influence) watering can make up for actual rain! This spring, as a filler for two sections of our back garden, we broadcast flax seed. Due to the culinary habits of two main bunnies and deer, we no longer grow any veggies or phlox or gladioli . . . or  really anything with an ornamental garden tag on it! Those are all “blue-plate special” foods for these critters! But as I prefer not to have an 8’ fence right outside the kitchen door – we adapt, adapt, adapt. I’m not sure what immature flax looks like, but we have a lovely bright green carpet of thriving plants covering those two parts of the garden. And the flax has now become a favorite napping place for a beautiful deer. This doe feels right at home, and most afternoons she can be found taking a nap and leisurely nibbling the rogue gladioli volunteers coming up through the flax around her.

It's been a couple of difficult months – I’ve got lingering issues with my concussion from March and with the dramatic changes in my Mom’s health, it’s been a challenge to reconnect with the discipline and joy of painting. So I’m going back to basics – re-working what’s familiar and mixing it up with new techniques and watercolor paper. To prepare for an upcoming class with the international artist, Alicia Farris, I’m experimenting with her favorite paper – 300 lb. Arches Hot Press watercolor paper. Hot Press paper is much smoother and more sensitive to the amount of water and paint than my standard 300 lb. cold press paper. It will only tolerate so much “working,” which makes me use a lighter touch and be much more thoughtful in how I apply the paint.

This week’s painting is familiar, but it’s such a favorite of mine – Artist Point Light, 8” x 11” on 300 lb. Hot Press paper, features an iconic landmark in the northern community of Grand Marais.

4th of July

This used to be such a fun holiday, but after living in a lake community for a few years, I’m no longer a big fan. The fireworks and influx of cabin renters has made this a time to just tolerate rather than enjoy. There is sometimes a sense that “anything goes” when visitors come in for the weekend. And I’m not trying to be the big grouch here. But because we have dogs (now just one dog) that are terrified of fireworks, our evenings are often spent inside with the AC and TV on for background noise. O.k., I’m done with this rant!

This past two weeks have been extraordinarily difficult. On June 21, my mom fell and broke her hip, resulting in hip surgery that evening. Then less than 24 hours following surgery, she was discharged from the hospital back to her room at her care facility. It still seems unbelievable that after a surgery of this magnitude on a 90-year-old, insurance companies can dictate to health care professionals that it is time to discharge so quickly. (Is this another rant?!)  And then due to the ensuing and unmanageable level of pain, mom was moved to hospice care as of last Tuesday. It seems surreal that we should be at this point, but here we are. Life offers no guarantees, and we are so grateful for loving family and friends, and caring and supportive staff.

But today was a paint day. I’ve been holding on to and thinking about this photo since we came across this scene on our trip to North Carolina in early May. After almost 7 months of gray and snow in NW Wisconsin, the green of Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina seemed almost magical. It was our first visit to this area of the country, and we were astonished at the incredible beauty of this region. We traveled a myriad of narrow, winding roads through the Great Smoky, Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains. Rounding one especially rugged corner, we came out on this open meadow with a spectacular view of the mountain ranges in the distance, and this single shotgun-style cabin. A perfectly charming spot!

This week’s painting, Blue Ridge Home, 8” x 11” on 300 hot press watercolor paper, features this narrow cabin with symmetrical windows and a vista view up into the blue of the mountains.

Summertime!

Is there anything as nice as a day in June? The hot temperatures of a few weeks ago broke a couple of days ago and we are enjoying an absolutely perfect week. Thanks to the wonderful dragonflies, the mosquitos have diminished and our first meals on the deck have been so lovely. And the pontoon is in, so summer on Big Blake Lake is officially here!

One of my favorite photographers is Jan Swart and her photos of birch trees on the North Shore never fail to inspire me to paint these amazing trees . . . one more time! This week’s painting, Spring Woods, 9” x 12” on 300 lb. cold press watercolor paper, features the wonderful range of colors of a woodland in Spring.  

Coming out of the Gardens!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted on this blog and much has happened! The past month has been filled with digging in the dirt, cleaning up gardens, and planting flowers along with a couple of small patches of flax. Yes, flax! I’m hoping for a moment of those lovely blue flowers in our back yard! It’s also been a time of healing – the effects of my fall in March resulted in a concussion that I’m still recovering from. While I’m back to painting – which is a great relief for me – I’m having peripheral vision issues in my left eye, so Paul still won’t let me drive. The docs feel that I’m on the right road to a full recovery – it just takes a bit of time.

This week’s painting, Woodland Stream, 9” x 13” on 300 lb. cold press watercolor paper, celebrates the light of an early Spring shining in a wooded glade.