Maps and Birds...working in acrylic

 16 x 20"Acrylic and liquid Watercolor on gallery wrapped canvas

"The Elegance of Limits"

Other possible titles? "GPS Directions", "Orange States vs Yellow States" , "City Planning", "Gerrymandering", or "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"? Can you think of one?

This abstract started with a "paint throw" with Dr. Ph Martin's Hydrus Fine Art liquid watercolor out on the lawn one sunny afternoon in the fall in Florida.  Why?  Don't know...It just felt right.  I can't say why.  Throwing paint or splattering paint can free you up when you feel you've started painting way too tight.  

I've painted "on this" and "at this" for now maybe 4-5 months...dabbling here and there on it both in Florida and then here in Madison.  Sort of comforting knowing I had something unfinished that just needed some "dabbling" on.  This is not signed...so I must feel it's not completely done yet.  

Then at the same time, I had a title "Birds on a Wire" but  the painting hadn't started.  Sometimes it works that way too.  This is planned to be a diptych with two 16 x 20 canvas panels.  That's a lot of birds.  But birds are sort of theme with me this time of year and in this apartment up in the Sycamore Tree.  

I am still sketching and keeping my journals in watercolor but I am sort of off on an acrylic theme right now.  Friend, Mary, acknowledge this trend by sending me some lovely bird song.  Click here.  I hope it opens for you.  Just click on a bird to hear it sing.  

My journal for April has begun but it slowed down a bit.  Greg is thinking about his garden now as May approaches.  We went to the West Side Farmer's market this morning and got him some tomato plants to get him started.  I think I need to put them in the journal.  Also wonderful Cinnamon Scones.  

The Zoom Zentangle class is tomorrow afternoon.  That should be fun.  More on that later.  

In the Time of Daffodils.

As spring moves forward here in Madison (for our first spring here) we are fairly amazed how it has gone for -12 to 80 in such a short amount of time (or so it seems to us).  I do think Madison is having an unusually warm early April.  I was back in my Florida sandals yesterday!  

It won't hold.  I know that...I see rain ahead (much needed here) and then temps drop in the highs back to more normal like 50.  Still it pushed the flowering trees ahead and tons of sleeping daffodils in the area woke right up!  A sea of bright yellow everywhere.  Bloodroot popped up in the woods near the apartment here.  Forsythia bushes are yellow too and I can see the fruit trees pushing pale blossoms.  So now I pray temps don't drop down TOO far and injure any of them!  

We were out in the conservancy a few days ago...at that point still a sea of tans and browns...very little green.  But that will change soon with the rains and warmth.  The mother goose is on her nest and we saw a wild turkey ambling about.  A pair of wood ducks on the pond too.  I expect some insects will arrive too...I must remember to get some repellent.  Friends write from the cabin that the ice went off the lake this week.  

We are fully vaccinated now and University Oaks is offering vaccine to our families!  Julie and Mark and one of the grandkids will be over here getting their first ones tomorrow! 

 

I am signed up to participate in an art project on Thursday that involves dye and silk.  Wish me luck as this is way out of my comfort zone.  I'll let you know.