Dogs, cats, bees, rabbits, sheep, chickydoos, husband. Gardening, cooking, canning, cleaning, fixing, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, spinning, driving, hiking, reading, volunteering, working. I am never bored.
Email: robindodge@onesheephill.com
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I can finally eat this jar of jam.
Whoops, where'd the last 2 months go? Before I ramble on, here's my very overdue homework assignment, of a still life emphasizing white, or all the colors in white as the case may be. Done in pastel, 18x22.
The long story is that I've been struggling with an acrylic version of it for months now. Even with the special mediums that keep acrylic from drying so fast, it's still nearly impossible to get smooth transitions. At a certain point I had already invested so much time in it that I didn't want to just quit so I kept trudging away, getting more discouraged by the minute. When I decided to quit art altogether, I knew it was time to quit that painting and give this still life one more shot in my favorite medium. I once had an art instructor tell me that a real artist can create a beautiful artwork from any medium, no matter how ill-suited to the subject. I think this little jar of persimmon jam shows just how much I disagree.
I haven't just been struggling over this still life for the last 2 months - I've also been doing a fair number of plein air drawings. They've been challenging, and although I see progress, I definitely need more practice. The drawing trips themselves have been amazing. Just me and my dog, out in the woods, not noticing as the hours pass by. It's enough to make me want to keep trying.
It was a rather nice feeling, being able to take 2 months on an assignment. I think that's the way this pretend class is going to go from now on. My dog and I have mountains to climb.
Mon, 14 May 2012 05:33:07 GMT
Trading a Crown Vic for a tractor.
In about a month I'll be too old to join the CHP, which up until this point was one of my many fantasy career goals. I have plenty of others, like I5 Tomato Trucker, Professional Creator of Pretty Things, and Frye Building and Renovation Business Manager (the latter only applies if it involves working from our deck in my bikini with a margarita, otherwise he's on his own). Some type of farming has always been on the agenda as well, and it's taken a few different forms over the years. Sheep and alpacas perhaps. Maybe a Farm Tourism B&B. When I was young and impressionable I wanted to go into Viticulture until I was told that "women don't go into Viticulture" and by the time I found out that was laughably untrue I was already well on my way to LibraryLand.
It's good timing to be kicked out of the CHP before I ever joined. Having just attended the California Small Farm Conference, my future fantasy career as a farmer is much more clear. I met people from all walks of life with all different kinds of educational backgrounds who have somehow found land in California, somehow maneuvered through all the ridiculous regulations, and somehow managed to make a living at it. And there were plenty of people there who dispelled the notion that you must be young and able-bodied (and male) to be successful. It gave me hope of a future in almonds and bees and diversified farming and hell maybe I'll throw a few alpacas in there, and an art studio, and a Class A, and some business management too. It's my fantasy, I can ride my tractor in my bikini if I want to.
Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:38:56 GMT
Drapery conquered.
There are two things I used to leave out of my still lifes because I found them too challenging to draw: glass and fabric. And while I can't claim mastery of either of them yet, forcing myself to practice has made a huge difference in my confidence with both.
This week's pretend homework - still life emphasizing drapery, in charcoal on 18x24:
Sometimes I can hear certain teachers in my head, and I know exactly what the critique would be of this. The fabric in the basket looks too "crunchy," almost like aluminum foil, and there's not enough contrast throughout. But I'm happy with it, because it feels like another barrier broken down. I can't wait to get back out to my studio for next week's pretend assignment, and finally some color after all these weeks of black and white.
Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:40:25 GMT
Pen and ink and global warming.
My pretend homework assignment this week was supposed to be a line drawing of a landscape subject, but I changed it just a bit to a pen and ink drawing. Subtle difference I suppose, depending on how one works with the medium, but I need more practice in that regard. Practice is what I got, as this took me HOURS. Still not sure I have this pen and ink business down, but it's been fun.
In other news around the farm, I finally planted the "winter" garden.
It'll be a battle to get all of this to sprout, what with my ongoing war with all the various pests. But I'm ready. I've got my Sluggo and gopher gas and Sevin and I'm not afraid to use them. If nothing else we'll have a bumper crop of cats this year.
And speaking of sprouting things, I'm not sure if I should be happy that we haven't had a winter, or concerned that global warming is moving along a little faster than expected. I love the warm weather, and it's certainly good for the vegetable crops. But I can't help but be a little freaked out that our Banksian roses are blooming, which isn't supposed to happen until April, and our elms are budding, which isn't supposed to happen until May. I'm used to an early spring in SoCal, but early as in WEEKS not MONTHS.
Oh well, still holding out hope for rain. And praying there won't be a hard freeze at this point. At least the warm, dry weather has been kind to the bees.
Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:05:54 GMT
Adventures in india ink.
My pretend assignment this week:
Done entirely in india ink with a brush and dip pen. It was a little like watercolor except for the intensity and permanence of the ink. Getting a smooth transition between values was difficult, but the enduring brush strokes are actually perfectly charming. For some reason I'm still tickled by all things black and white.
I think I should pause for a moment to say that I don't just pick up new tools and new mediums and know exactly what I'm doing right off the bat. I read about art technique OBSESSIVELY. If I'm not creating art, I'm reading about it. Here's my current ready-reference shelf - just the stuff I'm studying right now:
And then, after reading obsessively before starting any new medium, I do practice runs in my sketchbook just to be sure I have it down before tackling a bigger format. This was my practice pumpkin in india ink:
Still loving my pretend class. It's giving me all the focus I wanted, with none of the commute or rules or disagreeable instructors or SMC hipsters. Just me and my studio and the sunshine and bees. Heaven.
Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:21:03 GMT
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