Sketches and Scribbles - Part Two

Here are some more of the sketches and scribbles I did in the life drawing sessions these last 4 weeks. The drawings here are all 5 or 10 minute poses (possibly one 15-minute pose).

Sketches and Scribbles - Part One

These are just some of the quick sketches from my Life Drawing sessions I did the last 4 weeks. Most weeks we started with 30-second poses for quick gesture drawing, and likewise some 2-minutes poses. Then we moved on to some 5, 10 and 15 minute poses, and eventually 20-minute poses which were the ones I tried to capture with pastel. But the quick ones were good experience too so I'm posting some of them here. The ones posted here are all 30-second and 2-minute poses.

My Studio

One of the things I was excited about with my new home in Florida was that I was going to be able to have one entire room to devote to being my studio! Except I've been in my house for 8 months now, and the studio room was the one room of the house that was still a wreck with boxes stacked all around. I also love quilting and fabric arts (though have not done much of it lately) so my studio also needed room for my sewing machine and fabrics, and I had boxes and boxes of fabrics and nowhere to put them.

Not to mention paintings, boxes of pastels, beading supplies, quilt batting, canvases, pastel paper.... I just needed more storage space. So finally this past Monday I went out to look at storage units at Home Depot. I had planned to just buy an open metal shelving unit, but while I was there I was quite taken by this inexpensive Martha Stewart 9-cube organizer that can accomodate fabric boxes that fit right into the cubes! The oraganizer is stackable so I bought two of them.

I had to shift things around a small bit to make room for the organizers, but that gave me a good spot to put the IKEA children's easel that my grandson and I love to use when he comes over for visits.

And the organizers look great. Some of the cubes I left open, and some I bought boxes for - so I now have boxes for things like acrylic paints, beading supplies, picture hanging supplies, small bits and bobs of fabric.

It looks so nice I may have to paint a picture today. :-) Or start a quilt!

Art Critiques

Beth Haizlip of the Art Guild of Orange Park holds a monthly critique session at her house, open to any members of the AGOP. You are allowed to bring up to three paintings and put them up on an easel for critiquing. It's a great experience. Beth has a wonderful eye, and the other members often have valuable comments to add as well.

In Beth's own words:

You man bring up to 3 paintings to be critiqued. I will put the painting up on an easel and anyone is free to comment, good or bad. You must have thick skin - but this will help you become a better artist. 

I've been going to them for the last few months, and find them a fun and valuable experience. I'm always in awe of the work done by other AGOP members! This was the last session before the summer break, and I brought the three "barn" paintings I had done this past week. The feedback was great and I've made some changes to the paintings as a result. Some of the critiques - such as my clouds - I had noticed myself. But some of the other advice was not something I would have thought of. So I always learn something new.

Canvas Rugs

For some time it has seemed to me that in this Internet age just about anything you could possibly want would be available somewhere in the world. Small niche markets that might have withered and died could revive and flourish with the economies of scale offered by reaching out to a worldwide market. 


But I have come up against a brick wall after hours and hours of googling, to find that apparently it just ain't so.


One thing I miss in my new home is area rugs. I love area rugs, especially oriental design. I had a few in my old home, but except for one they all had to be tossed in the trash when I headed south. The reason? I have one sweet elderly cat who I've owned since kittenhood, who in the last few years began *peeing* on every carpet in sight. I couldn't get them clean, had to throw out a few, replaced them with cheap carpet remnants. Those got peed on and had to be thrown out also. She's been to the vet multiple times and had multiple tests, and they can't find a thing wrong with her, and finally concluded it must be "emotional" .

So I got musing on my childhood and recalled what I had seen often back then - LINOLEUM area rugs, often in lovely oriental or floral designs. What a perfect idea that would be. Linoleum is made from natural materials so considered to be rather a "green" product. I found online articles about linoleum making a big trendy comeback in home decorating because of this. I was sure someone would have jumped into this niche market. 

But alas it seems not so. At least not that I can find, and I have googled and googled. I did find someone who agreed with me, though: Author Jane Powell, who wrote a book called "Linoleum". In a 2009 interview she said: 

 "I'm pathetically grateful to anyone who is a fan of the linoleum book—apparently it was ahead of its time. Probably my favorite vintage pattern is the linoleum oriental rug—I'd probably have one in my dining room if they still made them! All the beauty of an oriental rug with no need to worry about spilled red wine or cat barf [NOTE: or cat pee] —what's not to like?...I think there is somewhat of a resurgence, but it's based more on linoleum's "green" qualities—it's non-toxic and made from renewable resources, and gets you a few points towards LEED certification. No one seems inclined toward making the fabulous patterns again. I always joke that if I ever win the lottery I will open a linoleum factory." 

Dear Jane, I hope you will the lottery. I want those fabulous old patterns too. I'm so used to being able to get just about anything I could ever want at the touch of a computer key. It's an odd feeling to know exactly what I want and find it doesn't exist anywhere. 

The best I could find was *canvas* rugs. Beautiful works such as those at: http://canvasworksfloorcloths.com which are lovely but *way* out of my price range. Even their "blanks" to  create your own are way out of my price range, But in general that seems to be the way I must go. I've bought canvas and gesso and acrylic clear coat. I tried out an 18x18-inch sample, which I've posted above (the rug I plan to make will be round). Now I just have to decide what sort of patterns and paints I will use on the canvas. 

Alas it's not going to look anything like the lovely oriental-pattern linoleum rug I have in mind, but I guess it's the best I can do for now, or the best I can think of!