Comfort Cottage

The Best Laid Plans

The sun was shining, the air was warm, and all was right with the world.  It was the perfect day to grab my keys and take a drive through the country.  What could possibly go wrong on a day like that? 

The alarm bell should have gone off when I couldn't find the library that I had passed regularly for years.  (I'll explain that one later.)  On my second pass up the road, I saw it:  the quintessential symbol of rural Pennsylvania, a centuries-old stone barn.  It is a magnificent structure.  For years I have fantasized about getting the perfect photograph of this stately bastion of Pennsylvania history.  Unfortunately, there is only an eighteen inch wide "shoulder" on that road.  It is a narrow, winding two-lane path that was never meant to accomodate the number of drivers that careen madly over it's surface today.  Frustrated that I couldn't find my chosen destination, I caught sight of "my" barn and a seeming lunacy overtook me.  I pulled off the road and into a field.  The barn beckoned to me from it's perch high on a hill.  Checking quickly to be sure I didn't get flattened as I exited my car, I grabbed my camera and ran into the field.  I was almost giddy as I shot frame after frame.  As I was shooting, a nagging little voice whispered in my ear.  It was sort of like the one that Wiley Coyote must have heard while chasing the Roadrunner, when he realized he was no longer on terra firma - just before he plunged 1000 feet into the canyon.  I ignored the voice and kept shooting.

Finally, when carpal tunnel set in on my shutter finger, I packed up my gear and returned to my car.  It should have occurred to me.  A Mitsubishi Lancer was never meant to go off-roading.  I started the engine, stepped on the gas...and went nowhere, as clod's of mud and grass rained down on my hood and roof.  After a few fruitless attempts, I resigned myself to the inevitable:  I had to call my husband at work.  As my car sank up to its axles, I pondered.  How exactly does one say, "I'm stuck in a hole on the side of the road, honey."?  More importantly, how do I explain how I got there?  I had to call the company's emergency number, so needless to say, my husband's entire company knew.

We eventually freed my poor car with the combined brawn of my husband, my son, and a good samaritan who stopped to help.  Hours after I had started, I returned home with my family, toting various digging implements, pick-axes and my once beautiful car caked with mud and unidentified organic material.  Mercifully, my husband and son washed it, removing all evidence of my stupidity.  BUT:  I GOT THE SHOT :)  Would you like to see it?

 

Actually, I have a few more :)

 

 

 

Before I got into trouble, I had found another barn to photograph.

 

 Fortunately, there was a safe place to pull over for this one!

 

 

I had planned to share photos of a rug-hooking exhibit at the library, but I didn't make it there until today :)  I'll do a post on that at the beginning of next week.  I hope you enjoyed the tale of my photography adventures.  I pray you will have a blessed and wonderful Easter celebration.  Be safe, and we'll meet again soon.

 

Until next time,

 

Painting The Barn

Yesterday's post about the barn got me  to thinking.  What a great page for Strathmore's art journal workshop! 

 

 

Pennsylvania Barn

8" x 10"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. cold pressed paper

 

I took a few photos for you as I worked.

 

 

I began with a light pencil sketch.  I washed in the first layer on the barn with a mix of alizarin crimson and burnt sienna.  Using a crumpled tissue I blotted to create some underlying texture.

 

 

I deepened the wash on the window side and under the eaves.  I mixed in a little raw umber and paynes grey to suggest shadowing.  Using a  masque pen, I masked out some blades of dead grass and then washed the ground in raw sienna plus DaVinci Mauve (a deep purple).  I deepened the wash in places and placed touches of burnt sienna, raw umber and burnt umber.  I also splattered some of the ground mixes and also did some stippling with a dip pen and sepia ink.  I mixed darker washes for the ground below at the level of the foundation.  The evergreens were tapped in with hookers green and sap green.  I mixed a bit of burnt sienna in with the greens to tone them down a bit.  It was overcast that day, so I used a weak wash of Idanthrene Blue and Davinci Orange to get the muddy gray color of the sky.  I further deepened the area to the left by adding a bit more blue and some burnt sienna to the sky mix to add a little bit of drama.

 

 

I wanted to show you a close up of the grass before I removed the masking fluid.

 

 

The masquepen is a great way to block out fine lines for things like grass.  It preserves the lightest tones and whites while you complete the details, such as repeated washes, splattering and deeper strokes for the blades of grass.  When you're finished with those, a clean white eraser rubbed over the dried masking fluid will remove it easily.  Just don't leave it on for more than a day or so.  It might be tough to remove.

 

I did the roof in Paynes gray, bruised the paper with the end of the brush to simulate the grooves in the metal and then deepened parts of the wash further.  For the wood siding at the top of the barn, I washed in a mix of sepia and payne's gray.  I followed with varying mixes of burnt umber, burnt sienna, paynes gray, raw umber and raw sienna, stroked in with a size 2 round brush.  I inked in the details with a fine nib and sepia acrylic ink.  The dead tree branches are a weak mix of raw sienna and paynes gray.  I did some inking with sepia ink.

 

 

I love this old barn.  I hope it's around for another one hundred years.  If you would like to see the original photos and read about it's history, you can click here.  That's all for now!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

 

Art Journal Inspiration

Yesterday, my  hubby took the day off and we all went on a little road trip.  We traveled to upstate Pennsylvania, where some of his happiest memories live.  My father-in-law, now 90, owns the land that we visited.  His family built the one-hundred-year old barn that still stands on the property today. Just two years ago, at the ripe old age of 88, Dad put a new roof on it:  by himself.   This place has seen generations of my husband's family through good times and bad.  It provided sustenance to those who farmed it, and even during the depression, they never went hungry.  As I walk the paths today, I can hear the echoes of history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this little walk with me.  Even in winter, there is still beauty to be found.  Have a lovely weekend.

 

Until next time,

 

Maine From My Brush Tip

Strathmore's second online workshop began yesterday.  Our workshop leader is Cathy Johnson.  Cathy has published a number of books over the years about painting in watercolor.  Her book Creating Textures In Watercolor was the very first book I purchased  on this wonderful medium.  I decided to make my trip to Maine last summer the subject for my art journal for the workshop.   I wanted to express my emotion for this amazing place in a more visceral way than I could with the camera alone.

 

 

Cathy is encouraging us to paint from life, but unfortunately, a congenital abnormality in my vision prevents this.  I don't see with both eyes simultaneously-my vision continually switches between the right and left eye.  My brain can't fuse the two.  Consequently,  when I try to draw from life without surrounding visual cues, such as the edge of a photograph, I end up drawing from two different perspectives.  Alas, I must take plenty of accurate photographs and paint in the studio :)

I'll share a little of my process with you, so you can follow how I arrived at the finished product.

 

 

I began with a very light pencil drawing and then started laying in color.  I did a gradated wash of cobalt blue, and then blotted out some of the cloud areas.  I used payne's gray for the dark areas at the top of the lighthouse, and cadmium red medium for the small roof peak.  I mixed the red with payne's gray for the lamp.  I mixed cad red, cobalt blue and raw sienna for a muddy gray to shade under the eaves.  It initially looked too red, so I glazed a bit of payne's gray over the shadows.

 

 

I worked the branches with raw sienna and raw umber.  I tapped in the foliage with hookers green and leaf green.  I toned down both greens with a bit of burnt sienna mixed in.

 

 

I splattered in more color for texture in the foliage.  I laid in a wash of raw sienna for the ground, and then splattered and blotted to give texture.  I used the same green mixes for the ground.  Very pale dry brushing and washing was added to the walls of the building with raw sienna and burnt sienna.

 

 

I deepened my colors and then began inking in the details.  I used a black Sakura Pigma Micron 02 pen to add a bit of line work around the windows, walls, and roof.  I used a dip pen with a fine nib for the rest of the line work.  I worked the details in FW acrylic inks:  sap green for trees and grass, sepia for branches and ground texture and cool grey for hints of brick work and siding on the building.

 

Bass Harbor Head Light

8" x 10"

Watercolor and Pen and Ink on 140lb. cold pressed paper

 

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my watercolor interpretation of the Maine coast as the workshop progresses.  I hope you'll join me for the adventure!

Until next time,

 

 

 

A Break From Christmas

I've been spending so much time working on my Christmas Journal and winter digital art lately!  I've kind of missed my watercolors.  I've had this painting on the table for awhile, and I decided to finish it.  Right about now, when the weather is drizzly, damp and cold, I'm really starting to miss Maine.  It's way too early in the season for that - not even officially winter yet.  Now, I have the next best thing:  a painting of Maine.  I used a photo I took in August of a scene in Stonington Harbor on Deer Isle.

 

 

Stonington Afternoon

Watercolor and pen and ink on 140lb. cold press paper

9 x 12

 

I can still dream!

 

Until next time,

 

Christmas Past

Another offering for Kim Klassen's Twelve Days of Texture!

 

 

I captured this image of a vintage bicycle last year.  The building it is leaning against dates back to the early 1700's.  My Photoshop CS5 recipe:

 

Bottom Layer:  Kim's Zuzu texture; blending mode:  normal; hue adjusted toward the magenta side; opacity: 77%

Photo Layer: In color; Blending mode set to Normal

Copy of Photo Layer:  photo converted to black and white; bumped up the curves settings; added a noise filter;  added a sepia toned photo filter; added a layer mask to loosely paint the poinsettias back in (I set the brush to 20% flow); blending mode:  Darken

I then merged the Photo layer and the Copy of Photo layer.

Top Layer:  Kim's Annabelle texture, inverted; blending mode: Color Dodge; opacity 100%

 To learn more about Kim, the Twelve Days of Texture, and for free textures, class offerings, and links to all of the "Twelve Days" participants, click here.

Have a fabulous day!

 

Until next time,

 

 

 

 

Love Came Down At Christmas

This was supposed to be Day 4 of Twelve Days of Texture at Kim Klassen Cafe, but it's after midnight.  It's now Day 5!

 

 

I used two of my photos for this one.  Both photo layers have a drybrush filter and a colored pencil filter applied to them.  I tweaked the settings until I got the look I was after.  I also used Kim's Cosmos texture above the photo layer, inverted, set to screen with a reduced opacity.  The font is Aquiline and the quote is by Christina G. Rosetti.  To see more texture art, click here to find all the links.

 

Until next time,

 

How's The Weather?

This is Day 2 of my Christmas journal. 

 

 

The weather for Day 2 was anything but Christmas-like.  It was downright balmy!  I shot these photographs on a day a few years ago that was much more appropriate for Christmas.

 

 

I had a little story I wanted to tell, so I added an insert.

Journaling:  When my sister and I were small, growing up in New Jersey, we had colossal snowstorms.  One winter, our Dad joined us outside.  He got a bucket and we filled it over and over, turning out piles of snow bricks.  We were fascinated as he worked with us, erecting a huge igloo in our backyard.  We had fun playing in it for a week!

 

 

I finally found a use for the sticky-back felt I found at the dollar store!

 

 

Journaling:  Now this is Winter...snow on the ground and a chill in the air, my breath turning to steam as it meets the frozen atmosphere.  There embedded in the crystaline powder is the evidence of a lonely traveler.  I am grateful for the warm shelter that is home.

 

Do you have a snowstorm story to share?  I'd love for you to share it here. 

 

Until next time,

 

Vintage Maine

I'm a little late with my Texture Tuesday project, but better late than never!  By now, you all know of my passion for all things Maine.  I took three of my photographs and turned them into vintage, well-worn postcards.

 

The first one is the marsh across from Seawall on Mount Desert Island.  I used two layers of Kim's Nature's Beauty texture over the photo.  Both layers were set to Soft Light at about 70 percent opacity.  I used the Vintage Companion texture over top of a layer of off-white for the border.  The texture layer was set to Multiply at 80 percent opacity.  I applied a brown photo filter the Vintage Companion texture at about 80 percent.  The font is Cygnet Round set to Bevel and Emboss down.  I reduced the 0pacity to fade it.  To give the photo that grainy look that vintage images have, I added added CS5's noise filter and checked the Monochromatic and Uniform boxes.  To imitate the look of worn-off color, I used the Eraser tool with various grunge brushes on the photo.  I also reduce the saturation of the photo.

 

 

My method for the second one is the same. 

 

 

I took this photo at Stonington Harbor on Deer Isle.  My method was a little different.  I only used one layer of texture over the photo - Bent Edges, set on Linear Burn at 21 percent.  I reduced the saturation of the photo and set the opacity to 94 percent.

 

 

If you would like to enjoy all of the beautiful work of Texture Tuesday's participants, head on over to Kim Klassen Cafe.  Kim offers free textures if you sign up and wonderful tutorials to get you up to speed in the wonderful world of digital artistry.

 

Until next time,

 

Solitude

I hope all of you had a fabulous Labor Day weekend!  I spent most of it dabbling in my studio, of course.  Today is Texture Tuesday over at Kim Klassen Cafe.  I used one of my photos from Schoodic Peninsula for the challenge.  I love the idea of a story board, so I combined that with two of Kim's incredible textures for this week's challenge.  I created the composition with Photoshop CS5.  I've included a description of techniques, so if you're not a Photoshop or Photoshop Elements user, feel free to ignore it!

 

Techniques

I began by filling the bottom layer with a solid, weak gray.  I used two layers of Cracker Jack 2 under the photo layer.  I wanted the crackle to be well-defined without being overpowering, so I adjusted the opacity of the texture layers until I was satisfied.  I set the photo layer to multiply.  On top of the photo, I used two layers of Serious Magic set to screen.  I sized them to fit the photo.   To give the photo a more faded look, I reduced its saturation by about 10%.   The font is PegsannaHMK set to soft light. There are two layers and I used a drop shadow under one layer.  I reduced the opacity of the drop shadow by about 50%.  For the color chips, I used the rectangular mask tool to make a small square.  I then modified the mask to feather by 20 pixels.  I added the color using the pastel brush from CS5's dry media collection. I made four more copies of the color chip and used the eyedropper to select colors from the photo, adding a different color overlay to each chip.  I merged the color chip layers and set them to multiply.  Finally, I used the eraser tool and a grunge brush to get rid of the photo's hard edge.  I condensed the whole composition using the merge visible command.

 

If you would like to see how all of our digital artists used Kim's textures, just click on the Texture Tuesdays icon in my right sidebar and it will take you to Kim Klassen Cafe.  Thank you, Kim, for hosting the challenge and for your wonderful textures!

 

Until next time,