Run Lori Run!

certainties & doubts

God how I ricochet between certainities and doubts. ~ Sylvia Plath

This could not be more true.

I continue to paint.  Happy with my work one day and frustrated the next.  I am toying with the idea of scrapping Run Lori Run and designing a new logo with a new name.  Should I paint prints or make cards too?  Should I have a certain theme?  I have 1,000 ideas and not enough focus to get them done. I want to paint a plant series: poisonous plants, medicinal plants, edible plants... I want to paint a science series but every time I paint Neil deGrasse Tyson I want to chuck my paints out the window.  I cannot paint people.

The above work-in-progress was inspired by Climbing The Redwood Giants, a National Geographic documentary.  The part that got me was the stuff featuring Steve Sillett of Humboldt State University who climbs to the tops of these enormous trees and studies the canopy.  There is a whole ecosystem in the Redwood canopy: rhododendrons blooming, huckleberry bushes producing fruit, western hemlock trees growing 8 feet tall off a redwood branch. There are animals that never touch the ground and apparently live their entire lives in the tops of these trees. 

 

 

We hiked the John B Yeon Trail last weekend it was lovely.  Sometimes you just need to be in the middle of the forest to make you stop thinking about how much you suck at painting Neil de Grasse Tyson.

pluto

Pluto is a very underrepresented planet (ahem, I can still call it a planet if I want to...) in the art world, don't you think?   The moon gets all the love.  Solidarity for Pluto!

Playing With Gouache (and a science lesson)

This weekend was spent experimenting with gouache. I think I'm in love!  I really like the feel of the paint and opacity is a nice change from watercolor.  I'm on a science bent these days so next up:  anatomy diagrams!

p.s. I also tried to paint Neil deGrasse Tyson but alas his head looked somewhat like a potato so I will continue to practice.

Work

 

 

Do you ever feel like you have too many irons in the fire?  So many things going on that you can't focus and then you get absolutely nothing done?  That's where I am at the moment.  My tea towels are finished (yay!) so they'll be on their way to Hood River soon and I have some cards in the works so hopefully my etsy shop will be opened soon too (double yay!) 

What are you up to?

In Unison

I've been captivated recently by the phenomenon of murmuration.  You've probably seen the videos going around, this one is really popular. But how do they do it?  This article is pretty interesting:  "As Wired points out, this mechanism has more to do with physics than biology. Murmuration flight depends on the same principle that underlies a phase transition of a solid to a liquid or that some physicists say could cause the collapse of the universe. The molecular behavior of a body — whether it's ice in a hot room or a murmuration in flight — changes until it reaches a point where it can no longer exist in its current form. It becomes something else. It melts; it turns left."

Mind. Blown.

So my latest painting is an attempt to capture that feeling of awe when you look up and see hundreds of starlings dancing in unison.  An amazing thing.

Learning

Is it possible to take decent photographs inside a bleak, grey Portland house in winter? These days my photos are either cast in grey or yellow tones. Agh! I spiffied up a corner of my office to take pictures of my artwork because it gets the best light in the house but even then my photos are so dark!  That is my task this week:  learn to take better indoor photos. Any tips?

Seasons Change

I can't believe it's December already!

Every year I say that this year is going to be different. This year I'm not going to be completely overwhelmed.  This year I'm going to be stress-free, damn it!  But it never fails: I get this nervous twitch when I start seeing people on the news getting trampled over an ipad or a TV. So this season I am trying to simplify. (Not watching the news helps too.) My strategy this week has been to toss 90% of my holiday decorations. I feel downright liberated!  Now instead of lugging 4 bins full of crap out of the basement (broken Christmas lights, cookie tins from 1987) I now lug out Bert lugs out 1 magic bin of crap out of the basement! It's the little things, right? So what's your strategy to stress out less and enjoy the holiday season more? Do tell.

I've also been keeping busy by staring endlessly at blank watercolor paper.  My brush is poised and ready. But then.... nothing. I have all these ideas in my head for new paintings but getting them down on to paper is another story. 

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." I think the same goes for painting.

Falling Leaves

We've had a lovely week of sunshine around these parts lately- the leaves are changing, the air is crisp. I adore this weather! This usually means we switch gears to comfort food this time of year but I'm not ready!  This salad keeps me hanging on to summer... 

So are you up to your eyeballs in pumpkin lattes and butternut squash soup? Are you ready for the fuzzy socks and the fireplace?

p.s If you have half and inkling, make these doughnuts.  Seriously.

With A Friend

And I wonder why I always find cat hair in my paint...

I've been painting a lot of windows lately- looking out over gardens, out onto the ocean... And I have a few ideas sketched out to print on tea towels too if I ever get around to it.

And on a side note I am feeling rather excited/petrified that I just purchased this printer.  Quite an expense but worth it (I justify) if I want to start making my own prints and cards. One step closer to re-opening my etsy shop! 

These Days

These days I've been:

• Planting flowers- Dahlias, Liatris, Euphorbia
  
• Planting veggies- Copra onions, Red Zeppelin onions, Sugar Snax carrots
• Listening to– this song (Thanks Colleen!)
  
• Smelling- Rosemary in the garden, lots of curry in the kitchen
  
• Watching- Alias (so I'm a little behind), The Life of Pi
  
• Reading- Wildwood, The Years of Rice and Salt, maybe Daughter of Smoke and Bone
  
• Eating- Honey glazed salmon, Salad rolls
• Hoping- to build this bench this summer
  
• Planning- my next vacation
  
• Loving- Spring! Finally there's some action in the garden!
  
• Feeling- grateful for more sunshine, amazed when things actually start growing from seed on my windowsill.

What are you up to these days?