I shot these when out with Chris John for a walk with the dogs. I really like these shots, however, they are not print worthy (I didn't use a tripod). So I'll just call them preliminaries for future shots.

This took me four nights to complete. The last night I had it just the graphite and thought to add color pencil to make it clear that it is a cap gun and not a real pistol. In retrospect, I wish I had left it without the colored pencil.

This is a quick sketch with pencil, ink and brush, and colored pencil on watercolor paper. This is Stormy napping in his new favorite place, on the futon in my studio where he can keep his eye on the duckling (Charlie).

This was taken this morning at about 8:15am outside my kitchen door. The sun poking through the warm mist really stuck me, it didn't transpose in this image as well as I'd hoped. However, it still holds the strength of those first warm spring mornings after a light rain. (Smells like earth.)

Getting the Garden Going...

So, last weekend I started planting cold weather friendly plants in the garden. We have a little plot by the "barn" (a.k.a. motorcycle shop) that I put cilantro, fennel, parsley, spinach, swiss chard, kale, arugula, butterhead lettuce and a salad bowl lettuce. I attempted to mulch it with shredded newspaper... which back fired - it's all over the yard, oh, and the rest of the neighborhood, now.


The main plot was also started last weekend. I plotted out where I'd be planting and put in beets, radishes, broccoli, carrots, onions, leeks, more kale, and more spinach around the garlic I started last fall. The garlic, by the way, is doing great. Most seem to have emerged and are about 8 inches high already.


This morning, I was surprised and happy to see that Josh had started to build me a fence around the garden (with the help of our good friend, Justin). We've been talking about doing this due to the dogs always pooping in and around the garden, and the chickens love to find their ways in when we let them roam. The chickens tend to do a little damage. While Josh finished off the fence, I started the mulching around the garden plots, with straw this time - I'm not messing around. Once the plants start to emerge I'll mulch some more around them to minimize the weeds.

Late October in Vermont - Garlic Panting

So I haven't been arting much as of late due to my studio being out of commission. I've been working up to finishing scraping wallpaper for a good 4 or more months now. Instead, this summer I focused much of my creative energy on my garden. Since summer is well gone now I've been thinking of what I'll be doing for the garden come spring.

This morning I decided to plant my garlic. I've never done garlic and last year I missed my chance by focusing too much energy on trying to find the perfect garlic to plant. This year I'm going another route all together and decided to just plant the cloves I have in my kitchen from the grocery store. What do I have to lose?

Josh and I have two big garden plots in the back yard and I have already decided where the garlic will go. The larger plot has an area by the green house that had peppers in it this last spring and summer. Since I can't use that space for peppers or tomatoes for another 3 years at least, I might as well put garlic in it.

Last year Josh and I built up small hills to plant in, this year I decided to level them out. I experienced some problems with the mounds and figured I'd try another method. I figure this will give me more flexibility when it comes to where and how I plant seed in the spring. For example, this fall with the garlic I want to plant a double row.


I marked out the area I'd plant in and dug out small holes with my spade. After reading that it is good to have a lot of organic material mixed with the soil for garlic, I was glad to see that the top part of the soil had lots of pine needles and leaves in it. This left the top part soft and I proceeded to dig a little into the harder earth underneath to give the bulbs some support.

Twenty holes for twenty garlic bulbs, perfect start to attempting garlic gardening. In went the garlic with the tip pointing up to the sky. I lightly patted down the softer earth on top. Since the winters are cold here in Vermont and the frozen ground will threaten to push out my bulbs I bedded the ground above the cloves with coffee chaff. (Coffee chaff is the light, airy husks that come off of coffee beans when roasted, we use it in the chicken coop, too.) And then on top of the chaff I added a layer of dried leaves (I attempted to mulch the leaves down with the push mower pretty unsuccessfully). Hopefully the leaves will keep the chaff from blowing away.

Now my garlic is planted and put to bed for the winter! I can't wait until spring when I get to seen the scapes push through the  ground!

Last Year's Botanical Illustrations

So here are the images of the botanicals I made for Josh's and my show last October. I have prints and note cards available. The originals are Ink and Watercolor and some of them are still available as well.

 

"Candy Striped Tulipa"

 

"Dogwood"

 

"Checker Lily"

 

"Hibiscus"

 

"Iris"

  

"Lilium"

  

"Man Orchid"

  

"Narcissus"

 

"Nasturtium"

 

"Potinara Rebecca Merkel"

 

"Tulipa Saxatilis"

Through the Music Group Show

I've submitted 5 new drawings to Through the Music Gallery's "Creatures and Monsters" Group art show. The opening is on November 6th and the show will be up from the 6th to the 25th. Check it out if you're in town.

October Show

Josh and I had a show at Through the Music Gallery last month (October) and we still have some of the work showing through this month. Check it out if you get a chance.

Through the Music News

Slacking

So I started a new job about a month ago and have been meaning to update the blog for some time now. I am working on new stuff and will plan on posting some images soon. Josh and I are planning on having our "annual" show of our own work in Through the Music Gallery this October, so I'm trying to get more work done when I have spare time.

Bones

So here I am drawing bones in ink... I like the medium, it's very similar to watercolor. I really like the subject... as creepy as that sounds, don't worry I'm using books as reference, I don't actually have human bones lying about... So this series is ATC (Artist Trading Card) size... My friend Casey got me into this size. They're only 2 1/2" X 3 1/2"... small... but it allows you to work quick, which I like, and they lend to fine detail as well... which can be good practice for other, larger works. I'm planning on doing a whole bunch of these... maybe 1-3 a week... we'll see how long it holds my interest. I'm hoping that it will lead to another project.

"Cranium"

Ink

"Cervical Spine and First Thoratic Vertebra"
Ink

Communication Arts

I was brave in the beginning of the month and actually submitted one of my illustrations to the Communication Arts Illustration Annual. Who knows if I'll get in, but I felt that I need to start doing these kinds of things. This is the image I submitted:

"A Murder of Crows"
Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, and Ink

I also convinced Josh to submit one of his photographs to the Photography Annual....

Some Bird Ladies

So I've been working on some illustrative pieces of birds with female faces. I really like the process and think I'll be showing some of them in my next Through the Music show in October. Unfortunately my titles are not so great, but whatever....

"Miss Robin"
Watercolor, Colored Pencil, and Ink

"The Puffin Matron"
Watercolor, Colored Pencil, and Ink

"Untitled"
Watercolor, Colored Pencil, and Ink

Encaustic Paintings

So a few months ago I got the courage up to try some encaustic painting. Here are some of the results:

"Sunrise on Wantastiquet Mountain"
Encaustic and Oil Pastel


"Lives of Robins"
Encaustic and Oil Pastel


"Crows Get Restless at Twilight"
Encaustic, Oil Pastel, and Ink

I haven't really had the time since then to try it out again, but I think I could really get to like the medium.

Hey if anybody knows where I could get an old plug-in pancake griddle, let me know.... it would help me be more efficient in my encaustic technique.

Hi

So this is my blog about art I've been working on. I'll keep you updated with what I'm doing and what shows I may have coming up, and anything else that maybe art related.