Roadtrip and Art

It's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. Life has been a little busy with family visiting and then taking a road trip to Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee for our niece's wedding.

I had never been to Nashville and had so much fun! It is THE place to visit for country music fans, but even if you aren't (which I am not for the most part), there is so much to see and do.

One of the places we visited was Leiper's Fork, a small art community that is still quite rural and very beautiful.

And then there was the wedding, which was just beautiful and so happy! We loved being there for it!

Back home I haven't done a lot of art. Somehow I got out of the rhythm and haven't quite found it again. But I will! I did play some more with charcoal and gesso and refined this drawing a little more. I'm glad I didn't stop where it was in my last blog post.

This below was a quick 30-minute drawing. I love the mood of it.

And then with this drawing below I covered the paper with oil bar and then drew on it with charcoal. It gives it a very different look. I also used some gesso for the highlights.

All of this black and white drawing reminded me of this amazing moth I found on our front steps a couple of weeks ago. It was big! And I found out it's called the giant leopard moth. I've never seen one before. What a beauty!

And, of course, there has to be color in my life. Lots of it! I finally finished this little cow painting a couple of days ago and it's already on the way to it's new home in California. Apparently the grass is greener there... :)

Speaking of color, I'm loving my new crochet project. It makes me happy!

Our weather has been gorgeous and our garden is exploding with color. I might have to do a blog post just with garden photos. In our climate, things bloom pretty much all year round, but never as beautifully and lusciously as in the spring.

Linking this to the fabulous creativity of Paint Party Friday. Go visit for more amazing art!!

Warm wishes for a sunny week for you!

❧ Silke

Another Week...

Dear friends, another week has passed and I don't have a whole lot of art to show for it. I managed to paint one little turtle. These little paintings are so much fun to do. Of the 30+ small paintings I have finished and listed this year, only five are still available. The rest have all flown out into the world, which makes my heart ver happy!

Much of my week has been spent preparing our tax return.  And any downtime I had, I spent drawing for Renata Loree's Expressions class. And let me tell you, there are real parallels for me with working on our taxes and drawing faces and hands.

This was an exercise of drawing with charcoal and white gesso.
At this stage the paper wasn't holing up too well, so I get to try again on different paper. 

With both it takes me a while to get into it, but once I do I actually find it quite engaging and relaxing.

Before I started being so creative I used to love numbers and adding things up. Of course now I'd rather paint. The same goes for drawing. It takes a long time and I'd rather paint. Until I get into it! And then I am in the zone and hours pass without me noticing.  

So, today I will finish our tax return and start another drawing. And this weekend I'll get ready for a family visit next week. I won't have much time to spend creatively, but wherever we go I plan to take my sketchbook and a few pencils with me.

As usual, I am linking to Paint Party Friday, the perfect place to visit if you want to be inspired!

With much love and gratitude,

❧ Silke