Abstract Art Blog

A Year of Making Art, Day 263: Baylands Nature Preserve

January 7, 2008 

Today we went to the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto, where we took a hike in the Byxbee Park Hills overlooking the marshes.  The park was created over a landfill and the hills contain up to sixty feet of garbage covered with clay and then topsoil.  Landscape architects and designers created the park as an environmental art form and recreation area.  Peter Richards and Michael Oppenheimer were the artists involved in the design.

The marsh waters were high after all  the rain this past week.  Ducks, geese, seagulls and other birds were numerous, as well as people out walking on this rare day of sunshine.

After that, we walked around downtown Palo Alto, eating lunch outdoors at a Mexican restaurant.  Here it is January, and we were eating OUTDOORS--a real treat!  We walked around checking out galleries, but most of them were closed because it is a Monday.

My drawing this morning took on an overall patterned design:

  Drawing #268  9" x 6"

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 262: No Rain

January 6, 2008  Day 262

We are now staying with our son Dan and his family in Palo Alto.  We had a day of no rain and took a nice long walk this morning through their neighborhood, observing plants and landscaping choices.  Palo Alto neighborhoods are so different from Ithaca, New York.  Land is very expensive in this part of California, and scarce, so people tend to put a lot of effort into making their small front yards look good.  They also have a lot longer growing season. 

My drawing today was another spare one: 

  Drawing #267  9" x 6"

There is a Miro exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Art this month and we are planning to go on Tuesday.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 261: We Brave the Storm

January 5, 2008  Day 261

Our drive to San Francisco yesterday was a bit precarious, with high winds, some flooding, and branches down, but because the traffic was light, we made it in good time.  We met my sister Mary at her office and had a great lunch with her at Fuzios.

Back in Los Gatos later, we played Catch Phrase, which was a lot of fun.  Then we continued work on the gingerbread house, which culminated in covering it in tons of colorful candy patterns. 

In today's drawing I used the Zig calligraphy brush pen again, and a fine point black pen:

  Drawing #266  9" x 6"

I'm ready to go home now and get back to work, but we have four more days.  At least this morning it's not raining (yet).

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 260: The Complexities of a Gingerbread House

January 4, 2008  Day 260

It is raining heavily here, and there is a snow blizzard in the Sierras.  We are supposed to go to San Francisco today to have lunch with my sister Mary.  So much for sunny California.

I did a quick 6" x 9" drawing today in black and pale green:

   Drawing #265  6" x 9"

The big project we are doing this week with our granddaughters is making a gingerbread house.  Using molded cast iron forms, we made the pieces of the house by pressing the dough firmly into the molds and then baking them.  It turned out that rolling the dough with a rolling pin created finer details than simply pressing with our fingers.  The next stage will be construction using special icing as the mortar. 

I also got to go to an Apple store today (we don't have one in Ithaca) and fell in love with the Imac. 

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 259: Life at the Philly Airport

January 3, 2008  Day 259

Yesterday it was freezing with snow and blustering wind as we walked from long-term parking to the airport.  Our flight to Philly was delayed and by the time we got there, we missed our connection to San Francisco.  That meant spending four more hours in the Philly airport--not our favorite place to be!  Also, the last half hour of the flight from Ithaca, there was so much turbulance that I thought my glass of water would spill, so I picked it up, and then it did spill all over Adrian.  But he got back by spilling a glass of water on me in the next flight.

We didn't go to bed until after 3 a.m. our time, and then woke up on an Eastern Standard Time schedule--too early!

My drawing this morning reflected my zombie state:

  Drawing #264  6" x 9"

After that, we had a great walk with granddaughter Rebecca and her dog Abby.  It was wonderful to walk without a coat in 50 plus degree weather, sun peeking out among storm clouds that were brewing.  Later it started to rain and is supposed to continue for the rest of our stay here.  But hey, they call THIS weather?!

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 258: A Quick Simple Drawing

January 2, 2008  Day 258

We are flying to California this morning, so I made a quick simple drawing:

  Drawing #263  11" x 14"

We will fly from Ithaca to Philadelphia to San Francisco--a long day!  There were three or four inches of fresh snow on the ground this morning and it is snowing now.  I hope our plane takes off.  Maybe winters should be for hibernating only?

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 257: A New Year

January 1, 2008  Day 257

It's the first day of a new year, and I am ready for it.  I began the real work on two new paintings today, my first for 2008 and my first after cataract surgery:

  Canvas 28  30" x 30"

  Canvas 29  24" x 24"

Before that, I did a drawing in blacks and browns:

  Drawing #262  11" x 14"

Now I need to pack for our trip to California tomorrow.  Painting will have to wait until we come back, but at least I made a start.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

   

A Year of Making Art, Day 256: A Series of Choices

December 31, 2007  Day 256

I feel sad and nostalgic.  Sad that at four p.m. on a beautiful sunny day with 3-4 inches of new snow on the ground, I stayed inside all day.  I just went out and shoveled the walkway and walked down to the road to pick up our mail.  Why didn't I join Adrian on his walk with Roxy?

Life is a series of choices, and I wonder how I'll feel about mine at the end.  I've never been sorry that I took time out to go for a walk, yet I still find myself inclined to spend my days inside.  I hope, when my sister Laura moves here, that will motivate me to get out more.

I was in a more cheerful mood earlier when I did this drawing, again with the black calligraphy brush pen as well as brown and gray calligraphy pens. 

  Drawing #261  11" x 14"

Then I finished the backgrounds on three new canvases.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 255: Painting Life Extended

December 30, 2007  Day 155

This morning's drawing was made with the Zig calligraphy paint pen, a fine point black pen, and a yellow calligraphy pen:

  Drawing #260  11" x 14"

Next I began the backgrounds on three new canvases.  It felt good to be painting again after such a long break since I'd had cataract surgery.  I worked without glasses, and that felt fine.  I think my eyes are beginning to be more in sync with my brain.

I notice, however, that I treat my eyes much more delicately than I did before surgery.  I am acutely aware that there is a foreign object in each eye--the implanted lens.  As our body parts are replaced (a slice of cornea, a knee or shoulder), we begin to understand in a deeper way that we are not going to live forever.  Our bodies are disintegrating, and no matter how slow the pace, the malfunction will come. 

Because of the capabilities of modern ophthalmology, I have been given an extension on my ability to see clearly.  In times past, my sight would simply have continued to deteriorate.  Thus, my painting life has been extended.

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)

A Year of Making Art, Day 254: Dancing Reds

December 29, 2007  Day 254

I had a big scare this morning:  just as I was turning on my computer's power button, there was a loud crack and our power went out.  Two hours later, after it finally went back on, the computer would not start.  It's pretty old and worn out anyway, so I figured it had bit the dust.  Yet several hours later I tried it again, and it worked.  Guess I won't be getting a new computer this weekend after all.

This morning's drawing is about dancing reds.  I used several calligraphy pens, and brush pens for the final touches:

   Drawing #259  11" x 14"

After that, I gessoed eight new canvases, so tomorrow I will be ready to paint again.  Hooray!

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting in order to give me time to get ahead.)