Some watercolor painters I've drawn inspiration from recently:
Painting at the End of the Earth - http://mceown.artistsnetwork.com/. David McEown travels, literally, to the ends of the earth - Antarctica to Greenland to the Arctic- to paint watercolors. I grumble inwardly as I paint upstairs in our attic, complaining of the heat. Well, at least my paintbrushes aren't freezing on me. Gorgeous artwork that glistens the way you'd expect w/ such majestic subject matter. I love the penguins hanging out near his easel/painting spot. Too precious.
Victor Martinez - http://www.victormartinez.com/
Beautiful paintings inspired by his earlier life in Peru and his current home in New Mexico - portraits, architecture, and landscapes. Images like these create a gentle longing in my heart to one day make my home in New Mexico - plus I'd be closer to my dear friend Elizabeth :)
Jennifer Wu - http://www.shan5.com/watercolor.htm. I love the quality about these paintings. I just happened by them by googling 'watercolor'. The one to the right is titled "HuQiu".
Part of my intention this summer in taking a break from evening classes was to 1) work in the yard and tend the veggie garden and 2) break out my paints and do some art. So far I've done a good bit of the former, but man, it is really tough to get back into something you used to do regularly, and sort of pride yourself in being somewhat decent in. Of course art is both a joy and a discipline. I look at the "Painting a Day" movement artists and I am in awe by their dedication and perseverence. One painting a day. So, after taking some nice shots of the fruit Beth and I picked last weekend on Sauvie Island, I decided I would paint a little postcard-sized watercolor of the blueberries. I decided to go small, and I will probably continue to do smaller paintings because they give me a sense of accomplishment and I can keep going w/o feeling overwhelmed. (It's amazing how I can turn doing artwork 'for fun' into something I worry about...my friend Scott gave me a new perspective on the ordeal yesterday. He said worrying was a sign of advanced intelligence. I like that perspective, it makes me feel better about myself. But didn't I just write a blog entry like a month ago about Jesus' teaching on the matter? Maybe if I can be okay w/ the fact that I'm worrying, as it is apparently a sign of advanced intelligence, I won't worry so much about the fact that I'm worrying. Good grief. Bobby McFerrin, you gotta help me here.
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Before - This is the eastside yard - with veggie garden in center. you can see how everything is overgrown and the grass and weeds are taking over. Everything was a bit greener then, mind you, because the hot spell had not occured yet. Now, the grass is gettin' pretty brown. I'm slowly getting over it. This picture does not show the many holes in the turf where I've dug deep and pulled out dandelions (some with roots nearly a foot long!!!). Notice the beautiful apple tree on the right. It's now producing lots of green apples. And on the left are raspberries!!! They are just now starting to turn red. If posting pictures wasn't such a bear I'd post more of them showcasing all parts of the yard I've "worked" on, and the many more parts of yard that I'm simply enjoying from Nancy and Andy's (the owners of the house who are living in Zambia currently) hard work.After - With the grass trimmed and the veggie garden weeded and planted with tomato plants, fennel, peppers, basil, cilantro, dill, sage, and oregano, it's looking pretty good. Now, let's see if it grows! In the meantime, I think Beth (my roommate) and I will enjoy the activity alluded to below as much as possible while weather permits.
:)
Yes, life is good at the particular moment. That tree w/ the hammock is a giant magnolia. For some odd reason it didn't bloom this year - most likely because of the stretched out period of cold we had this spring - I guess it wasn't warm or sunny enough to burst those beautiful flowers out of their buds. I learn so much about life, even human life, from plants. Our Creator has made this world, with all of its rhythms and diversity and quirks...that I've come to realize can teach us volumes about ourselves.
My interest in pursuing landscape architecture coincides with my interest in addressing the needs of and caring for the baby boomer population as it ages. I have since begun looking into what role a garden can play in the well-being of a person - how it can both subtly and powerfully facilitate healing and wholeness in a person who is experiencing pain, loss, or uncertainty, particularly people suffering from chronic illness.
I came across a website that exists to pool information addressing those very concerns - featuring healing gardens that are found here in the US as well as internationally, resources for people working to create therapeutic gardens, and links to several other websites, publications, etc. that have to do with using landscape as a means of healing. The website is called the "Therapeutic Landscapes Database" and can be found here.
I am hoping to get in touch with some landscape architects in Portland who have some experience in this field, and maybe get their advice on grad schools/education/experience to help me along the journey.
P. S. I've begun work on the yard at our new house! So far I've spent about 8 hours - mostly just weeding. It is tiring work - but it feels really good to have a place to get my hands in the dirt. Hopefully if I get my act together I can still plant some veggie starts...and not freak out about all the dandelions taking over the lawn. :)
The Good News is that I will be moving into a house in approximately 2 weeks with my current roommate, Beth. I will be the house gardener/landscape maintenance person. Granted, it will be much weeding, but, I think overall it will be a very positive experience. I'm looking forward to having my hands in the dirt...and seeing (however small) the fruits of my labor.The other part of my good news is that we will have an extra bedroom for anyone to stay in! The upstairs will be used as office and/or art studio space, and as other miscellaneous things, including an extra bedroom should any friends decide to visit. It is a tremendous blessing, as Beth or I could never afford to live in this neighborhood, in this kind of a place, without the wonderful and kind people who are moving to Africa and letting us rent their place. I hope to steward the house well by providing hospitality to any sojourners passing through the land of Portland :) And by that I mean a comfy place to lay your head and some good home-cooked meals, as well as nourishing conversation. That is my hope and prayer for our house.Ok, now the bad news: I am overwhelmed with what is next. Sure, I am a little bit emotionally and physically compromised right now...I've spent the last two days home from work sick with some sort of flu bug. For some reason my mind likes to give me emotional whip-lash and torment when I have too much free time on my hands. Grad school? More community college? Landscape Architecture? Urban Planning? With about a 9.5% chance of even getting accepted into graduate school for LA and the prospect of being $100K in debt after completion of said grad school, I am torn between feelings of possiblity and very real feelings of fear. My beloved boyfriend, Ben, kindly reminded me that decisions made out of fear are usually not very good ones. He also said things are going to be okay. They're going to suck, and they're going to be hard, but they're going to be okay.What does Jesus say in this situation? He tells me not to worry. He says to seek first the Kingdom of God, and all of these little details will work themselves out. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and th body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt. 6:25-27, 33Lord Jesus, have mercy. I pray for your peace in my heart. Peace that allows me to seek Your Kingdom and not my own security. Lord, hear my prayer.
As I contemplate graduate school, this website and this website has me reconsidering. For a graduate degree in landscape architecture, it will take 10 quarters, at roughly $25K/year, which will amount to approximately $97,000 for the duration of the degree, after adjusting for inflation. This means that I will need to make $821 monthly payments for 20 years to pay back the loan. Now, mind you, this is in addition to the loans I am already paying back for my undergraduate degree at Whitworth College, which has me paying about $150/month right now. So, that means that I will need to make $1000 extra each month, for 20 years, just to pay off freaking college loans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!how do people do it?i need to win the lottery.
-or so says Hugh Jackman's character in one of my favorite (i'm sorry for all of you who cringe at this movie, but i love it!) movies of all time Kate and Leopold.
For Breakfast: The Tin Shed - while waiting for a seat inside or out, pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit/stand outside for a nice view of the Alberta district and some of the funky people that walk by. ( i love them, i just hope they don't mind me staring at them and their vintage bicycles, scrapped-together clothing ensembles and quirky hair styles.) Not to mention there's a hair studio across the street called "Spank" with two silhouettes engaged in that very action. I love this town.
Some watercolor painters I've drawn inspiration from recently:
