I was painting a card this morning, intent on sending it out today to Eva, a woman who rescues very old dogs, often shelties, from kill shelters in California. Since she works with old, very sick dogs, she was a wealth of information when our Katie-girl was struggling with gall bladder issues and then kidney disease. So I try to support her efforts to give old dogs their best lives during their last days or years.
I saw this card online somewhere, maybe FB, maybe in an ad, I don’t remember. But I liked it enough to save it and this morning I recreated it. The background in each box is metallic paint, a light purple and a light brown. You can’t see the sheen in this image, but it’s pretty. I painted that in after the flowers were done with regular watercolor.
Actually I was surprised at how much measuring and plotting it actually took before I could begin to paint. The painting part is the fun part. Figuring out the math isn’t really my thing. I wonder if I could have done it just by splashing some metallic squares around and painting the flowers on top.
In the end I didn’t do that and I like it just fine the way it is. But boy my fingers were itching to put those gold lines around the outside edges of the metallic, flowery squares. It sure is hard to wait for all the paint to dry. It’s one of the hardest things about watercolor, waiting for layers to dry.
I wonder what is it about the gold liner pen that is just so satisfying? I should use it more often. It’s a lovely, shiny way to start my day. Now to get it into the mail!
I’ve been painting the little cards that I send off in batches of 5 to a nonprofit who distributes them to seniors in Michigan assisted living and nursing home residents, I get attached to almost every painting and it’s hard to put them into envelopes and mail them off. It’s kind of like they are my kids or something.
I need to start working on spring stuff again.
Before I mail them I like to just look at them, and I always take a picture before they go. I’m often surprised that I painted them, but other times it’s painfully clear that I did them, though most of the time I send them on anyway. I know how much it means to get a note in the mail, and most people won’t be offended if the artwork isn’t up to par.
Did these in January for Valentines. I think I did 10 of them.
Because, really, who decides what’s par anyway?
The nonprofit I make these for is called Bring Smiles to Seniors, and it sends cards all across the United States. I work with the Michigan chapter, because that’s where I live. But I know there’s a big chapter in Florida too, as well as smaller groups in the other states.
These just went to the seniors. Sometimes I do images a second time, so some of you might recognize something in here.
They take handmade cards that are donated by individuals and groups, and get them into the hands of people who could really use a smile. Check them out if you make cards and are looking for an outlet for your art. Your art doesn’t have to be watercolor. It can be anything at all, stamping, collage,pencil, anything that will make someone smile.
Still love to do birds.
But I really meant to blog about a tiny bit of branching out that I did. Something a little bigger than the greeting cards I’ve been painting since the pandemic began. This is a 5×7 piece, done from a reference photo I stole from a friend’s Facebook page a couple years ago.
I loved the color of her coat and boots and especially the hat.
I didn’t have enough confidence to try it back then, but I loved it when I saw the image on her page and thought it would make a really lovely painting. It’s her granddaughter, walking among the pines on one of their many adventures up north.
At the beginning of 2022 I began to think about trying to reproduce some version of the image. I always knew I’d mail it to my friend, regardless of how it turned out. It’s the thought that counts. Right?
Might even start to do some summer stuff. Even if there IS 5 inches of snow on the ground today.
But oh the pressure! To do something bigger, something specific to someone. And to do a person, even if it’s just the back of a person! All of those things made it very difficult to start.
These, done last fall, were much easier!
Why is it that we so often don’t want to start, in fear of failing. Of wasting a piece of paper and a little bit of paint? I did a practice painting in my sketch book and it wasn’t bad. So I took a deep breath and just began.
And I’m mostly pretty happy with it. Of course, like any piece, there are things I’d do differently, things I hope no one notices. But that’s true of any piece of art.
And in the end, it fulfilled a number of goals. One was to make my friend smile. Another was for me to try something different. And a third goal was to realize it’s just paper…dont worry, jump in!
From this past Christmas.
Today I encourage you all to take some time for yourself and jump into something you love to do. Or something you’ve always wondered if you’d love.
Change Is Hard 