June – Distractions

14 Jun June – Distractions

Oh, the wonderful distractions of summer!  It’s difficult to get to all the paintings that rattle around in my head in the quiet seasons.  It’s even more difficult in this busy season of glorious sunshine and long days.  There is a garden to be planted, friends to visit, places to explore, home repairs to conquer, flowers to admire, lakes to fish and parks to camp in.  But I try to keep up!

The best way to “keep the brushes wet”, I find, is to keep the sketch book and a few basic tools close and just do something – anything – often.  Below is a half-hour sketch done late evening, when we camped at Pentoga County Park, MI.  Not spectacular, but I captured a moment in time.  I can revisit the feeling and inspiration at any time in the future by viewing this sketch.  I did this with one pencil, one pen (“Script Writer” that runs and separates into grays, blue and pink when hit with water), one brush and water.

My art is always a reflection of my life.  Its many “distractions” is the richness from which I draw my inspiration.  I encourage all my fellow artists to keep a sketchbook and pencil with them and capture those moments!  Kathleen