Last week’s word was Act Media is pen &ink with marker accents.

This week’s Poetry Friday word, bite is more pleasant:

Pen & ink with marker

I feel mundane taking so many of these words at face value. Especially a word that I regard as one half of a compound word that is unfit for the ears of delicate company. But here is my perception of bull from the point of view of Captain Obvious…you might recognize this drawing as the statue on Wall Street.

Poetry Friday is good for me, even though my grasp of words and acceptable language arrangement is frequently dismal. It gives me a challenge to be a better me once a week. Some people need a moderate sense of structure in their lives to feel purposeful, and I am one of those people.

I’m not so rigid that I plan out my entire life on a day planner and bristle at the thought of grocery shopping on a non-designated day, but I do like knowing that I will go to yoga on Monday and Wednesday, and workout three times a week. These are self-involved task, but they help me feel I am progressing toward something rather than miring myself in inertia.

It felt weird not posting something for Poetry Friday, so here is a small panel painting. It’s a reflection in the outdoor water feature at the Chicago Art Institute, one of my favorite museums to visit.

Untitled
Oil on Panel
7″ x 5.75″

The Spouse and I sometimes take photos of ourselves like this:

It’s interesting to observe our likenesses and dissimilarities. When I gaze at our shadows, he doesn’t seem as tall, but my hips seem unpleasantly accurate..

Sometimes it feels like humanity pays more attention to the shadows people cast that it does to the people themselves. Our brains can get wrapped around the axle of a distorted two-dimensional impression we get of a person, rather than considering the depth and complexity of their entire person. Easily digested impressions require less interaction, and releases us from the obligation to engage ourselves.

The past few years I have been more intrigued by soft shadows. Often these are cast through organic objects like trees or plants. The distance from the light source to the subject lends itself to softer edges which deemphasize the representation of the object and leave behind an abstract dreaminess. An example:

These photos are the basis for a series of abstract paintings. The resulting execution resembles little evidence of the original concept, but the dreaminess remains largely intact.

Untitled
Oil on Panel
7″ x 5.75″

Pen & Ink, Marker, and Colored Pencil

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone and if you don’t celebrate, then Happy Saturday!

Mixed Media: ink, marker and colored pencil

My first thought was this website, but it’s an illustration of desperation and the seedier side of ingenuity, not that self-sufficiency shouldn’t be honored, but it lacks a romantic notion that befits the return of Poetry Friday.

I have a friend who cans homemade jellies and relishes each year to share with friends and family during the holidays. It is truly a labor of love. I waste spend excessive time on various art projects, but to confine myself to the kitchen making preserves, is more than my inner martyr can handle.

Peach Jelly from a Friend
Pen & Marker

because typing on my cell phone is exhausting. smart phones are useful but they aren’t exactly laptops….and the place we’re staying is stingy w/ their wireless, but life continues.

a few weeks ago, i was at the chicamagua dam photographing tree swallows. i had never seen them before. the tva puts up nesting boxes for them next to the tennesee river. they are one of the first birds to return in spring. while there, i managed to photograph a grey heron diving for fish. the heron photos were more graceful and made a better sketching subject. i want to go back and try for more pictures