Do Not Be Anxious About Tomorrow...

One of my little watercolor drawings. I will do it over again because I was told that the word tomorrow should all be on one line. It is a bad habit. I don't make sure that I can fit the whole word on the same line. Laziness, I suppose. This lettering is not done very well.This type of lettering has always been one  of my favorites although not necessarily my best. I ran out of Arches watercolor paper a while back so I have been recycling scraps. The sun image is a favorite motif. I am not sure when I started using it but the sun is such a positive image.

Dealing with the Frustration of Trauma.

A drawing of the blossoms on our lilac bush. It is not easy to see and I include it only because I am still in the process of learning what my little Olympus camera can do. It is a joy to work with. It was very cheap and perfect since I have no experience with digital cameras. I just wanted something I could afford and that would give me a general idea of what these little devices can do. So far there have been some frustrations. I have to write every step down otherwise I will rapidly lose the information. It is very difficult for me to follow through with anything. I don't know if this due to the head injury I suffered but it makes it hard to accomplish goals. I have given up on the idea of ever making something work over a long period.  

Fighting Depression

It has been difficult lately with a new medication prescribed by my doctor for my disability. There is some concern that it affects balance and coordination and that the changes are permanent. It is a frightening thought. I had a fall tonight and it scared me. I am not usually so uncoordinated and accident-prone. A little over a month ago I had another fall. I fell down a flight of steps. Is this going to be something that occurs more often? The medication I take is supposed to help me to see things in a more reasonable light. Sometimes I see the world as this threatening place. Some years ago I was the victim of a random act of violence and it totally changed the way I look at things. This didn't occur overnight but over a period of years. This is the primary cause of my disability. A medication I took caused so much weight gain and sugar craving that I gained almost fifty lbs. The result was diabetes. So now not only do I struggle with fearful thoughts, there is the matter of mood-swings caused by blood sugar problems. Since December I lost a total of forty-five lbs. I cut out all the sugar but still battle caffeine cravings. Switching to water has freed up some energy. Still, there is always the fatigue associated with diabetes and blood-sugar issues.

My Studio

My studio. An early version. It is still a work in progress. I have several small drawings I have been meaning to finish  and this is the area where I get most of this work accomplished. Most of my art is small in nature. Small watercolors incorporating pen and ink drawings. Generally they are 3x5, 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10 inches. I used to do large mixed media paintings like the one in the photo. They were pen and ink, acrylic, pastel and colored pencil. They were much too expensive to produce so I scaled my work down to manageable proportions. Right now I just do small illustrations with inspirational quotes in them. I have been doing these for years. I once sold them to pay for my supplies, but now I give them to friends or produce them to hang around the studio. I have been on disability for quite some time now and it simplifies matters. Once I kicked around the idea of making a living at it but my disability kind of squashed this idea. The nature of my disability is such that I have a hard time making plans and following through with them.I suffer from major depression and PTSD after being the victim of a random act of violence. I consider myself fortunate to be able to accomplish this small endeavor. I was very fortunate to have once gone to art school, I worked in a frame shop and  I sold art supplies. I have been able to find my way around this illness to a degree. God willing, I won't always be on disability...  Dale

Pfaltzgraff

I found this little piece of pottery in a thrift store a while back and it spoke to me. It is a style of pottery pretty popular in our area. Pottery is something that I really enjoy and I like to haunt thrift shops looking for it. We had a Pfaltzgraff plant in town for a long time and I had the opportunity to work for  their bone china endeavor for a little while. I got to see the industrial side of  things for a period and I learned a lot. Pfaltzgraff is gone now and the only thing left is a mural downtown showing their pottery being made; It was a significant part of our town's economy for a long time. I've been kicking around the idea of going to an area where handcrafts are a big part of the culture. Working with my hands has always pleased me and it would be nice to be part of that tradition again. My small drawings give me a lot of pleasure. I had the opportunity to go to art school for a little while and it was a fun learning experience. I wonder when you reach the age when these dreams stop being important. I can't imagine ever giving up art...

A  piece of stained glass that I bought many years ago. Actually, it is melted glass. The sunset through the window made a wonderful image. It was a frustrating day trying to figure out how to transfer images from my camera. The first couple of images went smoothly, and then-nothing.

Inspiration III

Just attempting to see if I can figure out how to blow up this image. There is a way to do it but I can usually only do it by chance. There seems to be a trick to it that I just don't get. That is the trouble with working in isolation, there is a long learning-curve. I figured it out, you have to right-click on the image
     This is one of my favorite photos. It is not especially good, but it represents my favorite "stuff. " My Rapidograph pen and my Winsor & Newton paint set. I have had both of them for years. My paintings are very small so it does not take a lot of watercolor to finish a pen & ink drawing. Many years ago when it was my dream to be an artist there was an article in one of the art magazines about making sure that if you want to be professional, that you buy professional equipment. I followed the writer's directions. Paint really makes a big difference. When you buy student grade paint, you get student grade results. Anyone who has ever gone to grade school knows how to create mud with their paints. Making mud with professional grade paints is not impossible, but you learn an awful lot about color theory when you try. A lot of times you end up with some wonderful mixtures that are just what you are looking for...