Horse

Standing in a bed of straw under the light flooding through the stable window. Scratchboard, 8 x 8".

Festive Headwrap

The ruddy glow in this model's face and bright reds in the cloth wrapped like headgear fills my eyes with colors like atumn leaves blazing in the sun. Pastel on paper, 20 x 30".

Head Braid

Do you ever feel your braid is in a knot? I had to post this drawing just because I found her hairstyle so unusual, I had never seen someone braid their hair forward over their head before. Graphite pencil, 18 x 24".

Lantern Light

From a figure drawing class, a woman holding a lantern. Charcoal on recycled paper, 18 x 24".

Touching the Floor

Figure drawing from an early life drawing class; charcoal on recycled paper, 18 x 24".

I have really been feeling the itch to paint again lately, but it seems so impractical right now and is difficult for me to get into the mood and carve the time out of my day. Since I've been working at my new part-time job, it's been difficult to rearrange the way I use time. My daughter demands more attention the hours we are together, and all the usual maintenance, chores and daily tasks of keeping a home neat have to be compressed into less time. I've found myself letting some housework details slide, and when I do have a half hour to myself, it seems so much easier to pick up my latest library book or to sit down and watch a nature show I recorded on the DVR a week ago, than to pull out my art materials and arrange my work area, my thoughts and my mindset into painting.

I do finally have a corner set aside to work in after re-arranging the bedroom, but somehow it has attracted the presence of an air humidifier, a stack of boxes containing I don't know what, and a pile of my husband's clothing. The easel remains in the closet. I am just too tired right now. I am beginning to think that in order to start painting again on a regular basis, I may have to leave the job behind (or find one with a shorter commute!)

So that is why for the time being, posts on here are rather sporadic and contain art I created months if not years ago. I am trying to keep up with it, but have not been making much new work lately.

With Glasses

Portrait of a model in graphite pencil on white paper, 18 x 24".

Leaping Wolf

Leaping wolf I drew for my toddler. Not much else art coming from my hands these busy days. Crayons on colored paper.