Publisher's Notes

It’s June!

It’s time for school to end and to get outside.   Like packing up a lunch and heading out for a picnic.  This is a wonderful time of year to visit a park and take a slow, casual stroll.    Vic and I strolled down the boardwalk along the river in Newburyport one evening last week (one of our favorite things to do).  With iced mocha coffee’s in hand we walked slowly and observed the scenery all around.  We saw two very young ducks clinging to a metal cable in the water.  They would let go and as the water carried them away they would paddle back to the cable and hop up, they were so cute.  A pack of colorful kayak-ers paddled down river following an instructor in the quiet low tide waters as beautiful boats gently swayed from their moorings in the middle of the waterway.  On the boardwalk a variety of furry characters passed us by heading in the opposite direction being tugged along by leashes.   I stopped to view a half finished canvas that was adhered to an easel.  The artist was dabbing her brush into paint as she evaluated the shoreline across the river.   I envied her.  To have the time and peace to quiet her thoughts, block out the activity around her, and create on-site.  I’d like to try that some time this summer; find a nice place, set up an easel & paints, and go-for-it.  I don’t know if I am brave enough to start out in a busy place, maybe a less visited place at first to get a feel for it, before I let others look on.   Even if the painting doesn’t turn out great, it will be fun to experience the freedom of fresh air and no line drawing.  

Aaahhhhh, the warmth of June and the joy of painting……Tracy

It has been a few weeks since my last blog posting....I'm so sorry.   Without going into detail, let me just say that my life has changed rather drastically.  This summer, my time for painting and blogging will be very limited. 

The good news is that I hope to continue to write on my blog and share thoughts, designs and ideas with you.  The bad news is that  I am going to have to put my Coffee, Tea & Me project on hold for a few months.   It is so discouraging to have to put it aside but I know I won't be able to give it my "all" right now.  I promise to get back to it in the Fall.   With the little bit of time that I have available for painting this summer, I will be working on a some designs for the Artist's Club and I am painting a series of "mini's."   I thought that the mini's would allow me to paint and finish some designs and keep me creative and inspired without involving me in anything too detailed or time consuming.  Remember the mini that I did while working out the colors for Coffee, Tea & Me?   I want to continue with some designs along that idea.   I like the mini's because they are simpler in design, don't take as long to paint, and are perfectly sized to group together.  (Quicker gratification - not instant, but quicker).  And for all of those reasons they make great gifts!    I'll keep you updated on how the mini's are coming along.

Changing the subject a little......aren't the flowers just fabulous right now?!  As I drive along hot pinks and delicate whites have been catching my eye.  Maybe it's the deep green backdrop that makes the color pop so much.   During a walk the other day we passed a large bush with yellow flowers (which looked like wild roses).   It was so pretty.  It amazes me how every season has its own color scheme.   We are entering into the summer season which will bring all sorts of bright colors, from purple pansies & eggplant to red geraniums & tomatoes, and everything in between.  

This summer keep your eyes open to the colors..........Tracy

A funny (yet wonderful) thing happened this week.  I finalized my line drawing and decided on a color palette to use for the coffee/tea design.  I even painted a “mini” design with a few elements in it to really work the colors out before attempting the much larger design.  I love the way the mini came out!  (See photo below)  But after completing the mini, I decided that I wanted to alter the colors for the larger design to a softer, lighter palette.  

I chose the base coat color and I mixed it with the sealer hoping to speed the process up, by allowing me to later eliminate one coat of paint. Once it was dry I sanded the surface once again to remove the raised tooth and was ready to base coat the board.  Now for the funny thing……I looked at the board and liked it the way it was!   Mixing the base color in with the sealer created an affect similar to pickling.  Only the color that I mixed with the sealer was Bahama Blue!   After sanding, it looked like a weathered board that had been used in the garden.  It turned into a light country blue-green.  I really liked it the way it was so I decided to leave it, and I transferred the pattern on.   (See background in photo below)

Once again I was exercising my artistic (or creative) license, and I chose to paint the design items in colors that work together, not the colors that they are in reality (because remember, I gathered the items from all around the house so they were in a variety of colors).   In my mind I had envisioned a turquoise/chocolate/white palette with a touch of pink for accents and I still intend to use this palette except I have changed the turquoise to more of an aqua.  I began by working on a tea cup that is in the design.  Many, many layers of colors have been built and I don’t feel that it is completed yet, but I’m going to move on to other elements.  I will return to the tea cup later to create more contrast and add some of the other colors used throughout the design to it.

I'm loving how things work themselves out……Tracy