Wed, Jul 1 2009 04:21
| home and garden
| Permalink
MID-SUMMER. Blue Hydrangeas abound in our area at this time of year. Lazy summer days abound, too, with temperatures over 100 F. and super high humidity.
Forced to linger indoors with books and paints. A lovely combination. Music in the background. A tall glass of ice tea on my watercolor tray.
My neighbor keeps me supplied with bouquets of hydrangeas. Used them for the first day Art Camp. Yesterday I cut a cobalt blue mop-head one from my own yard and used it for a Nature Study. With a full day of solitude on my schedule, I dipped into every tube of blue and yellow paint I could find.
These two paintings are the happy result. Then I found this quote in my Italian "blank book" which has been designated my Art Quotations Notebook: "There is no blue without yellow and without orange." Vincent van Gogh, post-impressionist Dutch painter, 1853-90. I added that quote to the painting on the left. For the one on the right, I inserted some lines in Italiano pertaining to gardening tips for L'Ortensia (=hydrangeas).
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Fri, Jun 19 2009 09:20
| artcamp#3 Fragonard
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AMERICAN GIRL Art Camp #1, Day 4My first American Girl Art Camp was a rich experience for me and the ten lovely young ladies who participated. One highlight of the week was the tableaux we created with my granddaughter, Lauren. The well-known painting was actually exhibited at the HIGH last year: "Young Girl Reading," by Fragonard (18th century). This master painting was executed during the period of American Girl dolls Felicity and Elizabeth.
I was so impressed with the direct observation studies these young artists executed during the tableaux session. The same giggly little girls could change gears and focus, in concentrated silence, for a serious art study! I loved every minute of this week!
