watercolors in progress

watercolors in progress
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

third post in one day! i showed you two beaded pieces, from a few years ago, and this is what i worked on today. i can see that these were all done by one hand and can see the relationship between styles. i don't know if anyone else can- but i can see the stylistic relationship between my beadwork, fabric work, fiber work, and paintings and drawings. i have not yet become a good enough musician to see if i can see the connection there as well. i do hope to get back to music sometime, though it may be one of those things i put on my "after retirement list" (like spinning..)

yeti doll

dollbook2
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

another old favorite - and actually i think this was the 1st beaded doll i ever made. the yeti is 8" tall. later i also made a female yeti, carrying a baby in a papoose.

i bead my dolls on ultrasuede, stabilized with fusible interfacing on the back. then i assemble and stuff after i do the beadwork, finally adding fringe. it's tedious to stuff an already beaded doll - the bits of stuffing want to catch on the beads. most other people i know doing beaded dolls assemble and stuff the doll 1st, then bead. but i could not get the control i wanted to get this much detail unless i beaded on a flat surface and then stuffed, so this is the method i came up with.

beadwork

100707bead3
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i don't bead nearly as much as a i used to. but i think i'll be coming back to it sometime.. when the time is right. like, say, after i've gotten that fancy ott floor lamp. my eyes are not what they were 20 years ago when i started beading!

here is something i did in 2007, with seed beads, freshwater pearls, vintage and contemporary pressed glass beads, and a pewter bunny charm. i beaded this piece onto a "sandwich" i made of 2 layers of hand dyed batik with wool felt between the layers. sometimes i let the batik show through, but not on this piece. somehow the fabric affects the design while i am beading, though, wether or not i let parts peek through.

Another Minaret and Web Page News

from the Minaret Series
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Here is another little gem from the Minaret series, It's just 4 x 4" and it is on etsy.

If you would like to see some of my recent work all in one place, i have created 2 new sections on my home page:

The Minaret Series

The Forest Creature Series.

Let me know what you think and enjoy!

from the Minaret Series

from the Minaret Series
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

I am excited to have listed some of my new Minaret paintings on etsy. This is the 1st time I've offered any of these for sale.

What a busy week! I have not painted at all... I hope to get some time this weekend. I've been knitting a bit and reading (a charming mystery by Kerry Greenwood called Away with the Fairies. A witty flapper detective investigates the murder of a saccharine writer and illustrator of fairy tales.

This weekend looks to continue the cold streak we are experiencing so it will be a good time to stay in and do art.

minaret series - fiery

minaret series
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

as i mentioned in my previous entry - this is the fiery color palette. well, maybe not fiery, but somehow it seems to glow.

more minarets

more minarets
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i love three day weekends. this may not come as a surprise to you, but i've been painting. and some reading. i ended up using a little different color palette here. i seem to have shifted a but from fiery colors to earthy colors.

Russet Minaret

original watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Another in the Minaret Series. This one is a bit early - the color palette has evolved somewhat, gotten warmer. I do quite like the onion dome on the right in this one, though. And the background, which does not show up too well here but is a rich bronze.

Last night I went out with my neighbors to a show at Bottlehouse over in Madrona, her silkscreen posters. Her name is Molly Leonard. MY favorite is the sasquatch! And Molly was really sweet and charming and the kind of person you just want to be around. So that was enjoyable. You know, I have heard some people leave the house when it is dark out so I thought I would give it a try.

This weekend I am so excited to have a solid block of art time. well and a few chores if i can make myself..

Tesseract

original watercolor
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

Tesseract
8 x 8 inches
watercolor on arches paper.

this one reminds me of things folding and unfolding, spiraling in and out, coming nearer and then receeding. hence, the title.

my "real" job has been quite busy and probably will be for at least 3 more weeks or so. then.. we'll see. it drains my energy enough that i do not have as much of myself left for my art. but still i do what i can.

"Every artist dips his brush 
in his own soul and paints 
his own nature into his pictures.” 
~ Henry Ward Beecher

marigold minarets

marigold minarets
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

5 x 7 inches.
AKA why i stayed up too late last night.

minarets & weaving

minarets
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is a tiny little painting I did for a sort of color sample for a larger work. I think I am going to end up doing the buildings all in warm colors and the sky in blue. Though i do love the purple sky here and will probably use that color soon for something.

Speaking of color, my mother and I went to the weaving show at the Burke Museum, this weekend. Some of you know that my mother is a weaver and that my twin sister grew up on a sheep farm on Vashon Island.

The show at the Burke was small, but very interesting. They had woven, embroidery, painted / dyed garments and other textiles form around the world. I think the native american and japanese textiles were my favorite. They had several looms set up ( which made it kind of look like my mother's living room, to be honest! she has 3 looms, a spinning wheel, and a very large warping reel set up in there.)

I think my favorite part was seeing the samples dyed with natural dyes. When I was a child my parents dyed yarn and wool using various natural products- onion skins, marigolds, etc. Now my mother prefers commercial dyes for their bright colors.

Sketch Journal 2011, Mute Forest, detail

Sketch Journal 2011
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

here is a little detail from one of the pages in my sketch journal - I call it mute forest.

It seems like it has been a long week! I am going to Tacoma to work tomorrow, so I imagine it will be a long day. I am looking forward to the weekend.

I don't have too much else to say today, but here is a quote for you:

I'll tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you're connected with everything.
--Alan Watts

Sketch Journal 2011

Sketch Journal 2011
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

This is one of my most recent sketch journal pages and I think so far my favorite in this journal. As you can see, after taking about 6 weeks off, I am back thinking about the Minaret series of painting I am doing. I hope I have some watercolors to show you soon.. in that series, but t least I am thinking along those lines again!

Sketch Journal 2011

Sketch Journal 2011
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

i am not watching the superbowl. i am not sure who is playing. the packers i think, and someone else. my house is quiet. it's peaceful.
what i am doing, though not at the precise moment and not all at once:

reading: the mysterious affair at styles by agatha christie &
doomsday book by connie willis

listening to:
audio book of memory and dream by charles delint

knitting: a green skirt and a brown feather and fan scarf. both for myself.

drawing / painting : nothing of note other than sketch book.

p.s. this spread is called "mute forest". i don't know why, it is just the name that fits.

The Girl Who Cried Flowers

Sketch Journal 2011
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

I've uploaded a few more pages of my sketch journal to FLICKR if you want to click through and see them. Naturally it takes a long time to do a page, they are so intricate, and sometimes i try to go less intricate and leave some white space .. but. i might learn to do that some day. i intellectually understand white space but my intellect is not enough to pull me out of the ways my pen leads..

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed. ~Albert Einstein

happy groundhog's day

119ac1
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

happy groundhog's day. only i've never drawn a groundhog before, so you get a mouse, also a member of the family of rodents, so i hope close enough. this little dear is 4 x 4", watercolor, ink, and prismacolor colored pencil on watercolor paper. i drew it in 2006.

Ravenwood

Ravenwood
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

when you are feeling blue it's not easy painting. i have not painted anything of note since christmas. so this is one from the archives.. a detail from Ravenwood, 16 x 20", watercolor on paper. It's hanging in my living room. It's over my tv, but really it's more interesting than my tv most of the time.