Making Art While Away From Home

I’m visiting family in Arkansas for the week and making time every day to keep my art practice going. I came prepared.

The view from my brothers backdeck

I packed lots of little bits of tools and supplies... an 8.5 x 11 watercolor block, a 6x6 tablet of watercolor paper, and a small sketchbook to work on/in. To that I added an array of broken-in-half sticks of Neocolor II watercolor crayons, a 6 color set of Golden acrylic tubes of paint, some small brushes, a mister, a cut-in-half credit card for scraping, an assortment of soluble colored and regular pencils, a watercolor palette and water brush, and a chunk of heavy plastic to protect whatever table I found to work on.  All fit in three compact pouches.

The next photo shows some of what I made this week.

This doodle was fun to make using most of the toys I brought with me.

Peacock and Peahen 

My brain was prepared to play. I left behind the notion of making big ART and traveled with a playful spirit.

I arise earlier than anyone else, by a couple of hours, so I set up on the covered deck perched high above the countryside where all I hear is birdsong and a bubbling fountain. Ahhhhh

Some wrens are nesting in two birdhouses on the deck and I’m enjoying watching them swoop in with food for their young. They act like they’re sneaking, as though I can’t see them flit from rail to deck to swing, behind a plant and up to the nest. Silly birds. Each morning a couple of exotic-to-me birds pay a visit... a peacock and a peahen. So beautiful. I wish I could find where they’re nesting and collect some blue feathers.

BTW, my supplies were just right except for wanting a larger brush.