Roots and Hearts

Alternative Processes

2011-12-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

You may think while reading this and looking at the time it is posted, It is so early! Or late...what is she doing up at this hour of the morning!? Well, one of my friends here in Chester, Madeleine, her best friend is coming to visit for the week. Her flight gets in at 6:30am. We are getting up and 4 and going to breakfast...I just happened to wake up at 3:30 so I figured I would post and be somewhat productive!

SO, here are my cyanotypes, platinum/palladium, and gum bichromate prints from my semester. I will only be showing the best ones...because some aren't that good!

Cyanotype (The last two are two of my favorites!)

Platinum/Palladium - I'm taking a class next semester fully devoted to this process!

Gum - my least favorite process...it can take up to 8 hours just to get one print looking really good...

Well, I hope you all enjoyed looking at these as much as I enjoyed making them! Most of them anyway. If anyone ever has the chance to take a class on these processes I would highly recommend it. It is very hands on. There are times when you need a lot of patience but it's all worth it when you get a good print...especially on the first try!

October Wedding

2011-12-04T15:25:00.000-08:00
I helped my friend from school shoot one of her friend's weddings at the end of October. It was such a lovely wedding and I could definitely see this couple's love for God and their trust in Him. So these are just a few pictures from the wedding! Hope you all enjoy :)

Cyanotype

2011-09-09T09:42:00.000-07:00
I am currently on my lunch break in my Historical Processes class for photography. Today we are leaning about how to make a cyanotype print. I haven't made mine yet, but I'm hoping to print my negative once my professor comes back from lunch. I'm pretty excited but also very nervous for this class. Nervous because it is only one day a week and it seems that it can get very tedious at times. We are starting out doing cyanotypes then moving through to platinum and paladium (pretty sure I spelled that wrong), and finally gum bichromate, which, we were told, could take up to one full day to make a print....bleeeeh.

What I'm hoping to do this semester is up load my new work here when I have some finished or whatever. I'm planning to do this for my two photo classes, large format and this one...SO hopefully I will be more in a groove of things once classes really start rolling along.

For now, I'll just leave all of you lovely followers saying that I hope you all have a splendid autumn season and don't let the bad things get in the way of your mood :)

Catching Up

2011-08-02T10:54:00.000-07:00
Hello all! I haven't posted anything in a while, here are just a few things from over the summer...what I've been up to and such. I can't believe I start my junior year at the end of this month!

These first 2 photos are from Memorial Day, my dad and I made mushrooms, shrimp, and zucchini on the grill, it was delicious!

Some flowers around my house and camp...

My friend Madeleine had a prom to go to and I took some getting ready pictures for fun, this one was my favorite

A rose from near the house

Went to Long Sands in York, ME and caught this wave...hahaha...

Saw Piper at the lake and she was being silly :)

I took this after one of my friend's high school graduation and we were taking a late night drive to cumbys and I was fooling around with the shutter speeds and such.

It was pouring and windy on my way to my friends house...

Crown of seaweed

My friend Christine who is so beautiful

Piper was playing with Courtney's sunglasses at the Wolfeboro Farmers Market

Tracy's "fake" camera

Happy 4th of July!!!

Well, Those are some photos, I hope you all enjoyed them. I will hopefully be putting some more up soon. I also have a flicker account, but I'm running out of room and I just found out that if I want a pro account (I could fit over 200 photos and they would still show up) I have to pay, its not that much, but I don't really have the money right now!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2011-08-01T17:18:00.000-07:00
One night a few weeks ago I couldn't sleep. After lying in bed for probably two hours, I decided to be productive. I made a small, messy painting and then started some drawings in ink. These seemed to satisfy me, so I made a few more. The next day the idea developed and I went to a thrift store and found a really cheap copy of an old book with an interesting font and used that paper to draw on. These went over very well. My husband liked them a lot, and came up with a really great idea for frames: using old hardcover books! Thanks to his amazing attention to detail, he crafted some wonderful little frames for my drawings (I love collaborating with him on art projects...although even when I was in college he built most of my frames for me).

This creative burst coincided with an art show that a friend is putting together. It is being hosted by the Youth Coalition for Clean Water and is called "Art in Action." Basically it is highlighting environmental advocacy and activism using art. She asked if I would like to be involved and how could I say no to such a great event?

Check out the Youth Coalition for Clean Water at the Green Mountain Conservation Group's website:

http://www.gmcg.org

I'm really excited about where this work is going and hope to keep moving in this direction with it. Here are a few photos...again, sorry about the poor quality of photograph (my sister is the one who takes awesome pictures).

As you can see, the ones I like the best so far are of veggies and fungus (but mostly fungus). We'll see where this goes. I'm really excited about it, though!

-Tracy

Wednesday 2

2011-05-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Three Brushes (Wednesday 2)
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Week Two Begins!

2011-05-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Old Paintbrush
(Tuesday 2)
Acrylic on Canvas
11x14 in.

More 8x10s

2011-05-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

Walnut Saturday
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Garlic Sunday
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Bulldog Clip Monday
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter Friday

2011-04-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter Friday
Acrylic on Canvas
14x11 in.

New Challenge...Starting Small

2011-04-29T07:00:00.001-07:00
Clearly I have not been keeping up with this very well. I decided to set a goal for myself with painting...one new painting every day FOR TWO WEEKS. With this kind of deadline, it is much more likely that I will actually stick to it, even more since there is now a blog post declaring it. These are mostly going to be smaller pieces, will be done in one day, so only a few hours will be devoted to each. They will not all be amazing paintings. Probably most of them won't be, but I am excited to see where it goes.

Three days have already been completed, so I'll post those today.

Banana Tuesday
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Avocado Wednesday
Acrylic on Canvas
8x10 in.

Onion Thursday
Acrylic on Canvas
14x18

"If the people you photograph, don't complain, no body else has a right to, it's our way of life."

2011-04-20T08:50:00.000-07:00
I just saw a documentary in my studio lighting class about Appalachian photographer, Shelby Lee Adams. The film was called The Meaning of Pictures, I believe, and he photographs the families and lifestyles of those that live in the Appalachians in Kentucky. His photographs are beautiful and just really show life and family down there. He has been doing this work for over 30 years and is like family to the families in that area. I don't agree with everything that the people down there believe but I still think it is very eye opening and I wonder why I have never heard of him before! I took my title quote from a man that lives down there, who he had an interview with. Well I'm going to go now because class is over. But if anyone has the chance to see this movie or the time to read his blog which I have posted a link to, then definitely do it! I'll just warn you that in the movie there is a part when a pig slaughter is being shown on video. So look away at that part if you can't handle it. I did...but yeah, check him out, I like his work :)

"Start new, when your heart is an empty room"

2011-04-15T13:46:00.000-07:00
Today is about 50 degrees. I went on a nice long walk...by myself but it was still nice. I didn't bring my camera, but I had a nice time just walking and thinking about things.
I took these two pictures before I went out. I was putting my hair up this morning and I looked at myself in the mirror, to just check everything and I felt like my eyes looked really pretty, which, for me, is rare. So I just snapped some shots and this one focused in just the right place! And I have about 4 different edits of it. Then I took the picture of the knotted sheet. I wanted to let more light in and this sheet acts as a headboard/curtain for me. Yup, that is my day so far.

dreams are weird

2011-04-06T10:26:00.000-07:00
Well today I don't have any pictures of my own to share but the one below is of our mom. I've been thinking a lot about her lately. Random things. The thing is I honestly don't remember much about her, and what I do remember aren't very clear in my head...if that makes sense.
What I wanted to share was a dream I had the other night. It was so weird. In my dream she had been dead for about 8 years, the same as now. Then something happened in my dream and she was back...or something strange like that. Almost like she came back to life, but also sort of a mix of the ALIAS mother-was-a-spy-and-her-death-was-faked kind of thing...but that's not what it was. She needed a job and ended up working with me at the laundry mat. And it was strange because I haven't seen her in 8 years but we were talking about whatever like we were really good friends. And I was the age I am now. She was asking me about my boyfriend. My boyfriend that in real life I don't have, I had one in my dream but I couldn't remember who it was...so I was running through all these names trying to remember what his name was. It was just a really weird dream and I don't remember much of it. But it was very real that she was there and she was my mom. It was nice. It made me realize how much I miss her and how I would pretty much do anything to have her back here.
Today is my 22nd birthday and its really not going very well. I have this dream in my head still. Just thinking about how wonderful it was to have her here to get advice from and be my mom. I had a kind of bad critique this morning, my paycheck seems too small (smaller than normal even though I worked the same), my rent is late, and it seems like all of my good friends are getting married or already are and I always thought that by this age/time in my life I would be there as well. I'm really not upset that I'm 22, I know that that isn't old and I always kind of liked the number 22. Well I'm going to stop talking now. Hopefully this day will get better!

I miss you Mommy

Highs and Lows

2011-03-20T18:44:00.000-07:00
Well, these pictures are maybe about a month old but I like them and have been trying to share them for the last few weeks but my internet has been upset lately. These were all taken on a day that I came home from school and spent the night at Tracy's. We pretty much cooked all day long. We made a very delicious artichoke and basil spread, which consisted of so much garlic. We also made some carrot cake muffins for our friend's birthday, and Tracy made some vegetable soup!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! I enjoyed taking them and spending that wonderful day with my wonderful sister! I have to start school again tomorrow, after my pretty awesome spring break. I didn't do much but I'm really okay with that! I have been very tired these last two days so I'm hoping that by going to bed a bit earlier today I can be well rested for tomorrow/this whole week.
Congratulations to my big sister Tracy for getting a job at Artstream! She will be a fantabulous drawing instructor :)
Also, continue to pray for those over in Japan or those who may have family or friends over there. I don't know what the latest news is but every time I think or hear about it my heart aches for those over there. I am so blessed to be living in, really a part of the world that doesn't have many natural disasters, and I think I take that for granted sometimes. I'm trying not to take things for granted so much and trying to give more. But yeah, continue to pray, I can't even imagine what they must be going through or feeling at the moment.

Prayers for Japan

2011-03-14T06:11:00.000-07:00
In light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan that has devastated so many people in that country, please remember to not take anyone or anything for granted. I know (more or less) where all of my loved ones are. I know that they are okay. I even have family that are coming to stay with us this week from far away. My heart aches for and my prayers are going out to those in Japan who don't know where their loved ones are or if they are even alive.

For those that have their families together or at least accounted for, they must now rebuild their lives from the ground up, including their homes and businesses.

Please remember to keep in your prayers those affected by this natural disaster.

rainy days

2011-03-07T09:38:00.000-08:00
Well since it was about 50 degrees and raining yesterday, it caused some serious fog on my way home from work. Although thick and difficult to drive through, it was very beautiful. Now that I have a tripod I was like, "I AM taking pictures when I get home." And I did. These are them. I thought they came out pretty cool. I would like to try it again at some point or try different things. It also might be less scary if there was someone else with me!

Sorry if that last one is creepy. I like them. I wanted to go to the cemetery but I also wanted to go to bed! I chose bed. I know these aren't spectacular but it was first time really using the tripod, outside, in the dark.

"I'm melting!"

2011-02-18T11:04:00.000-08:00
I went outside and took a walk today! It's like 50 degrees! Gorgeous! I didn't get many pictures and its a sort of gross looking outside but I did my best!
This blog would be longer but I have to go and get ready for work now. Enjoy :)

Out of Hibernation

2011-02-17T06:56:00.000-08:00
Here are the two pieces I was working on yesterday (which was the first time I've painted since sometime in November or December). What made them so much fun was that I was able to do my painting outside in the sun :)

This one isn't finished yet. I painted it with a knife and a pretty limited palette.

This second one is probably finished, just a little monochromatic piece with a brush.

So there they are, I hope you enjoy them, and feedback is always welcome!

Waiting for Light...

2011-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00
Are my hands purple because they're cold or is it from the paint?

My wonderful husband gave me a lovely French easel for Christmas. I just used it for the first time today. Almost two months later. I am happy to say that today's painting session was not all that bad! I brought my easel and other materials outside in the snow (it reached a toasty 30 degrees today) and painted for probably an hour and a half, and had quite a pleasant time. Turns out, however, that I am out of any oils in Burnt Umber. I can mix my own neutrals and earth tones pretty well, but the best, most rich, dark, almost black grey that I mix is French Ultramarine with Burnt Umber. Tres beau.

There isn't any good light at this point in the day to take decent photos of what I painted, so I will try to do that tomorrow and upload them to share :)

Buried!

2011-02-10T17:47:00.000-08:00
So there's been kind of a lot of snow. I'm not complaining. I like snow and actually even enjoy cold weather. I think it's beautiful and makes me appreciate the warmth of spring even more. Lately I have not been doing much in the way of art. Like at all. But I've decided it's okay. I mean, I love painting. I love art history, and I love taking in beautiful pieces that others have made. But there is so much more to do! Maybe as an artist, I should not want anything besides art, or shouldn't even consider any activities outside of the art world. I feel like having studied art at school, that kind of thinking was kind of pounded into me. Don't get me wrong. I loved it. I loved being around others who had the same kind of passion for it that I do, getting all kinds of feedback on my own work, and spending tons of time in the studio.

But there IS more to life! I want to find other things that I like. Explore and discover. Abandoning art isn't what I want, EVER. I just can't torture myself when I'm in a rut or just am enjoying something else in life. The fact is that I don't know what I want to do with my life. I want to be happy and healthy, to be a good wife, friend, sister, daughter. I graduated with a degree in art, and I am very proud of that and wouldn't want to change it. It is knowledge that I will always have, whether I choose to use it professionally or not.

Phew. Anyway, here is an image of something I painted a few months ago. Acrylic and graphite on cardboard (sorry for the poor quality).

Food

2011-01-29T07:43:00.000-08:00
These are just pictures of some food that I have been having. The first was my breakfast this morning which consisted of toast, spinach, and goat cheese, with a little bit of pepper. It was quite delicious. I didn't feel like having toast with just butter, or toast with peanut butter or jelly; I wanted something...toasty. Then I really wanted spinach, then came the goat cheese craving; luckily, I had all of these ingredients.

This is a sandwich I had for lunch a few days ago. Portobello cap with spinach, provolone cheese, and goat cheese on toast. Yeah, it was a lot of cheese...but it was really good.

I also just received my first cookbook! A Trader Joe's one. I am very excited about it. Hopefully for some of the recipes I can actually buy things from Trader Joe's but I might have to stick to Hannaford or Market Basket for now, because they are closer and possibly cheaper...at least MB.

"View From His Window at Legras"

2011-01-25T10:46:00.000-08:00
Oh wonderful, I found both of them!

This first one is the original picture taken by Niepce in 1827, 8 hour exposure!

And this one is the one that is normally seen and credited for being the first photograph. It is still very important though! I hope you enjoyed this lesson :)

History of Photography

2011-01-25T10:34:00.000-08:00
Someone in the Johnson household had a grapefruit today...mostly it smelled really wonderful to me but the remains were still on the counter and I thought there could possibly be some nice photos there. The last two are the same, except one is B&W and the other, color. I like how they all came out. I love the color of the red grapefruit but I thought that the B&W one might look nice...maybe its just because I had my History of Photography class and we are starting way back in the 1800s so I am going back to my days of wanting to shoot in B&W film and working in the darkroom. Although, the interesting thing I did learn (among many other things) is that the first photographs weren't in B&W but it was a monochromatic color of a brownish shade. And that the first picture that is considered to be the first photograph ("View From His Window at Legras" 1827, by Niepce) was actually painted because the actual photo is very difficult to make out. If that made any sense. Maybe I can find a picture of it and post it...

My toes are froze, and my nose is froze...

2011-01-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been quite a while. I have taken some pictures but just haven't gotten around to putting them on my computer right away. These pictures are for my studio lighting class I'm taking this semester. Our first assignment, given last Wednesday, was to use any light source and find something to reflect the light back onto the object/subject. I have this thing for hands so this is my hand...yay! Ummm...The one we actually critiqued was the most abstracted one of my hand, the one with the "v" shapes in it. My professor went through all the pictures I had and she got to that one and went "ooooo" The only thing that didn't work very well was that my reflector or bounce object didn't really work too well. It was my pillow (with a white pillowcase). My light source was the window.
To be honest I'm really not looking forward to this class but it will be good stuff to know. I just prefer natural lighting way better. Oh well, its a required course! Also the photo barn was really cold this morning because the heat isn't working. So besides the fact that it was already 5 below this morning, it was freezing in the barn because...well a) its a barn that has photo labs in it b) the heat was broken. But hopefully my next two classes of the day will be warmer. I just don't want to go out again :(

Banksy, Shepard Fairey...Mr. Brainwash?

2011-01-23T09:26:00.000-08:00
Finally excited about something art related! Josh and I watched the documentary, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" last night. It introduces the viewer to the underground movement of Street Art. This is a movement that I have been interested in for a few years now...not something that I have participated in or really cared to, but some of these artists are fantastic, and I love that they just put their art anywhere they think it will look good or is needed.

Shepard Fairey is one who I have heard of, and if you don't recognize his name, you will most likely recognize several of his images.

Check him out: http://obeygiant.com/

Banksy is a name I have heard, but was not familiar with his work. He loves what he does and he has fun doing it. And no one knows who he is. Fantastic. His work is definitely something to look at. Some of his images make societal or political statements, some are interesting to see, and others are humorous. I was thoroughly impressed.

This film explores some of his process and a little bit of who he is...but only as an artist, not his actual identity.

I won't even get into my thoughts on the filmmaker, Thierry, or as he calls himself later in the film, Mr. Brainwash...

I'd love to hear your thoughts, if anyone has seen it or if there is any feedback on graffiti, street art, or specific street artists.

Enjoy!

http://www.banksyfilm.com/

-Tracy

Adventure is Out There!

2011-01-12T09:18:00.000-08:00
It's been a while. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that the New Year is full of beautiful opportunities and possibilities for you. Because of certain circumstances I've experienced in my life, I am usually very appreciative of the people in it, and always try to understand that I may not understand the reasons for everything. Although I generally have this mindset, it is easy to overlook a lot and still take way too much for granted. One of my goals this year is to not do that. To see the beauty in as much as possible and to not be afraid of opportunities.

One way to start that is to begin painting again. My wonderful husband gave me a beautiful French easel for Christmas, and my in-laws supplied me with several hundred small canvases (perhaps a slight exaggeration). Now I have NO EXCUSES.

For now, we are in the middle of quite the snow storm. Josh already had the day off, as they tried to do as much as possible at work yesterday so that the forecasted storm wouldn't cause them to cancel any jobs today. We had a traditional sleepover last night; brought the mattress out into the living room to watch movies and TV, eat lots of food and stay up late. Slept in later than either of us have in years this morning, and made up an itinerary of standard snow day procedure: breakfast dance party, reading books (we're both working on the Bourne trilogy by Robert Ludlum), watch more movies and TV, go out in the snow to play (and probably clean up the cars and driveway), sip hot chocolate, etc. I am thankful for the time we are able to spend together today. Below are photos from yesterday afternoon, when we went out on the nearby frozen Lake Wentworth for some sliding around and hot chocolate.

I hope that you all are excited about 2011 and all the blessings and adventures it has in store! In the spirit of the movie, "UP," which has started our day off, "Adventure is Out There!"

-Tracy

He died for me.

2010-12-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon. I woke up very early this morning...well not really but earlier than I normally do, because I completely forgot that I needed to do something for my crucifixion project. I took these pictures and they are of the different forms of crucifixion that people used.
The first photo is just of the berries because the light looked nice.
This first form is called Crux Decussata, and is named after the Roman numeral ten (X). It is also called Saint Andrew's cross because it is believed that he asked to be crucified on this type because he did not feel worthy to be crucified in the same way that Christ was.

Crux Commissa, capital T shaped. Named after the Greek letter Tau.
Crux Immissa, lower case t shaped. Probably the most recognizable form (in Christianity) because it is the kind Christ was crucified on. I heard growing up that the apostle Peter asked to be crucified upside down (on this form), because he too, felt unworthy to be crucified the same way as Christ.
After all of my research I don't think this one really applies...well to an extent I suppose...Crux Simplex. A single stake in the ground.
Well those are the photos I took for my project. I hope they seem creative. I tried anyway. Also, I gave my presentation then someone went after me and spoke about how Christ and other deities were made up. So it was an interesting class. But I think it went pretty well. I am just very thankful that I know Christ is real and that He died for my sins and that I have an eternity to look forward to in heaven where there is no more pain or tears. Where I will be praising God for ever and ever. He shed His blood, God sent His OWN SON to die for my sins, so I wouldn't have to die. AND I am so thankful for His grace and mercy and unconditional love. Thank you Lord for loving me and caring for me and giving me a wonderful family and a wonderful second family to live with who love you!

"I can almost hear your harmony"

2010-12-01T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well a little better. These next five pictures are from Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, and yesterday. Not quite today, but getting closer. Maybe once this semester is over my brain won't be so fried.
This first photo is a bowl of clementines from thanksgiving.
On the 26th I woke up and everything was covered with ice but I didn't want to go outside. My daddy later pointed out to me that since the sun was out everything was sparkling and I knew that if I didn't go outside I would regret it. I'm so happy I did because I got this photo which I am very proud of!
Yesterday I went to Portsmouth with my beautiful sister and we were sitting in Breaking New Grounds and this young fellow, who I loved upon seeing and said I would marry him, sat down and played the guitar. We were inside so I'm not sure if he was singing, but I took pictures and I am thrilled with how they came out!

I hope you enjoyed them! The last few feel very much like Christmas to me, and it makes me happy because its almost Christmas! Just missing the snow.

Ready for a break...

2010-11-29T03:53:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been way to long since I have put anything up here. But I figured that since I am such a horrible college student/procrastinator and stayed up all night to write a paper/project thing, I might as well update this...somewhat. These pictures are of my friend Amberle. I took her senior pictures back in October...so these are quite old, but she wouldn't let me do anything with them until she saw them. I don't think she has picked one yet but I'm pretty pleased with how they came out.

My project was on crucifixion. When I told my professor that that was what I chose he got all flustered...well not really but he was like okay, narrow it down. So I said alright I'll do it from a Christian's point of view/crucifixion of Jesus. So that's what I did. He said I could make it as religious as I wanted or didn't want. Anyways, I hope he likes my paper. And that next week my presentation for it goes well. I'm not trying to shove it in their faces, that is just the story I know the most about concerning crucifixion, and I did learn things I didn't already know. Well, the red bull kept me awake for the time I did my paper. Its all gone though and has been for a few hours...and now I need more :( But for now I think I'll just get some breakfast...maybe some coffee or tea.

Giving Thanks!

2010-11-23T19:51:00.000-08:00
Quick update: my art class with my new student has been great. Only two classes so far, but she is really great, and her sister even came to the last class. They both seem to be quite good at drawing and pretty focused on it. An hour and a half can be kind of intense for some people, but they took it like champs! I have enjoyed this experience so far. This week, I ran into the dad of one of the younger girls I taught this summer, and he asked if I was available to do some more classes with her (I'm thinking this will probably be after the holidays)! Either way, she is fantastic, and he even said that she is continuing to draw self-portraits (which was one of the projects we worked on this summer. She got really into it and we ended up extending the classes so she could keep working on it).

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I just wanted to share a FEW things that I am thankful for. I am thankful for so many things, and try not to take any of them for granted. I have a house to keep me warm and dry, food to eat, employment. A loving husband who is my best friend, the best at everything, always encouraging and supportive of me, and challenges me in so many areas (in the best possible ways). I am thankful for my faith, and the grace, mercy and unconditional love that are shown to me in so many ways. For my senses, to take in the beauty that surrounds me every day. My amazing friends and family. I am thankful for my sister and that she is also a good friend. We started this blog to try to keep up with each other's work (we've both been slacking off here, but hey, we're trying) and lives. Having so much in common with each other and always having had a good relationship is a blessing that I realize not everyone has with their siblings. It is so precious. I love you, Lindsay Rose!

-Tracy

Opportunity

2010-11-09T05:33:00.000-08:00
It's been a long time since I have posted anything. I could make excuses like, "there was lots of laundry to do...I was tired...I had other plans..." but really I just need to be making art. Since my job at the gallery is pretty low key, I do try to keep up with my sketchbook at the very least.

If anyone is going to the Wolfeboro Library anytime during November, look for my painting! One day about two weeks ago, my boss at the gallery said, "The Governor Wentworth Arts Council has their art show in the library in November. You should put your painting in it," (referring to the framed piece I have in the gallery, a small watercolor shown below. It's the best shot I have of it, sorry you can only see some of the mat).

I said, "Okay," to which she responded, "Oh, but you have to be a member." Okay...then she came up with a solution, "How about the gallery pays for your membership?"
Okay!
So I quickly filled out a form and now am a member of the Governor Wentworth Arts Council. I haven't even been to see the show yet (is that bad?), and it was hung about a week ago.
Another opportunity I have through the gallery is starting tomorrow afternoon. Over the summer, I taught a few private art classes for some young girls who either live in town or were visiting for a few weeks. My boss and I had talked about doing something during the school year, or at least in the fall, to continue with them, but nothing really happened with that. Until yesterday. On a cold, rainy day when I was sitting in the gallery for five hours before any customers came in. And then a few more hours until a mother and daughter came in to ask about art classes! The girl is a teenager and they were looking for lessons, so we figured it all out (mostly), and we'll be starting tomorrow! I'm pretty excited about it. I had so much fun teaching the little girls over the summer, so this new student will present a whole new set of challenges that I am looking forward to. I get paid a little extra per class that I teach, so even that is some motivation.
The sad news about the gallery is that it is going to be closed from January through March this year. So I'll be out of work for three months unless I find something else. Meaning I need to find something else. We shall see what happens with lots of prayer and trusting and job hunting.
I'll include a few more images from my sketchbook that I had fun with. Nothing spectacular to look at, but I had a good time!

This first one is a watercolor I did from my kitchen window looking out into our yard. Unfinished.

The next two are from my sketchbook looking out at the buildings and docks by the lake behind the gallery. Pen on paper.

Watercolor sketch in the sketchbook of a small bouquet in the gallery. Sorry the image came out kind of dark.

So now I'm a little caught up. And if I feel bad posting pictures from my sketchbook instead of finished pieces, that's my own fault!
Thanks for bearing with me.

-Tracy

I have a rumbly in my tumbly :)

2010-11-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

Well, the other night I bought the movie Julie & Julia because I have wanted to see it and I heard it was a really awesome movie. I watched it and loved it...and really wanted to cook. I think at some point in the movie they were having some sort of bruschetta...that looked very appealing to me. This morning for breakfast I made my own little experiment...lightly toasted bread, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and garlic powder (because there were no real garlic cloves), and a little bit of cheese. Needless to say, I thought it tasted fantastic and I want to make it again with bunches of tomatoes and peppers and mushrooms, real garlic, onion....well other things in it. And of course I took pictures of my creation!

God is Here

2010-11-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yes. I did take this picture today. No. I have not posted anything in a very long time. But here is a photo from earlier this evening. The Johnson's had to go to Bible study and it was so weird...we were all eating dinner then they basically disappeared, so I was sitting at the table all by myself and I thought of this picture. As they were leaving Andrew runs up to me and he says, "Bye Lindsay! Don't be sad, God is here!" Although I may look a little sad in this...or maybe it looks like a sad picture, which I guess is actually sort of what I was going for. Maybe more loneliness or something. Seems like that...but I'm not sad. I'm very happy. That's just what the picture reminded me of when I was suddenly alone in the house! That's the story behind this photo.

Plein Air

2010-10-30T13:14:00.000-07:00
I had Thursday off this week, and it happened to be a gorgeous day! Love it when that happens. I took two small canvases outside with me and made one painting in my dad's backyard, and the other in a friend's. Altogether, I think it took me about and hour and a half to two hours. These are oil paints on canvas. The colors aren't one hundred percent accurate. I have a hard time getting good lighting at my house for photographs, so the images came out either really dark or very washed out and pale. Using my limited editing tools on iPhoto, I tried my very best to make the colors look better (or at least like colors). I may go back into these paintings a bit at a later date.

-Tracy

Hmmmm

2010-10-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Not the greatest picture, and I took it yesterday but I was just playing around with my new editing material, lightroom, that Joe gave me...so just experimenting! I'll have more up later...or I should anyway :)

Lazy Day

2010-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Well today carried some interesting weather. I was going to go out and actually take pictures of the foliage...then it was raining...then it was sunny, then hail, then sun, then cloudy and windy...so I did not take pictures of leaves. I did go outside while it was hailing though. I took the two top pictures, the ones of hail weren't coming out very well. The last one I took after I finished watching a movie. I had eaten something and just put my plate on a pillow and I was laying down and looked up and saw the shape of the plate and ta-da!

False Alarm!

2010-10-20T16:57:00.000-07:00
...about Heroes, anyway. Turns out there are at least four seasons. Phew. It was another very slow day at work, so I spent a good six hours on this drawing. Still not finished, and I may just use it as a study to work from on a bigger piece. 11"x14" pen on paper.

-Tracy

Heroes was Cancelled.

2010-10-19T17:50:00.000-07:00
That the ABC series, "Heroes," was cancelled, is not news to anyone. But Josh and I have been watching the series on Netflix and we're nearing the end! I have been enjoying it, I must admit. Oh to have superpowers!
In lighter news, here is an image of the sushi I made last night for dinner. Josh fashioned the little worm in the middle out of wasabi.

The rest for today are just a couple of sketches from my sketchbook today.

-Tracy

Hot Soup and Cold Ice Cream

2010-10-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today was such a wonderful day to have hot soup for dinner...which is what we did. Then for dessert, we had nice cold ice cream! But it was very yummy. Many chocolatey flavors were present. My favorite picture would be the middle one but its softer than I thought it was, which makes me sad. This ice cream was still a good thing for me today. I have a midterm tomorrow and on Thursday morning...both of which I'm not ready for. So of course, I am updating the blog and complaining about my tests that I'm not ready for rather than studying. It makes everything better right away.

Veggie Sushi

2010-10-18T16:44:00.000-07:00
Well tonight for dinner we had some homemade veggie sushi...looked beautiful and tasted good. Not great, though, because I burned some of the rice. No new paintings today, just some small sketches in my sketchbook, but here are a few other palette pieces from the past month or so. The first two are watercolor on paper, and the last one is graphite on sketchbook paper.

And mother always told me, be careful who you love...

2010-10-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide which I liked better. Not that its a spectacular photo anyway but I liked the color of the wall in the color one, and the simplicity of the black and white one. As for the title...I have that song...yes Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, stuck in my head. But maybe the tissues work with that...? I don't know haha

Circles are the Theme Today

2010-10-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well I went to church then straight to work today. So I came home and while I was making my yummy dinner of PB&J I took some pictures. The sink was the only interesting place...well not really but the light was on in the kitchen. Then I realized I was only taking pictures of the circle things in the sink. So...yes, these are my pictures today - enjoy!

Saturday, the Sixteenth

2010-10-16T13:25:00.000-07:00
Today is Saturday. A beautiful, sunny, breezy Saturday. I have the day off, but Josh doesn't, so I've been waiting for him to get home all day. It's been a long day. I painted for a few hours this morning, did laundry and the dishes, went into town for a few things...and now I'm back here waiting again. But here are my paintings from today:

This one was painted specifically to go in the dining room next to a small sculpture Josh and I made after seeing one similar to it at a gallery. Felt a little weird just taking the idea from someone, but we liked it THAT MUCH. The painting here was taken in low light (our house is kind of dark this time of day), so the contrast is a little stronger than it appears here.

I think this painting was done in about fifteen minutes. Maybe I will go back in for a few touch ups, but I like how it's more of a sketch for now. My mom's old box of soft pastels.

Here is the palette painting! I have been living with it for a few days, so it will be good for some other eyes to look at it.

-Tracy

Self Portrait

2010-10-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is a little how my day went. Well I didn't have a bad day, just a lazy day! I didn't go to my class and I got a little bit of homework and cleaning done. Hopefully I can finish my room tomorrow before I go to work. I am trying to get better at my portrait photos and using oneself as a model is very handy, but also sometimes frustrating. I think that's why I opted for this depressing sad looking one...because it was the only one (of many) that I was happy with. It doesn't mean that's how I'm feeling though...but I hope you enjoy the picture!

Surprise...

2010-10-14T16:51:00.000-07:00
So I did manage to get some painting in today, and it was great! I had the morning all to myself, and it was beautiful outside, so I went out in the yard and did some painting. 16"x20" acrylic on canvas.

I was going through some work I've done in the past year, and thought I would share a very small series I did over the winter. They are all watercolors on paper and for the most part kind of small. I hope you enjoy looking at them!

This last one is on a 16"x20" canvas...a process I did not love. Actually, I painted the above picture of my yard over it.

Needless to say, I spend a lot of time drinking tea. If it helps in your viewing of these pieces, all of the tea bags are either green or chamomile tea :)

-Tracy

Most of what I remember makes me sure...

2010-10-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Today started out beautiful and sunny. I had big plans of taking a walk to the cemetery down the street to take pictures because there is a big orange leaved maple tree that I wanted to take pictures of. Alas, the sun started disappearing and it got really cold, but, the girls had dance tonight, so I drove them and was able to talk across the street and take some pictures. I was still really cold and it was getting dark but I did get a few pictures. I'll probably go back at some point again when its sunnier outside...if the leaves are still there!

Almost Done!

2010-10-14T05:47:00.000-07:00
Sorry I haven't posted anything for a couple of days...I've almost finished my painting and am now trying to live with it for a while. So it is up over the fireplace where I see it all the time in a setting outside of the studio. Still trying to find little things that may or may not be a big deal in the overall piece. Also trying to stay faithful to my sketchbook and take it everywhere (as well as my pencils: 2B, 4B, 6B and...8B, which is apparently water soluble). They're a new purchase and I'm still excited about them :)

-Tracy

Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

2010-10-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today, after my class, I went to the lovely little town of South Berwick, ME. I visited my high school and some other fantastic people! Before I left I went to a little park type place...still don't know if it has a name. I took a few pictures, I liked the contrast of the bright colors and the dark background in this one. I'm so happy its fall!

King Richard's Faire

2010-10-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

I will admit a sad, sad story...I did not manage to take any pictures on Sunday :( I took some with my film camera but have not yet gotten that developed. However, I went to a Renaissance fair today and I think I made up for my lack of pictures yesterday.

This first one is Kelsey's eye, she was a fairy!
     Second is just a nice shadow I saw while looking at some jewelry.
   Something hanging from the trees :)
   Sarah's dagger!
   On the way home we went through Boston and I got some fun shots...
   Whoa...all I have to say about that one...I'll let you guess :)

Monday, the Eleventh

2010-10-11T19:32:00.000-07:00
So the last two days I have been either working, cooking, or outside enjoying this great weather. I did pull myself away from these things long enough to get some more work done on my painting. I'll put up two images of it, one is really dark, and the other has a big bright glare in the middle of it.

The drawing of the palette is actually better than it looks here, but the angle the picture was taken from makes the top look bigger.

-Tracy

Vivaldi's Four Seasons ~ Winter

2010-10-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

Both of these have been inspired by seeing so many ballerina things. I want to dance again...or at least be in shape. So, I went in the bathroom tonight and tried to take some cool photos...I liked this one.

This is sort of an idea I have...clearly, I am not flexible enough but I have a way cool idea in my head and it goes something like this picture. I should also invest in a tripod. Those are very helpful.

Shoe Store

2010-10-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had a girls night last night and we went to the store and tried on high heels...I came very close to buying these. I don't know why I liked them so much...but anyway, I thought that the way they looked unbuckled, with socks, and Madeleine's leg warmers looked like some fun pictures :) So these were taken on October 8, 2010.

Two days...

2010-10-09T18:49:00.000-07:00
...and not a whole lot of work to show for it. The first painting is just showing some progress on my palette painting. Still not there yet, but I reworked the whole thing, I mean with a ruler, pencil and more paint. Covered the whole thing up and just started over again. Still needs some tweaking, but I'll get there. Hopefully just a couple more days! The other painting is just a watercolor sketch from today. The trees were just too beautiful on this incredible fall day NOT to try to paint them! This is my favorite season of the year...the weather, the colors, everything.

I was thankful to have some time to squeeze this little sketch in before spending the afternoon at the Sandwich Fair with some friends and my husband!

-Tracy

OH NO

2010-10-08T18:29:00.000-07:00
So this is really terrible of me....I took pictures today but I'm not with my computer and the computer I"m with isn't able to take my pictures...long story so I won't go on and bore you all. Needless to say, no pictures will be going on tonight :/
I am having a girls night with a few favorites tonight :)

I will have pictures up tomorrow of what I took today and what I take tomorrow!
Sorry everyone!

Pointe Shoes

2010-10-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

I liked both of these, so I decided to put both up! I am so happy I know girls who dance and that their teacher lets me take pictures while their class is going on. Hopefully I won't have too many repeats up here or too many dance ones. But I hope you enjoy them :)

Permonent Red

2010-10-07T17:03:00.000-07:00
I know, that's not how you spell "permanent." But that is what the color of this soft pastel by Grumbacher is called (another piece of my mom's from when she was in high school). Not the best I've ever done, but it's something. I had today off, so I was able to spend a few hours painting, and got some significant work done on my other painting, the one of the palette. By significant, I mean I painted over pretty much the whole thing and redrew it. But I'm already liking it much more!

-Tracy

Three Buttons Still Life

2010-10-06T17:46:00.000-07:00
This painting is probably about 5"x 7" and is acrylic paint on paper. Acrylics are kind of a new medium for me, so I'm still trying to figure those out. I couldn't wait to paint today. I work at an art gallery, and the past two days have been me sitting at the counter with a pencil, paper and...calculator. Bookkeeping (does anyone know of a word that has more consecutive double letters than that?). No fun at all.
When I finally arrived home, I had to figure out what to paint. On one of our last excursions to an antique store, Josh and I had picked up a few little bags of buttons...they're cute and I wanted to make a necklace. Needless to say, that hasn't happened, so voila! Still life. Of buttons. Probably took me about an hour to an hour and a half to do...not sure because we were watching Date Night, too. Multitasking.

This one is a work in progress...acrylic on canvas. It is of a watercolor palette of my mom's from the '70s. The drawing needs some serious help, and I'm hoping to have it finished by next week. We'll see.

-Tracy

Blue Kind of Day

2010-10-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well, this isn't my greatest work of art...not even close, but I liked the blues of my mug and ring. And I think part of it is that I'm taking a color photography class this semester so I've been noticing the very saturated colors lately. I hope everyone enjoys this...feel free to critique :)

...and so it begins.

2010-10-05T17:35:00.000-07:00
So here we are, sitting at a tiny table at Barnes and Noble. We initially thought of this blog a few months ago, but never got around to it. But now, ladies and gentlemen, is the time. With Lindsay in school full time and both of us working (and living about an hour and a half away from each other), it's difficult to get together to talk about anything, much less whatever our current creative activities are. Our plan is to use this blog as a way to continue to make art, even on days when we feel like we don't have any time, or just plain don't want to. From Lindsay, it will be photography, for the most part, and for myself, painting and drawing. We will probably also add quotes, poems and other works of art that we find interesting or inspiring, as well as reviews of any exhibitions we may go to.

Lindsay will be posting the first image, a photo from this afternoon, which we spent in Portsmouth.

The second image is actually a drawing from my sketchbook from yesterday, but it was the most recent piece I have on me right now. Also I have to give some of the credit to Linds, because she took the picture of it!
So that's it for today! We are looking forward to seeing where this will take us, excited to watch our ideas evolve and to grow in our relationship as sisters, friends and artists.