Simple365

I went away for a few days to the Sierra Mountains at the high elevation that I love so much. Now that I am back at home, it is strictly playing and planning indoors for me now. As I was doing just that, I thought I share with you another set of b&w photos, along with a few other things I have been playing with – paint making, quilting, bookmaking and photography.

Simple 365 – Set 11

Here is another set of Simple365 photos. For those of you who are new here – A few years ago, I took one b&w photo per day of simple little things around me for a year. I have been sharing those photos here every now and then. These were taken during July and August of that year.

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here. That way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos, like in an old photo album.

Since I share mostly artwork and photos on this website, one thing you probably don’t know about me is that there was a time when I wrote software for most of my waking hours. I loved it and I still do.

This is the month when I worked on the computer almost non-stop while drinking countless mugs of coffee and poring over code and art photos. Tech and art side by side. My shop went live that month. Since then, I have added my handmade journals to the shop and sold quite a few, which has been a dream come true.

Paint Making

This is only a very small subset of pigments I made last year from things found in the garden. I am planning on turning them into paint this year. I need to get a respirator first since I don’t want any of this powder to get into my lungs. I can’t wait to share more with you.

Quilt Making

I design paper piecing quilt patterns from the ground up, not using quilting software, but a vector drawing program. I don’t have a design wall, so I create the layout using a software/app as well.

I have finished making all the blocks for this quilt. Now with the finished layout, I can start cutting the rest of the fabric for sewing.

Notebooks and Journals

My husband is studying for his pilot license, and he loves using paper for his notes. So, I made this notebook for him in the style of old leather books, but with new NAT / vegan leather. I saved the trim for him to use as a bookmark.

More books are in the making as I write this.

Photography

When I am out and about, my DSLR camera is my perpetual companion. A few years ago, I switched over to using non-zoom lenses, which are incidentally manual focus only. It’s a bit old fashioned compared to the modern age of auto-focus zoom lenses, but it suits my style of photography.

I find black and white photography to be highly expressive. As the color is stripped off the scene, it becomes all about light and shadow.

I wanted to try out my recently acquired new lenses. Tavish is the only cat who sits quietly enough for me to take his photos. I took two portrait-style photos of him. I couldn’t decide which one to share since they show two completely different sides of his personality – curious and quiet. So I am sharing both.

Although I miss being outside, looking through the Simple365 photos made me want to play with new ideas, plan for the next road trip, and spend extra time with the kitties. So that is exactly what I will be doing until autumn calls me out to play again.

I hope your summer is going well!

Until next time,
-Soma

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Simple 365 – Set 10

Here is another set of Simple365 photos. This is what my summer usually looks like, playing and experimenting indoors. After a jaunt through the garden, I putter in the kitchen making both food and art concoctions. Aside from making paint from foraged things, this was my first time making mint jam and mint wine.

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

Monochromatic Paintings

Painting With Homemade Ink

We have a beautiful old towering black walnut tree. A couple of years ago, I happily collected a LOT of black walnuts. The huge mess I made was matched only by the amount the fun I had while making black walnut ink.

This was my first time painting with ink made from plant material. This bookmark picture is of that walnut tree, painted with the ink I made. The ink has a gorgeous golden hue to it and can also be used as a stain. I am going to convert some of that ink/stain to watercolor, but that’s a story for another day.

Exploring An Old Favourite

I probably don’t need to to tell you anymore how much I love trees. Whenever I am trying something new, I unintentionally start with a simple sketch of one or many trees, followed by marking the dark, medium and light areas. This value sketch is immensely helpful, especially when I am working with only one color.

It does look like a hot mess when I start. However, the composition takes shape over time as I continue to paint. “The rule” says to paint from light to dark. However, I sometimes paint the closest trees first. They are the darkest and have the most detail. Then I paint the further-out ones that are lighter in color with less detail. I do what works for the painting and me, which quite often does not follow convention.

Prussian Blue is one of my favourite colours. Depending on water usage, this granulating color deposits unevenly producing a mottled effect. There are places in this painting where I didn’t want that, so I had to pay extra attention. Exploring it without interference from another color gave me a chance to learn and understand this color to its fullest.

Trying A New Brand

Watercolors from different brands behave very differently. I was curious about Rembrandt watercolor. I love their less expensive Van Gogh line and use it often in my nature journals. When I want to try out a new expensive brand of watercolor, I only purchase one tube. While visiting an art supply store with my husband, I asked him to pick out a Rembrandt color for me. Here is a man who delights in creating little challenges for me. Knowing very well that I use red in my paintings only for accents, he chose that very color for a monochromatic painting.

Painting a red forest bookmark was daunting for me, but I accepted the challenge and loved it. Working with just one color, I was able to learn the behavior of the Rembrandt paint.

A few painting tools and a tube of paint, and I can stay busy for hours. I also keep a sketchbook with my line drawings, value sketches and additional notes.

Black and white photos create a simplified world with increased depth, perspective, and focus. Extending that monochromatic world of photography into the world of painting makes it easier for me to learn and play. Do you ever play with black and white / monochromatic colors or are you a full-time full-color person? I would love to know.

-Soma