Prepping for Two New Pieces

Ok, the bug bit and the itch is quite annoying. Therefore, I'm preparing to start two new pieces. First is a pastel piece featuring poppies. This piece is from my imagination but inspired by a picture taken by my mother-in-law when she visited the national poppy reserve in California this spring. Second, and closest to my heart, is a portrait (my first ever) of my precious grandmother a.k.a. Mamaw. I lost her over 11 years ago and it still feels as painful as that very day quite often. The piece is partly for me but mostly as a gift for my mother and her brothers (I will have prints made for each).

Holding out hope beyond hope for free time, I plan on the piece accompanying a family cookbook that I've been working on for years now, off and on. I have all of Mamaw's old recipes at home and have been working at transcribing the family favorites. Many are so old and time-worn that portions have been literally read using the indentations in the paper since the ink was completely gone.

I will try to be diligent in posting updates to both projects. We shall see how it goes.

On an unrelated note, my thoughts and prayers are with my dear friend (and fabulous pastelist) Tammy. I haven't heard from her in a few months now and have had no replies to messages. I fear that her husband, Bob, isn't doing well at all. May God give peace, comfort, strength and healing to them both.

Photos

I've shot quite a few photos lately, though most were of my son playing baseball. I had one shot, in particular, that showed the late afternoon golden shimmer that I'm so enthralled with, and an iconic symbol of the way I grew up and a simpler, arguably better time in human history. Hope you enjoy!

Yeah, I dropped the ball

I know, 8 months later, I post an update. Sorry folks. I started out well on my Nano novel but life got in the way. I've spent about 2 hours writing and 20 minutes drawing in the last 8 months. ARRRRRRRRRRRG! Anyway, at least ball season's over (until August) and I've been able to break out the camera and start shooting again. Hopefully I'll get to start drawing again soon too.

One thing has helped to boost my spirits though. I gave my oldest son (8) a "How to Draw Dinosaurs" book. He opened it, took a pencil and a piece of notebook paper, and five minutes later had a better T-Rex than I've ever drawn. Looks like he inherited the graphic arts gene. My little girl (5) seems to have inherited the story-telling genes :)

Hopefully I'll be back with more soon. Gas is too high for go much so maybe that'll mean more drawing time.

Now I've Really Done It!

I've gone and signed up for the NaNoWriMo challenge. It's a challenge to get people writing and it's a big one!!!! 50,000 word novel in the month of November. I must be crazy!

I normally find some reason (read "excuse") not to start writing my fiction again so I'm hoping letting all of you know that I'm doing this will help spur me to action. The challenge is not to worry about the quality, but the quantity, to get people out of their comfort zones and off their rears and just write - allow the creative juices to flow.

Wish me luck, because with the three kids running around, it'll be pretty difficult to turn out almost 1700 words each day of the month.

Potential Disaster (on the verge of despair)

I went into the studio area to look for some reference pictures for a dear friend this evening. When I went to access my external drive that houses my digital pictures, all I got was an I/O error. I tried it on a different computer, took it apart and put it in my computer to see if it was the controller, no luck. At this point, it's completely inaccessible!! I'm praying with all I have that a friend of mine can find a way to retrieve what's there. All of my reference pictures from the past 4 years are on that drive. Barns, flowers, wildlife, landscapes, etc., in addition to hundreds of pictures of my children.

To an avid shutterbug, this is such a heartache. Suffice to say, I'm quite sad and anxious at the moment.

Hurry On Fall!

We thought fall might be arriving soon, but we're still hitting near 90 in Alabama. Some of the leaves are turning, but it's been so dry that I feel there will likely be very little color. Be that as it may, the cameras have come out and been made ready to go. This is my favorite time of year for capturing pictures of old barns, farmsteads, etc.

I'm looking forward to using some photos to further try my hand at some pastel work. I've gotten to do very little practicing but so far, I'm really enjoying using these soft pastels. They're so different from graphite and colored pencil. You can be loose and free with them and just watch something emerge. I love just looking at the colors, seeing in them different things from nature.

Thinking of the colors of fall inspires a few words to begin swirling in my mind. Enjoy!

The Colors of Fall
(c) R. Brandon Coan, 2007

Golden yellows, earthen browns
crimson reds upon the ground
an earthtone rainbow spreads before -
a muted carpet on forest floor.

The crispness of the morning air
as strolling slowly, here and there
we take in nature's wondrous sights
in the golden, dawning light

A slightly musty smell now wafts
to our noses, slight held aloft
as taking in the woodlands all
we welcome in the glorious fall.

Celebration time...

Ok, this first thing isn't art/writing related but I had to share. My eldest son, Chase, lost his first tooth on Wednesday evening. He is almost eight and we'd begun to wonder if he'd ever be "snaggletoothed." He's been wanting to lose a tooth since he was four! Fortunately, he has now lost the first so hopefully the others will come in rapid succession.

Now, on to the art side of life. A dear friend and extremely talented artist, Diane Wright, has recently released an art instruction book called Beautiful Landscapes. It is one of the Walter Foster "Drawing Made Easy" series. I have read quite a few of these and honestly, this is by far the best of the series. The drawings are wonderfully rendered and the explanations are clear, concise, and easy to follow. I highly recommend it for both the beginner and advanced artist.

To see Diane's work, or to order an autographed copy of the book, please visit her website Diane Wright Fine Art.

I am currently trying to work up the courage to begin my first portrait. I'm still undecided as to whether it will be of my daughter Kennedy, or a tribute to my dear grandmother. I'm also working on two different children's book ideas, one of which I have been running past a gifted artist and illustrator, Vincent Whitehead. I hope that this project can take off and become something that my children and grandchildren can be proud of.