Old apple trees, bears and grandchildren At our home near Ely, we have an apple tree planted probably 30 years ago. It is looking pretty pathetic these days, (likely partly due to neglect that comes with being busy doing other things). A few of the bigger branches have died in the past few years leaving … Read more
Reading Robert Henri’s “The Art Spirit” and this page seemed to get my attention. Again with the question of: why? We sort of instinctively like to think drawing or painting things is just about seeing something and then reproducing it but Herni is talking about something different I think. We are working toward noticing what … Read more
Sometimes I take the time to set up a time lapse camera on something I am working on even if it just a quick sketch. It’s fun to watch it happen like this. I uploaded a couple new ones to my youtube channel(opens in new tab) recently. This one is a charcoal drawing from a … Read more
Sometimes while drifting off to sleep at night I feel this wave of being alive. Not a thought so much as a feeling: every moment of life could feel like this. We get such a finite stretch of time here, yet so much of it slips by while we’re doing something else. It makes me … Read more
I managed to get to a couple life drawing sessions at OT Artists in St. Paul this past month or so. This was a one page session in a sketch book 11″ x 14″, 2 hours total with a few 3 minute poses and then one long pose. Mostly pencil and a little ink. Then … Read more
I started a larger oil painting. Occasionally this happens, sometimes with good results but often it gets abandoned or just lays around looking disappointing. But I think I am getting better at just enjoying the process. I think… maybe… This is not huge, maybe 16” x 20”, but I consider that to be more than … Read more
I used up all the pages in this old sketchbook… as I look through, some good stuff here and there and a lot of messiness, (but that is where some of the fun is). I don’t know where I got this sketch book. It doesn’t even have a cover. But I used it up, paper … Read more
I’ve been following Will Steger on his recent trek. I don’t know why, usually I don’t take the time for this sort of thing. Something about the calm matter of factness of tone as he talks about his day. What stands out isn’t any grand achievement, but how unnecessary it all seems by most standards. … Read more
We visited the grand kids and family this past month. Always a good time. I am glad that I am still able to get down on the floor and hang out with them at their level. It’s hard to imagine the energy it takes to raise kids and I realize how much of it all … Read more
What if the tension I feel about art has less to do with time and more to do with meaning? In a recent discussion in my coaching program with Steve Huston, we talked briefly about the idea that when I am working at art, how do I know I am not wasting time? Or just … Read more