Just Make That First Mark

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Mary Beth Frezon

Just dash something down if you see a blank canvas staring at you with a certain imbecility. You do not know how paralyzing it is, that staring of a blank canvas which says to the painter: you don’t know anything. — Vincent van Gogh

What sort of things did I do today?

I recently took several photos of a beautiful scene down the road and not a single one had the important part in focus and yet I like the photos – they’re all I need to remember the beauty of the moment and maybe use it to spark something else.

I started an autumnal road scene in watercolor – laying down the lights and general area. I like it. It’s nice and mushy. This is yet another reminder that sometimes you need to wait for it to dry.

And after trying out the colors in my travel paint kit, I decided to be bold and replace the cakes with my own tube paint. I’m assured that I have plenty of time for it to dry out appropriately for travel. At the bottom you can see the solid cakes all safely wrapped up for future use.

Posted in badass-ness, dothework, From the Quote Box, the creative process, VanGogh | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Just Make That First Mark

Looking Up

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Mary Beth Frezon

Infinity ² from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

Posted in overhead, taking time to look | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

TGI… um what day is it, anyway?

Posted on October 2, 2016 by Mary Beth Frezon

Yes, I had that moment today. Thought I was going to writers’ group after work, thought I was off the next day… only to realize that it wasn’t Sunday after all, that it was Saturday and in fact I get to go to work on Sunday (all over again).

I made a quick stop at the Nassau Post Office on the way home and finally caught a Pikachu! Only the second one I’ve ever seen.

Then I came home and started a small sunset scene in watercolor. I’m trying to teach myself to wait, to let things dry before going on to the next part. Do like how the clouds came out though.

Then I looked at the little Windsor Newton Cotman travel kit I have and decided to add it to my color swatch page. It has half-pan colors in not a half bad array although if I was filling my own half pans I’d have different colors. I’d found some of the plastic corrugated board I’ve been using to tape paper down to and cut it to match the size paper I’ll be traveling with. At that point I didn’t have much oomph left so I watched a few “traveling watercolor kit” videos, two of which showed taping down a stack of paper to a board. That seems a little excessive. I don’t mind packing some tape. I was thinking of cutting some Arches paper to bring and that could go sandwiched between the two boards. We’ll see.

Posted in badass-ness, dothework, Journey to Wales, sunsets, travels, warcraft and other games, watercolor | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Packing it up (or down)

Posted on September 28, 2016 by Mary Beth Frezon

For kicks tonight, I thought I’d try one of the compression packs I got awhile ago. One thing I learned during last year’s trip (right after – don’t over pack!) was that having to repack your jumbled up stuff all the time in order to find what you need is a pain in the patootie. So I thought I’d give these a try. My carry-on-sized bag came with two mesh zip packs too but these promise to make things smaller if needed.

In went a week of undies and a slip.

The bag has a partial zipper to provide an opening. Then there’s another zipper that goes all the way around and snugs down the edges and therefore the whole thing.

when you zip up the second zipper - voila compression.

Posted in Bucket List, Do the Work, Journey to Wales, travels | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Days Off

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Mary Beth Frezon

Yesterday Mom and I toodled around a bit. I wanted to wander around in the little corner of Boscov’s where they have really basic shirts and stuff, always for pretty cheap. Mom found a sweatshirt type jacket in a pretty color with a lovely embroidered design and I got an armful of long sleeve shirts for work and travel.

From there, we went to Eastern Mountain Sports so I could ponder the need for hiking type shoes/boots and the weight of said shoes. I’m really a Birkies sandals year round kinda gal, giving in to closed shoes as needed. And I recently got a pair of Birkies walking style shoes. Trainers as they say. But… November. Probably just cold and rainy. I think I’ll keep pondering. But times running out for breaking in anything new.

We stopped for lunch at Bountiful Bread while we were in Stuyvesant Plaza. Then we made a quick stop at the local art supply shop, Arlenes, so I could get a couple pads of the smaller watercolor paper I have been using.

Back at Mom’s house, we saw a deer eating Mom’s neighbor’s shrubs. Watched it for a long time before it bounded off to the ravine.

I stopped at Target and got a few things including a new Bodum electric kettle to replace my original Aroma one that died unexpectedly. Well, I had a $10 coupon burning a hole in my pocket. I really like my downstairs Bodum – it’s fast and quiet. Then to the store for some eggs, and a little cheese and some wine. That left plenty of time to finish my left over sandwich for dinner and get ready for the big event of the night, the debate!

Today I’m mainly looking at stuff about places to go and doing some reading for someone else and then I’ll have to settle down and get my stuff together for the workshop I’m taking in November.

Posted in family and friends, In the neighborhood, Ripped from the headlines, silliness, taking time to look, travels, words | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment