….two more intuitive abstract art pieces in my sketchbook
I’m experimenting with my intuitive paintings in my sketchbook. I find I’m less inhibited and am willing to take more chances with my mark making and use of colour than I would be if I used a good sheet of watercolour paper. I will definitely go back to watercolour paper at some point because the quality of the paper makes a difference to the final outcome as well.
...thanks to Sandy this week for hosting the Friendly Friday Challenge https://thesandychronicles.blog/2021/01/29/friendly-friday-challenge-special-treats/
I have quite the sweet tooth but mostly for cookies or cakes. I’ve never been one for candy, other than chocolate. My husband also has a sweet tooth and he has asked me not to bring any sweets into the house for awhile. If I have one cookie he’ll eat three.
For the challenge this week I’ve gone back into the archives to search for special treats. I soon discovered that not all yummy pleasures have to be made with sugar. Fresh strawberries and homemade pizza are always special in our house.
….playing with different brushes, water, colour and ink
Sometimes you just have to lay down some colour and angle your brushes in ways that are new to you. Tonight’s paintings in my sketchbook were very satisfying and fun to do.
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/23/square-up-23/
These two lovelies are my granddaughters, Winnie and Sevin. Winnie is five and Sevin turns one tomorrow. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!
I found this beautiful video on YouTube that I think is perfect for this challenge and the music is great.
…today was a busy art day with my granddaughter
Since we are not able to get together one on one, I organized at Zoom Art Class with our granddaughter in Hamilton. Once she finished her on-line class with her kindergarten teacher she signed in with me and we had a wonder hour and a half making art together.
I suggested some things that we could work on together and showed her samples of my work. I wasn’t really surprised when she rejected my ideas because she’s five after all. Instead she wanted me to follow her lead and go with her directions. We started with a clean sheet of paper (mine was a bit too small) and she started telling me how to draw the lines on my paper and she did the same on hers. After numerous steps it was time to colour our masterpieces. I carefully filled in the spaces and she boldly added her colours in large free strokes. The whole time we talked and periodically checked out how our work was progressing. Here is the first of three projects we completed.
.For our next project I was instructed to draw a straight line with small lines coming out of the long line. We were making a tree. Then for some reason she seemed to like the idea of making people the way I had suggested earlier with collage, marker and stickers. Here is what we came up with.
I love the tower of hair on her girl.
For our last project Winnie decided to show me how to make a paper doll. For some reason she ended up gluing her doll onto a piece of paper and drew tall grass surrounding her. I loved the story she came up with as to why the doll was in the tall grass and how no one could find her but she had super speedy powers so that a lawnmower wouldn’t be able to mow her down.
…our almost one year old granddaughter gave us a huge smile when she saw this drawing over the phone
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/09/square-up-9/
My granddaughters are already gearing up for their future occupations. Our five year old has a keen interest in science as you can see in the second photo where she is experimenting with things she found on her walk that day. I love the safety glasses…..safety first.
The youngest granddaughter got right into the middle of her father’s workout and is clearly gearing up to be a fitness instructor. Thanks to both my children who are the parents of these darling girls for providing today’s photos for SquareUp.
…thanks to Becky B for hosting January Squares https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/07/square-up-7/
On Day 7 we need to find joy in the world and not look down or backwards. Children teach us to look up and out as they explore their world. Our granddaughter brings us UPmost joy. I know it should be utmost but due to the challenge I’m taking some literary license.
The first photo was taken by her father when they went on a hike through the woods. He swears she did not pose for this shot. This stance came out of the blue. The second photo was taken by me. She was looking up at me as I stood on the porch (six feet apart).
….a little drawing, some colouring and back to watercolours
After making my line drawing yesterday I was in the mood to get out the watercolours and ink and make another abstract floral on paper. I do get a lot of satisfaction from this style of art and will probably make more.
Orange Blooms
….Christmas was certainly different this year for most people who chose to stay safe
Some things didn’t change. We cut down a tree with the family, albeit socially distant and masked, and I decorated it. The difference this year is that I totally decorated it on my own and it was up a full two weeks before Christmas. Normally I wait until my daughter can come over and help me and it often doesn’t get done until a few days before Christmas.
As much as we love being with family on Christmas we found new ways to celebrate the holiday. We exchanged gifts but this year the gifts were exchanged in front of the house. I still filled everyone’s stockings but this year everyone took them home. Gaelan brought special donuts from Hamilton and we exercised the dogs for a few minutes in the park down the street.
Our son and his family live in London, England so this year we opened our gifts early. We always open presents on Christmas Eve but 3:00 in the afternoon was early even for us. When everyone got back home we had a Zoom Christmas so that everyone could watch their gifts being opened. It was a bit hectic but in the end watching Sevin celebrate her first Christmas was very special. Technology this year has kept us in touch and brought us closer to all our family members.
My husband and I decided to still make a special Christmas dinner for just the two of us. The only thing that was different is that we didn’t cook a turkey. Instead, we bought a nice big capon to roast and at the last minute I decide to make cranberry sauce. My husband is an amazing cook and I’m no novice when it comes to cooking but even after all these years of experience we can still mess up. The difference this year is that we could laugh about it. There were no guests to worry about or timelines that needed to be met. So when the capon was undercooked and we had to put it back in the oven, after slicing off the cooked parts, we just relaxed with more wine and started off with the wonderful salad that Kevin made.
My cranberry sauce…..well lets just say that you should never walk away from a pot of boiling cranberry sauce. In the end I was able to salvage it with a little more sweetener. Kevin likes to tell people that we had twice baked capon and smoked cranberry relish.
We’ve learned that it’s the little things that bring us joy. Even though we knew we wouldn’t be together as a family for Christmas I still decorated the house. I pared back on the decorations but I’ve learned that you don’t need to put everything out. Simple things like lighting candles and playing Christmas music brought us joy and peace. In a way this Christmas prepared us for the day when we might have to spend more Christmases alone. There will come a day, perhaps, as the grandchildren get older they won’t want to come to Oma and Papa’s house on Christmas Eve or maybe some of our children will move further away. As for now, though, we hope we can have a few more Christmas Eve celebrations together as a family.
It was certainly a less stressful Christmas this year. Hopefully 2021 will bring back some normality. We will probably all have to adjust to a new normal and hopefully 2020 taught us some valuable lessons about life and what is important. My husband and I learned that even though we love each other, more importantly, we actually like each and enjoyed our self imposed isolation in 2020.
Cheers and a happy New Year!
Carol
Mama Cormier 