Journal Play

In preparation for my upcoming "Personal Journaling & Watercolor Sketching" Class, I'm busy filling in any missing or unfinished images in my Journal. Yes, some of them go back a ways.

This was our second and apparently, final snow shoeing day, May 6th. We returned to our favorite spot, the Natural Bridges turnoff on Highway 62 north of Medford. There is still plenty of snow and when we first start out it's crusty. But by the time we've picnicked and romped along the river awhile, the sun has warmed and softened the snow. And of course, we ended the days frivolity with a piece of homemade berry pie from Becky's! I loved the idea of suggesting some mileage traveled by trotting Cody's footprints across the page in my illustration.

Then I needed to complete an image from the trip I took back down to my ole romping (seems to be alot of romping going on in the blog entry!) grounds, San Jose. Yes, I did have a wonderful visit with my dear, much missed friends and although, with some frustration, got some shopping done - but - when I got home the only sight that I wanted to remember as my favorite sight of the trip - was leaving the Bay Area! Sorry, San Jose, I'm no longer feeling like any part of me longs for a revisit.

One of the last images I decided to attempt - was a portrait of one of the political faces. I'm doing more and more portraits in my journal and am feeling more comfortable with the results. So here is the resulting Barack Obama portrait. I've painted other African American portraits and am always intrigued by the beautiful dark shadows and rich colors of the complexion. I choose not to use any blues or cool tones, which sometimes can look "like bruises". Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the portrait although I think his head is a bit broader. But we're working on practice and personal expression here - so hurrah - I've actually had friends say it DOES resemble the man. To me that is success!

So, I continue prep for my class and wish you all - happy creating!