Summer Solstice, EDM, and a Swap

Today, June 21, is the longest day (at least in terms of hours of light)  in the year. Unfortunately, here in Southern Michigan it is sweltering. The hubster always says, "This is what we've been waiting for all winter." I have to ask him if he is referring to the royal "we" because I have been waiting for mid-70s and a breeze.


We went out for a quick breakfast at the Leslie Train Depot and then made a trip to the Maple Street Mall in Mason. I took along a book that is about 7 1/2" tall by 5 1/4" wide so that I could find more of that same size for the class I will be teaching in Haslett on August 13. I found some goodies and am now waiting for the text weight paper and the decorative papers for the endpapers to arrive so I can have them cut to size. I am enjoying the planning for the class and expect I will enjoy the teaching experience even more. More details to come.......


I got a lovely bit of art in the mail yesterday from Karen, a member of the watercolorpencilbuddies Yahoo! group. We are in a swap with the theme of green monochrome. I remembered to take a picture of mine before getting it in the mail this morning and will share it with you after she receives it. Here is what she made for me:

I am quite pleased and can't wait to display it.

I've been doing a bit of art and have a few things to share. First, I have added a sand dune to the Adirondack chair pastel painting and am thinking of adding a bit of fence on the left as well. The most crucial thing I have to do is work on values. I want a bit more color in the sky, a lot more color in the water and need the sand to have more contrast with the chairs. I still haven't added the shadows, but feel a bit more confident about how to do them since we had a discussion on shadows in the group. I think I need to add some kind of fixative so subsequent layers don't interact with the underpainting. Does anyone know anything about this???

I need to straighten out the horizon line and add more grasses to the right and maybe a few random ones between the chairs and the sand dune.

I have gotten caught up on my EDM challenges and have two to share with you:

And finally, I did go back and add some color to the window sketch I shared yesterday. I like it so much more like this:

I've been watching quite a bit of tennis in the first rounds of Wimbledon and have some wonderful talent. Besides the big names, I've noticed an American woman to watch. Her name is McHale and she is from New Jersey. Very impressive youngster!

I think I am going to go lie down in front of the fan for a bit. I think I only got about 3 hours of sleep last evening. Whenever I am working on a new project like the repurposing books class, I can't seem to shut off when I lie down to go to sleep. I didn't get to bed until almost 3:30 and then listened to the white noise machine for an hour and still wasn't sleeping. I am so lucky to be retired and have the opportunity to lie down when I feel the need.

I hope you are having a lovely day and want to thank you so much for visiting my blog and all the lovely comments and suggestions you offer.

xoxo