ART and CREATIVITY : Gum Forest 0n 84

About me

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play. The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right there, when you want to get away. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Gum Forest 0n 84

Approaching a tree we approach a sacred being who can teach us about love and about endless giving. She is one of millions of beings who provide our air, our homes, our fuel, our books. Working with the spirit of the tree can bring us renewed energy, powerful inspiration, deep communion.
- Druid Tree Lore

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

"Gum Forest on 84" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 9" x 12" - Maree©

A suggestion of a Blue gum forest - colour put directly onto the paper without any prior sketching. (The "84" in the title is the number of the smallholding where I live.)

This sketch is bigger than the rest of the Gum Forest Series, which is 5.5" x 7.5", and here I'm exploring the same method of not sketching and just using colour to suggest the image, just going bigger. It's easy putting colour on a smaller painting - the bigger you go, the more colour you have to mix and the quicker you have to paint - I also invested in two new round Winsor & Newton BIG brushes - no's 24 and 28 - I'm sure one gets bigger, but that was the biggest size Pen & Paper in Clearwater Mall had. Now I need a bigger flat - I've got a Nylon Daler ¾" - I probably need a 1"?