Never too Old to Learn

During the middle of the pandemic, back in 2020, I was stuck at home like everyone else. Oddly enough, I didn’t mind too much. Being an introvert, home is my happy place and as long as I had a way to keep busy I was okay. I turned to the thing that has eased my anxiety and cluttered mind since I was a child: ART.

Wet on wet technique, great for making reflections in the water

Drawing had been a passion all my life but adulting, things like raising my children and paying the bills, had pushed this aside for many years. By 2020, my children were out of college and they, along with my husband and myself were hanging out, working from home, so I decided to jump start my creative side. This came in the form of a medium I had always wanted to try but found rather daunting: watercolor.

Portrait for a friend. Learned a lot about mixing watercolor paint with pencil and about shadows and reflections.

Learning to paint more loose.

Bless the internet and, particularly, YouTube because there were endless sources for finding the ins and outs of this beautiful art form. As a teenager and college student, I had learned about painting in acrylics and oils. Some of the ideas there did carry over but others (like the ability to “fix” a mistake by simply painting over it) did not. Needless to say, there were some frustrating moments and lots of disastrous paintings that became lots of scrap paper! Eventually, I began to get comfortable with my results. I was amazed at how much there was to learn just about this one medium. Things I needed to think about and all the exciting techniques that resulted in such different looks and styles. I still struggle with things both related to and not related to watercolor itself like finding a good composition, or the correct balance of lights and darks. I also need to learn when to stop, something very important in this medium because overworking a watercolor painting is just the worst! I’ve come to a point where I’m happy with a good percentage of the finished paintings but, even two years later, I am still finding many new adventures and new skills that I can practice.

The first painting I sold. It was fun to experiment with the pops of color.

After several months of creating and experimenting, the art work began to pile up and I was inspired to open a shop on Etsy in order to sell some of the finished pieces. So far it’s been a modest success. I will never get rich, but I’ve been able to share some pieces and create many commissioned one of a kind watercolors that have, hopefully, brought joy to the people who own them.

Playing with shadows experimenting with water

That said, I know, even as I approach my 60th year, a fact that still sends my head spinning some days, that, no matter how old I am, there is still SO much more I can learn. Possibly, that holds true for life in general, wherever or whenever you find your passion.

CuriousKatStudio

Summer Art

My sister is a crafter and a beach lover. Each year she combines these loves by taking part in a huge craft fair on the Wildwood boardwalk. This New Jersey shore town is a big tourist destination and the crowds insure she has lots of sales. Months ago when we started quarantine she suggested I use my abundant spare time to paint more pictures of the beach, the Jersey shore in particular, that she could add to her already beach themed inventory. So I did. Well, needless to say, this year, the crowds at the Craft Fair will be much small if it takes place at all. As a result, I’ve got all this Summer Art with no place to go!

I’ve always been a beach baby and every vacation I ever had as a child took place in Wildwood or one of the other towns along the coast. It’s my happy place so spending my time thinking about it and creating art representing it really wasn’t much of a hardship. When I think about it, it was more likely a form of therapy. Painting in general, has become my form of stress reduction during this crazy time.

Circumstances have decided that I won’t be sharing my beach paintings with the good people of Wildwood this summer so I thought I’d share a few here. I hope you all have a place that makes you feel as peaceful and centered as sea makes me feel. This quote which has been on my kitchen memo board since the summer began, says it all…

“Smell the Sea and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly!“

Sunrise in North Wildwood

This was inspired by a photograph of my brother-in-law and his granddaughter.

West Coast beach art-Sunset over the Santa Monica Pier. This was from a photo I took during my trip to Hollywood.

Morning walk along the beach in Ocean City, NJ

All images available at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CuriousKatStudio?ref=search_shop_redirect

If We Were Having Coffee…Back From Nowhere Special

Hello! Here we are on a beautiful Saturday in June. I realize I basically skipped the month of May in the blogsphere (and part of April and June if we’re being precise) but to be honest, there wasn’t much to report. Been no place, not done much, about sums it up. I have had one project going on and that has taken up much of my time. Sit and have some coffee and we can share our news.

If we were having coffee…we would be sitting on the deck enjoying this beautiul humidity free day, a rare occasion here in Southern New Jersey. We could have coffee, lemonade or juice, whatever you prefer and maybe a muffin from the local bakery, which I’m happy to report is now doing carry out.

The first thing I would ask you is how things are going, pandemic wise, in your corner of the world? Everyone is at such different places. Even those of us in the same place are in different places as far as our mind sets go. Some are ready to get back to normal and others, myself included, are inclined to take things slow. I’ll admit that I have the luxury to do that, whereas some people don’t. Are things opening up where you live? Are you no longer taken aback by the site of people in masks? I realized at the supermarket the other day that I wasn’t all that surprised to see cars with masks hanging on their rearview mirrors. I guess they are the new “fuzzy dice.” Weird.

(Of course in the past few weeks there have been many other scary, historic and challenging things taking place in our world and I have given them much attention and consideration in other parts of my life but here on my blog is my happy place so for now I’ll take a pass on all that except to say my hope is that we find our way through this to a place where compassion and kindness come out on top.)

If we were having coffee…I would tell you that yesterday was the official last day of the school year. This is my 13th year working as an instructional aide in the same neighborhood elementary school but as you might imagine, it was the strangest last day ever. I can’t imagine what the last few months of this school year would have been like without the internet and the advanced technology we now have. Even my third graders were comfortable and familiar with the world of virtual learning. They took to it pretty easily but I was happy to hear, during one of our Friday Google Chat sessions, that they all missed “real school” and seeing their friend’s and teachers in person. Fingers crossed for September. Did you know anyone learning or teaching remotely over the past months? How did it go for them?

If we were having coffee…I would tell you that the project that has taken most of my time over the past month was creating art. I have been learning all about watercolor painting, a medium that is comparatively new to me. I started painting in oils and acrylics when I was just 14 but watercolor was not something I tried until a few years back, I never realized how many techniques and styles there really were. I’ll admit, having that to focus on, having something to create and help me feel productive during this quarantine has kept me from going crazy. Even as an introvert all the time at home would have been too much without something else to focus on.

The result of all this time spent painting was that I had a lot of paintings!! A few Coffee Shares back I mentioned that I was thinking about opening an Etsy shop in order to sell some of my pieces. Well, I finally took the plunge and opened “The Curious Kat” a place to display and sell my artwork. It’s going pretty well. I’ve already sold about 8 pieces but those were mostly to friends and family who were happy to support my enterprise. I don’t really need to sell a lot though since I am creating everything by hand (not prints or reproductions) I can only work so fast!! It’s a lot of fun to share my artwork and I enjoy thinking of them becoming part of someone else’s home. Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CuriousKatStudio?ref=search_shop_redirect

Have you developed any new hobbies or skills to help you pass the time during the Shelter in Place?

If we were having coffee… I would tell you how much I’ve enjoyed our visit. I would also wish you and your family good health and happiness during this unusual time. Be well, my friends and don’t forget to visit our host Eclectic Alli where you can find the rest of the Coffee Share posts.

Coloring Yourself Happy

Last night I spent an hour playing with the new drawing pens I received for Christmas.  This is the result…

I admit I shamelessly (more or less), stole the picture from one of the Christmas cards that came in the mail. I drew the image in pen first and then added watercolor. It felt sort of like paint-by-number or coloring. It was very relaxing.

I’ve always loved to color, both as a kid and with my own kids. Experts are now saying that it is a great way to lessen stress. There was even an article in today’s paper about some neighborhood “Coloring Clubs” where people meet to color themselves happy! I think a lot of adults have always enjoyed coloring and now they are finally ready to admit it.  In fact, it’s  become very trendy.

The stores are filled with fancy adult coloring books. Maybe if you spend $15 for a book it feels more like a grown up hobby instead of a childhood pastime! A coworker gave me one for my birthday and Santa brought one for Miss Dee. Of course, her’s is “Sherlock” themed so she can immerse herself in Benedict Cumberbatch while she de-stresses!

I imagine you can use crayons in these books but it seems like they are mostly paired with colored pencils. This too, I think, is to stress the idea  that this is a grownup thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love colored pencils, but I still get more excited about a brand new 64 box of Crayola crayons with the built in sharpener, adult or not.😊

Don’t you just love when something so old fashioned (Crayola has been around since 1902 and crayons themselves date back to Egyptian times), suddenly comes back in vogue? I am especially tickled that it is something that does not have a screen or remote control and is not fueled by batteries or electricity, but by creativity and imagination! So how about if we all grab a box of crayons and some coloring books and get busy? I’m feeling more relaxed already.