Conduit

The pass is
wordless, but it
waits, alert–
watch and ward,
ancient, before and behind–
weathering all storms

Poem and art for Sue Vincent’s photo prompt, above.  I’m enamored with monoprints at the moment; and I always do multiple prints from each painted piece of plastic, although sometimes I’ll add a bit of color along the way.

I also try different paper, both color and texture.  You can see how things evolved for this one.  The paint was quite thick on the first one, as was the texture of the handmade paper.  I used acrylic since it’s much less expensive than gouache, and I wanted to use a lot of paint.  The second print, above, was done on light grey drawing paper, which also has a bit of texture.

The third one is done on a very lightweight black handmade paper–I don’t know what the fiber is, maybe bamboo or mulberry?  I have a pack of different colors, but I don’t remember how or when I acquired them.

Lots of the later prints don’t have much color; I’ll save those to use in some other fashion.  Maybe print again on top, or cut up to use in collage, or stitch over.  They will all find a use!

Sunriseset

grey suddenly blue
I walk circles with the light
returning to stars

“On the Road” has a haiku prompt this week that considers the life and work of Kikusha-Ni, a Buddhist nun, poet, artist, and wanderer.

I used two sky photos I took at the beach and did some quick watercolors on rice paper, combining the elements in a few different ways.

The haiku evolved along with my photoshop manipulations.

dawning grey to blue
the sun wears orange this evening
returning to black

Call and Response: July Landscape

When Nina posted her July landscape, below, she talked about possibly meeting with the Magnetic Poetry Oracle.  I loved her painting so much I did a collage response, and met with the Oracle myself for some poetic commentary, using Colleen’s poetry prompts for this week as well.

wild sanctuary
growing quiet beneath cloud
breezes blossoming

ancient path walks with windsong
wandering through rooted air

We have done a number of these collaborations in the past, but not recently.  I love especially Nina’s landscapes, which always give me a lot of fertile ground for collage.

It’s Saturday!  The Oracle is ready and waiting.

 

Rowers

A bunch of rowers out on the water. Freedom, fresh air, a perfect way to start the weekend. 

Precipice

Three guys in suits standing on a mountaintop. The one on the left is my father. A strange photo I found and I don’t know why they were standing in this spot. 

Here’s the original photo. 

Possibly unfinished

I don’t want to break my streak of daily posts even though I’m not sure this is done. Something about the brooding mountain in the back that I like. 

Here’s my basic setup these days. Nice and simple. I’m running out of paper. 

A big pile of stuff I’ve done in the last few months. I need to stick it up on a wall and do a retrospective. Anyway, have a great day!

water, light, air

these waves like children–
splashing colors and laughing
back and forth between

wind breathes through water, dancing
with incandescent reply

I didn’t do much drawing at the beach this year, but I did take my art supplies down to the water one day, battling both the errant waves and the wind.  I also took many photos, but my adventures with camera settings means they need a lot of work.

Tanka using Colleen’s prompt (in loose association); drawings in ink and watercolor pencils.

 

Updated watercolor

Although I posted this the other day I worked on it more. Maybe I overdid it but boy it was fun painting all those dots. I’m proud that I’ve covered the blog with Kerfe offline–I’ve posted every day for a week. WordPress folks have been kind in their likes and comments. Thank you!

This was the first version:

July landscape

Some mountains and the landscape below. Holding the fort while Kerfe is offline and I miss her poetry. Maybe I’ll try meeting with the oracle for Magnetic Poetry Saturday. It’s another beautiful day in paradise aka New Jersey. Have an A-1 day. 

Threaded

On its way
from crimson to blue,
violet bleeds
dusk–verses
threaded through the deep silence
of retreating skies.

Sue Vincent’s photo prompt, below, was the inspiration for my embroidered watercolor and poem.

The land and air have morphed into water I think….