right now

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 "right now" staying focused on the present, mindful and in the moment, an image from the week, that acknowledges the "right now".  If you would like to join me in this mindful weekly exercise, put a link in the comments for this post to share your "right now" image.

sketchbook Tuesday :: harvest

We had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday. Lots of cooking, baking and eating happened along with some sketching and visiting.

And we made our traditional visit to a local farm in order to get our holiday tree. Christmas trees are the main agricultural product in our mountain county. Fraser Firs are most commonly grown. They are beautiful trees that will last through the entire holiday season and then some, shedding very little when given plenty of water. Our town collects the trees at the end of the season to turn into mulch for the town's landscaping. Since we live outside of town, every year we put our tree into the wooded part of our property to provide a winter habitat and shelter for small animals and birds. Above is a view from the tree farm we visited, looking across the owner's lawn to the mountains beyond.

2013 Weekly Planner by Ann Thompson Nemcosky | Make Your Own Book

I have been busy with a new project, a 2013 weekly planner. I wanted a planner that would also serve as a type of diary, where I could not only make planning notes but also note progress on various projects. Something with enough pages (but not too many) where I could combine all the parts of my days including homeschooling, art making goals, and art marketing plans. Of course it had to be pretty to look at too. I filled it with my ocean themed colored pencil drawings to inspire my days throughout the year. It was a fun project and after seeing the result I am inspired to make more books! I decided to make my planner available in case any of you would like one for yourself or to give as a gift. You can find a link in my sidebar or just click above to preview all of the pages.

right now

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 "right now" staying focused on the present, mindful and in the moment, an image from the week, that acknowledges the "right now".  If you would like to join me in this mindful weekly exercise, put a link in the comments for this post to share your "right now" image.

sketchbook Tuesday :: November shadows

Coming back from town last Saturday I captured a few scenes with my camera phone. (I wasn't driving, don't worry) The late afternoon sun was painting gorgeous long shadows on the hillsides. I do like that about November.

Busy days this week preparing for our Thanksgiving feast. Hard to believe it's already that time of year again. I hope all of my American readers enjoy a lovely, restful, and satisfying holiday this Thursday and weekend.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments 

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder~

right now

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 "right now" staying focused on the present, mindful and in the moment, an image from the week, that acknowledges the "right now".  If you would like to join me in this mindful weekly exercise, put a link in the comments for this post to share your "right now" image.

Ocean Time :: the series

7:52 AM

colored pencil on museum board

6 x 6 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

 

Here is my latest colored pencil piece. Yes, I am still working in colored pencil, it just takes me forever and a day to complete one drawing. Yet I keep getting ideas for more works in this series, which is a good thing. However I do wonder when I will ever get to them all. And that is in part where the title for the series comes from, Ocean Time. It's an elusive landscape, and like time itself is ever changing with the rhythm of the waves and tides, impossible to capture, yet at the same time it can be a calming, meditative place to be. I continue to be intrigued with the changes of light and color, as the sky works its magic on the water. So my obsession with the ocean's surf continues...You can view the three completed works to date in this series here.

sketchbook Tuesday :: November's color

I love the subtle color of November. The ochres, deep blue-greens, and muted violets found in the softly lit November landscape are somewhat a relief after the fiery color of October. A brief walk around my yard revealed these remnants of color from seasons already gone, now that November is here. They were sketched with watercolor and a little watercolor pencil, in my handmade sketchbook. What month has your favorite colors?

right now

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 "right now" staying focused on the present, mindful and in the moment, an image from the week, that acknowledges the "right now".  If you would like to join me in this mindful weekly exercise, put a link in the comments for this post to share your "right now" image.

a fresh start

Autumn Morning

watercolor on cold pressed paper

5.5 x 7.5 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available for purchase

Autumn has always inspired me to make changes and start anew. I have been working behind the scenes, reorganizing, adjusting, planning...it's all good, fun stuff. I have added new information to my 100 Paintings page, with some new works too. I am in the process of updating my Fine Art America shop, adding a few new works available for prints and cards. And I have reopened my Etsy shop. It has been a while now since I offered original art for sale, and it's time. Things are beginning to pile up around here. It's time to clear some things out and make room for the new art that is happening.

The scene above is from my neighborhood. It is a view that I see most every time I return from town. Just a couple of weeks ago, one crisp fall morning, it looked like this, with the long shadows of morning creeping up the hillside and around the brilliantly colored autumn trees. I just couldn't resist that autumn morning glow.

sketchbook Tuesday :: pears

Something to look at that's not about politics, on this election day. Seems we have a lot of fruit in our house these days. Fun to paint, these bosc pears looked very elegant to me at the market, so I just had to bring them home. I painted them with watercolor only in my hand made sketchbook.

right now

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 "right now" staying focused on the present, mindful and in the moment, an image from the week, that acknowledges the "right now".  If you would like to join me in this mindful weekly exercise, put a link in the comments for this post to share your "right now" image.