for the love of books

Who doesn't love books? This is the stack of books I am currently reading. The top book is actually my Nook Color. Have I mentioned how much I love my Nook? I have had it for a couple of years now and simply couldn't be without it. When e-readers first appeared I really didn't think that they were for me. I enjoy holding a book, turning the pages, and the design of the cover and text too much to compromise for an electronic reading device. Yet, I was intrigued  by the concept of being able to have an endless number of books all in one small package. After some research I chose the Nook Color and never looked back. It is now my preferred reading format. Perfect for travel, an illuminated screen so no lamp needed when reading in bed, I can adjust the size and font of the the type to suit my old eyes, plus all of the cool features that work like a tablet with an internet connection.

On my Nook I have several books that I am reading at any given time. Most recently, I read the novel, The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. I enjoy stories that center on artists and the art world and found this one to be very engaging. It is about a contemporary artist who attacks a painting in the National Gallery and the psychiatrist who attempts to help him. The author weaves together past and present to complete the puzzle of the artist's obsession with the painting he tried to destroy and the image of a mysterious woman he repeatedly paints.

As much as I love my Nook there are certain books that I do prefer to read in their original book format. Most reference type books fall into this category. And cookbooks. I just can't see keeping my Nook on the kitchen counter while I follow a recipe. And of course, art books. So next in my stack of books is Crocheting School, a book I have been referencing lately as I attempt a crochet project without a pattern to guide me. I like the clear instructions and illustrations in this book. Under that is a book that I actually got for The Professor but have found myself looking at again and again for watercolor inspiration. Watercolor Secrets by Rachel Rubin Wolf  includes a collection of artists from the Splash watercolor book series along with step-by-step demos sharing their techniques. I enjoy seeing the variety of styles depicted and reading the artists' comments about their methods.

Sarah Simblet's Sketch Book for the Artist is a newer addition to my art book collection. I have gone through it a couple of times just enjoying the images. And now that I have begun to read through the book I really appreciate the format and her friendly writing style. There are a few exercises I intend to try so I will save further discussion about this book until another day. I am impressed with her thorough knowledge of sketching, there is a lot to take in here!

Last in my stack of current reading material is Strokes of Genius 3 also by Rachel Rubin Wolf. It is the drawing counterpart to the Splash watercolor series. It includes drawings from artists that work in a wide range of media and styles. I especially enjoy the quotes from each artist defining what drawing means to them.

In the spirit of life-long learning I have decided to add a page on this blog dedicated to books. It is something I will build slowly and hopefully you will find it of interest. I also have the books mentioned above included with links over on the sidebar. Now, what are your current favorite reads?

Some things I missed

While summer is moving right along I seem to be lagging behind a bit. Probably because of the heat. But even with that we have been experiencing some truly gorgeous days and our usual cool nights. The season seems to have slowed my pace though. That's all right with me.

Above is a watercolor sketch in my summer sketch journal - my new journal which I forgot to show you earlier. Again, it's handmade with antique white Canson Edition paper. I used up the remaining paper from my stash, adjusting the format to 5.5 x 7 inches to get the most out of what I had left. The resulting journal is a little less rectangular than my previous 5 x 8 inch journals, and I am liking this format better. It also has more signatures. This makes it thicker with more pages to fill. Like my previous journals I included signatures in the front and back with plain copy paper for scribbling notes and calendar pages in the front. Plus a pocket in the back for business cards and  a few watercolor postcards. And yep, I put the bookmark in upside-down. I don't want to talk about that. It still works fine. I'm okay with it. Really I am.

Moving right along, here is what I have been using lately for my sketching kit. The small tin I found at Cheap Joe's, which I filled with paints from the Professor's stash. I added my raw umber watercolor stick because he didn't have that color and I do like using it sometimes. When we were in Ohio last month, I found the plastic box at the super market in the school supplies aisle. For a 99 cent investment it holds a water brush, a few pencils and a couple of pens, a handi-wipe cloth and a baggie with a pencil sharpener, and either this travel tin of watercolors or my tin of watercolor sticks. I like that this set up is so compact. I find that I will sketch more often if I don't have to drag out a lot of stuff just to get started.

Like these strawberries I sketched while I was fixing dinner the other evening.

I am also devoting a lot of time this summer to reading and studying. I took advantage of a couple of special offers at North Light Books and Dover Publications recently to stock up on books. Can you tell I am still obsessed with trees?

I also neglected to mention my Print of the Month for July. Perhaps you noticed it anyway over there on the side bar. It is from an original colored pencil painting on pastel board, titled Reeds.You can see a little slide show of how I drew this piece here. Fine art prints and cards from this image are available through Imagekind.

Looking Up

Looking Up
colored pencil and Neocolors on pastel board
6 x 12 inches
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky





It's the end of my month for studying the art of John Constable. So, what have I come away with? I learned that place mattered very much to Constable. The subjects that he chose to paint were landscapes familiar and full of meaning to him. Weather was also important in his landscapes, the feel of the sunlight, the stiffness of the breeze, the foreboding clouds, were all a part of his work's content as much as the fields, farms and trees. This is where I find an affinity to the landscapes of John Constable. Place has always factored largely in my work with the associations I have for a particular location. From reading The Power of Place by Winifred Gallagher I discovered my sensitivity to certain places is more real than imagined. Where we are, and everything about that environment including color, light, and temperature, matters a great deal to who we are inside.

The image above is one such place, looking up Thunder Hill, which is along the Blue Ridge Parkway. One of my favorite spots along the Parkway, and one of the few where you can view the mountains falling away on either side. Hiking to the top of Thunder Hill gives you this view, almost like being in an airplane or perched on top of the world and everything else, as far as you can see, is below.

For the time being. . .

Avon Dunes II
colored pencil on pastel board
12 x 6 inches
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky
$75.




No, I didn't forget about posting yesterday. In fact I spent a little while organizing my thoughts and plans for future posts with an eye toward the upcoming month of September. It was while working on this latest piece, Avon Dunes II, and looking back over my previous posts that I decided to take this blog into a more specific direction, for the time being anyway. Of course I will still include all the before mentioned topics, but organized around the theme of a "sense of place". This stems from my interest in landscape and the power that particular places can have in our memories and imaginations. The images I choose to draw are not selected randomly, but chosen for their relevance of location to my senses, my personal connection to the place. So, I dusted off my old copy of The Power of Place, by Winifred Gallagher and went looking for information on one of my favorite landscape painters, John Constable. As I read and begin my next drawing with these influences in mind I will share my findings here. Please feel free to join in and comment here and/or email me. I'd love to hear others thoughts on this topic too!

edited to add: if the book link to Amazon does not work, you can find The Power of Place in my aStore by clicking on the link under Ann's Bookshelf.

Centering

"It takes a long time to learn that nothing is wasted."
- M. C. Richards






Manteo Tree
colored pencil on pastel board
5 x 7 inches
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky $40

As promised, here is my weekly review of a book that has been influential in my development as an artist. This time I am digging up an old copy of Centering in Pottery, Poetry, and the Person by M. C. Richards. Yes, it is a book about pottery and poetry but it is also about waking up to living a creative life. I first read this book when I was a college student and it had a huge impact on my attitude towards studying art and learning in general. Part Zen philosophy, part the author's own experience and much more, Richards expresses the concept that education, learning that is, is a process of awakening and continues on throughout our lives. An idea that I have revisited many times since my college days and now as I homeschool my daughter this concept of life-long learning carries even more weight with me. And I can see it revealed now as I rediscover my art through new and varied media. It is all a part of the process and we use it all to get there. Nothing really is ever wasted.

As a side note, I am struggling with getting these book links to work. You may have noticed (or not) that the book text link in my last post did nothing. Even though I followed the same procedure I had done previously to link to books, which of course worked just fine. It seems the text link I tried including above also does not work. Soooo, at least for the time being, to alleviate this aggravation I have added a section on the side bar for a Weekly Book List. For now, anyway, it appears those links will function properly. And in the meantime, if anyone has any tips for getting the text links to work, please let me know!

Some things I have learned and re-learned

" In a great man's work, at its fastest, no line is thrown away, and it is not by the rapidity, but the economy of the execution that you know him to be great." - John Ruskin


Being open to possibilities for creative exploration is not always easy. Consistent practice is important and it is worthwhile to set some goals. As long as those goals are not so rigid that they are either impossible to attain or create burnout before they are achieved. You never know where new inspiration will come from or in what form.

Here are a couple of books that have helped me rediscover the creative process. The first, by Dory Kanter,
Art Escapes: Daily Exercises and Inspirations for Discovering Greater Creativity and Artistic Confidence
is packed with ideas to get those creative muscles working. Most of the exercises were things I knew, but had forgotten while I was busy doing stuff other than creating art. It was a pleasure to be reminded of the simple activities one can do in small, managable bits each day that will lead to greater creative discoveries. Kanter also gives instructions for making your own sketching kits so your supplies are always together and ready to go with you.

Another book I spent some time with this summer is John Ruskin's
The Elements of Drawing
This is a 1971 edition of his original book published in 1857. Written in his straightforward way, John Ruskin outlines the steps needed for observational studies in drawing from nature. Although dated, I still gleaned practical advice from Ruskin's text and some timeless gems of wisdom.