Leaves in the autumn came tumbling down,Scarlet and yellow, russet and brown,Leaves in the garden were swept in a heap,Trees were undressing ready for sleep.
-Author Unknown
Here's my EDM challenge #145, "A Tree in Autumn". It's with watercolor and colored pencil in my Aquabee sketchbook done from memory of a view I see almost daily when driving back home from town. Unfortunately my paper became a little too wet and of course my 9 x 12 inch sketchbook barely fits on my scanner, so I apologize for the poor quality scan.
"A Tree in Autumn" was not an easy task for me here this week. At the start of the week Autumn packed its bags and left our part of the mountains and Winter wasted no time moving right in. After a few days of cold drizzle we had snow flurries on Thursday and into Friday, temps in the 20s and winds gusting over 50 miles an hour. Ah, November. But on Wednesday all was calm in the late afternoon while driving home. With heavy blue-gray clouds overhead the sun was low and casting a warm light on the surrounding hillsides and all the remaining russet leaves were glowing in the November light. That is what I tried to capture here from memory.
I love the colors of November probably more than any other month. You can see at the bottom of my sketch my color swatches in watercolor. Gray-blue skies, sap green hills waving ochre grasses, bare purple branches dancing beside fully clothed pines and russet leaves shining like a new penny in the low November light. As I was driving home on Wednesday with kiddo in the backseat, I was reminded of a poem we had read for her school work that described "russet" colored leaves. At the time I had given her an explanation of what "russet" was, but now we could experience the russet leaves in a marvelous glowing light.
I believe I've got it this time. Went back to "Nemcosky Art" for the header and added the more personal. "Ann's Notes from the Studio". Not that I didn't like "Ann's Art Journal", but after looking it over and realizing that lots of artists use 'Art Journal' in their blog title I wasn't entirely comfortable with that. Although 'Art Journal' is a great title as it states exactly what this blog is about, journaling the creative process, I did feel I should be a little more unique. Where as there are many Ann's, you have to admit that 'Nemcosky' is unique as far as names go.
Now I did wonder about the 'Studio' part though. In my dreams I imagine a large, well lit room with big windows and minimal furnishings, maybe even a nice fireplace and a cozy chair, and lots of storage space for all my art supplies to be ever so neatly organized. Hmmmm. . . My worn Webster's defines 'studio' as 1. An artist's place of work. 2. A place where an art is studied or taught.
Well. As you can see in the photo my little corner in our 3rd bedroom does qualify as this artist's place of work. Clutter and all. Living in a small house we have learned to adapt what space we do have for many uses. This small room is not only my 'studio' but also home to our computers and my daughter's art supplies and shelves of toys. With an air mattress on the floor it functions as a guest bedroom too. A closet holds all my sewing and needlework stuff, except for my current crochet project which you can see in the basket on the floor in the foreground right under my daughter's pants that need a button sewn on. Our kitchen and dining area is also a school room complete with a blackboard, a wall of bookshelves that serves as a library, science and craft center, oh, and we cook and eat there too. Somehow it all works.
Doughton Trail II
watercolor pencil wash and colored pencil on paper
3.5 x 2.5 inches
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky
click here to buy
Welcome to my ongoing identity crisis. You may have noticed that I changed the banner above from "Nemcosky Art" to read "Ann's Art Journal". Yep, that was me. You see, when I began this blog back in August it was intended for both me and dear hubby as a place to document our art. This was the reasoning behind choosing a name that would work for us both. But this has really been my blog from the start, so I decided to change the banner title to reflect that. I am encouraging dear hubby to set up his own blog for the sake of his wonderful art. Which goes back to the name thing. I'm terrible at picking titles, choosing names, and basically just making any kind of decision. Because of that it is not unlikely that I will change the name yet again when I'm feeling insecure about just what the heck it is I'm doing anyway. I still don't even know what I want to be when I grow up. Now how bad is that?
Here is my post for this week's Everyday Matters drawing challenge #144 - "draw something square". I really struggled over this challenge as anything "square" I came up with simply did not inspire me to sketch. I did find a little drawing time while waiting in the car for kiddo while she was attending one of her classes this week. Since I had these caramel candies left over from Halloween and making caramel dip for apples, I placed them on the dash and squinted into the low light of the late afternoon. I used graphite and colored pencil for this sketch. It did not turn out as I had hoped, but as it's already Friday evening and I haven't done another, there it is. What I am pleased with is that I am managing to put something in my sketchbook on a regular basis due to inspiration from the Everyday Matters group.
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." - Sir Ken Robinson
At The Water's Edge
colored pencil and Neocolors on pastel board
6 x 6 inches
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky
I believe this one is now finished. Although I reserve the right to make some minor adjustments, I'm going to let this rest a while. I think this is the most complex image I have yet attempted and I did enjoy working on this one. Now to get started on something else!
I have been fiddling around with the look of this blog. Like I don't have a million other things I could be doing! And no, I am not trying to confuse anyone, I just have trouble making up my mind when it comes to choosing a template and colors. Plus I thought I'd try adding an image to the header. I'm not sure how well it works this way, but I'm leaving it as is for now. What do you all think?
I joined the discussion group, Everyday Matters, as I thought it would be the inspiration I need to start drawing with more frequency in my sketchbook. They have these weekly challenges, and this week's was to draw an herb or spice. So here is my entry for challenge # 143. This is a sprig of thyme, one of the last surviving herbs, from my woefully neglected herb garden. My plan was to begin with a graphite pencil sketch and then add color with my colored pencils. As I was drawing I became so involved with pencil shading and finding all those tiny little leaves that the colored pencils never appeared. It was fun to draw with just graphite again - haven't done that in a while.
And running through my head while drawing this sprig of thyme were all the associations I could think of for the word 'time'. Weird, I know. There's summertime, wintertime, nighttime, breakfast time, dinner time, time of day, all the time, overtime, out of time, time's up, end of time, noontime,playtime, nap time, standard time, time line, springtime, bedtime, lunchtime, last time, one time, once upon a time, time out, time to go.
Back to the subject of sketchbooks, I wanted to share this book again, Art Escapes , by Dory Kanter. I just love the way she takes you through the creative process of keeping an art journal. Her book is full of ideas, methods, and helpful tips and her examples of art work I found very inspiring without leaving me overwhelmed. And she has great ideas for making kits for keeping all your art supplies organized and ready to go. I would recommend this book to anyone, whether new to the artistic process or more experienced and needing a jump start of inspiration.
And one final note for today, kiddo collected $50. last evening on her Trick-or-Treat for Food Allergy campaign! You know we are proud parents!
It's Halloween time again and I have decided to include here some educational information about food allergies. As the parent of a child with a truly life threatening food allergy this topic is of the utmost importance to me, and a part of our lives here every single day.
Kiddo will be trick-or-treating for Halloween just like many other kids in our area. However she will not be out to collect candy but rather to raise funds for food allergy education and research. When she received her collection box from The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network she made the decision, all on her own, that her goal again this year for Halloween was to only collect money for this organization. Actually this will be her third year doing this. We are members of FAAN because my daughter has a life-threatening food allergy to peanut. As stated in a recent FAAN press release, for many kids, ghosts and goblins are the spooky stuff of Halloween, but for the 1 in 25 or 3.1 million American children with food allergies, the “treat” can be the scariest part of all.
“Many of the most common food allergens are found in candy,” says Anne Muñoz-Furlong, founder and CEO of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). “For some children, just one bite of the wrong food can bring on anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that can cause death.”
Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. Of these, only the last two are not likely to be found in candy.
The incidence of food allergy has doubled in the last 10 years, and scientists aren’t sure why. More
than 12 million Americans – one in 25 – are caught up in this life-altering epidemic, which results in
150-200 deaths and more than 30,000 emergency room visits each year. There is no known cure;
strict avoidance is the only way to prevent a reaction.
The majority of Halloween treats do not have ingredient labels, and for kids like my daughter who have food allergies, reading ingredient labels is essential to avoiding a deadly allergic reaction. Just one bite of the harmful candy can be life-threatening.
Many of our friends, neighbors and my daughter's teachers have generously contributed to my daughter’s collection box for FAAN. I know for many this is an unfamiliar organization and perhaps some folks had never heard of food allergies. For more information about food allergies and The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) you can visit The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), at www.foodallergy.org. Proceeds from their Trick-or-Treat for Food Allergy Coin Collection Campaign will go toward food allergy education and research.
If you would like to help support food allergy awareness through education and research towards a cure you can make a donation to FAAN at their website, www.foodallergy.org or click here to go directly to their donation page.
ABOUT FAAN
Founded in 1991, The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in food allergy information. FAAN, a nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, VA, is dedicated to increasing public awareness about food allergy and anaphylaxis, to providing education, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies. The organization has just under 30,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 62 other countries.
FAAN provides information about food allergy and educational resources to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. Educational materials published by FAAN are reviewed for medical accuracy by the FAAN Medical Advisory Board, which is comprised of 11 of the country’s leaders in food allergy science and medicine. In addition to printed materials, FAAN also sponsors awareness programs such as Food Allergy Awareness Week, Food Allergy Conferences, and the Mariel C. Furlong Awards for Making a Difference as well as fundraising walks across the country. Educational materials and information about special programs are also available online at www.foodallergy.org, www.fankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.
I know, I know, I have been slack about posting here lately. But not without good reason. After our little beach break we were with house guests for a few days.
Just to show that I have been working, however slowly, I thought I'd post what I am working on now, as is, in progress. This drawing is 6 x 6 inches on pastel board. I began with an underpainting using Neocolor II watersoluble crayons and have now begun working my way from the top left corner outward using colored pencils. I am finding that I really like the strong intensity of color the Neocolors provide for an underpainting. And that when coming back over with the colored pencils, which are somewhat translucent, the colors seem to sing. I am having fun with this little piece. I intend to do a small series of these, what I am calling 'macro-landscapes'.
At The Water's Edge, WIP copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky
No, I haven't disappeared entirely. We just took a quick trip to the beautiful South Carolina coast for a few days. The weather was gloriously stunning, the water was warm and we all had such a wonderful time even though our time there was much too short. 
We stayed at the enchanted Edisto Beach, on Edisto Island, South Carolina. This is a charming little beach community that has not given way to the commercialism that seem to plague so many other east coast beaches. As much as I wanted to, I didn't take time for sketches (a little hard to do with a kiddo and two dogs running around). I did, however, take tons of photos and spent some time thinking about future projects. The break from my usual routine was very welcome and good for recharging my energy for art. And of course we all, dogs included, greatly enjoyed ourselves. 
And although I came home wishing we could still be at Edisto, I am trying to remember what was important to me during our short stay at the beach and carry those things with me through my routines here at home. Here is my list of what really matters when on vacation and otherwise:~Always eat a big breakfast
~Take lots of walks
~Set aside a little time each day to sit and do nothing
~Pay attention to the details and little moments that make up your day
~Take plenty of photos to help with those memories
*All photographs copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky and may not be reproduced without permission
Autumn Begins
original photograph
copyright 2007 by Ann Thompson Nemcosky
I love this time of year. In fact, autumn is my favorite season. The turning of the seasons inspires me toward starting something new, refreshing my routines. Where spring expands, autumn brings things inward for reflection.
I had intended to post earlier this week, really, but general life busy-ness plus a little graphic design work has completely consumed me this week. We did enjoy a lovely hike last Sunday, where glimpses of autumn were found at every turn. I am missing making art this week and hoping things settle down soon so I can get back to drawing!
Leaves in the autumn came tumbling down,
