More watercolor exploring -- the napkin

Inspired by Mary Ann Moss from her blog post and the "just do it" concept, I grabbed my favorite Ralph Lauren napkin and painted it.

I noticed two things:
First, fear and perfection will stop you before you ever begin anything.
Second, I can see and feel improvement as I go. This is the joy of the novice learning curve.




I've had these napkins for 24 years. (Really?) My good friend Michelle Purcell and I share a penchant for cloth napkins. I decided only table linens I love will end up in the drawer. These look pretty happy on a white (or blue or beige linen) tablecloth. And I eagerly await spring and summer, when they grace the table often.

Now, they're a part of my sketchbook for this class. Front page.

Ralph Lauren has created some truly beautiful floral patterns. I realize now that I was drawn to his linens because of their artistic quality -- not because of the high end label.

My favorite part

Eons ago I fell in love with this black comforter cover RL designed.

I still own it, even though it's a queen and I live with a king*. There's some creative stitchery coming to make it a part of my duvet rotation. But in the days I first saw it, I was in Maine at the RL store when a fellow shopper explained why RL's fabrics are so superior. Apparently he goes to great lengths to design and properly dye threads, applying color several times.





This is why the colors are so true and rich and hold so long. This is also why they sell on eBay as very rare finds, commanding good $$. I took my own pillow covered in RL's Alison print both times I birthed my babies and I love looking at the beauty they added to our happy hospital rooms. 

I'm connecting more deeply to the why of my proclivity. 

Happily.

More painting to follow. 

The fun begins!

*Hi Dear.

Christmas in July

Perhaps not the Christmas in July you were hoping for. Me neither. It seems one of my lovely Charlotte Watson's Cake Tins was hiding some Christmas treats. From last Christmas.

No, we're not eating them. 

And yes, I'm changing my kitchen storage ways. 

They were a lovely tin of treats at the time.

A little pretty for a Sunday morning.

Good morning.













I'm taking a class, very soon, with Mary Ann Moss. So, I've been scooting around her blog and eyeing her vision, when I came across a link to Yao Cheng's 5 tutorials. The link wasn't working, but I loved what Mary Ann shared, so I keep hunting. (Here's a link to Yao's beautiful blog. I think she just got married. Happy Married Life to you Yao!) I finally found the tutorials on the Alison Show website. Here's the first of the 5 Yao Cheng's watercolor tutorials.

Pretty inspiring.
So when I was doing some creative calisthenics this morning (thank you Dina Wakely). This little blossom popped up.

I'm still new and I'm learning about how I love layering. And round sable brushes. I'm also learning that watercolor paper is better than the tags I "work out" with, but practice is what it is and I love the tags for this! (I got my tags for about $32 on Ebay. That would be 3.2 cents each. 30 cents a day. Thank you very much.)

I'm loving this June gloom summer sweetness.
At the table.
With the colors.
Exploring.