New pencils

My new Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils arrived this week. I tested them out to see what the colors really were. The little swatch on the "eraser end" of the pencil is a pretty inaccurate indicator of what's going to come out the other end.

Making this color test page reminded me of a thought I once had when I was trying to decide if I could rightly say "I am an artist". I had the horrifying realization that, "I am not a real artist...I just like art supplies".

What is surprising to me is, not everybody does!

Reality

As much as I like interpretations of reality, sometimes reality is interesting enough on its own.

Last day of Spring!

When I was making this Today I Saw postcard, I had an internal debate about whether to add color or not. I really liked it just as a simple line drawing...but was also curious about how it would look with color. For a while I thought I had to do it one way OR the other, which was really bothering me because if I added color, the line drawing would be lost forever and I hated that I would have to sacrifice it. Then I realized I could just make two cards, one in each way. But then I told myself I couldn't do that and I just had to choose one solution. Then I asked who decided that? And my other brain said "those are the rules". And so I asked "who made the rules?" My other brain said, "I made the rules." But then I said, "yes, but you are me so I also get to change the rules if I want." SO, here you have the outcome of that argument. Two postcards, one black and white, one color. Which do you like better? Why?

If that's too easy of a question, how about: What rule or belief are you living by that isn't really helping you - or anyone else?

Sunday with no sun

It's been a gray weekend here in Boston, so I thought I would post some blue skies to make up for it. This is the view from my apartment to the house across the street, up to the left a little. And yes, that bird, or one like him, is pretty much always there. What can you see when you look out your window?

Postcard swap

This blackbird flew right in front of me as I rode my bike through the Arboretum on my way to work yesterday. I am participating in a postcard swap, arranged by my blog-friend Jill in England, of Today I Saw fame. She's the inspiration for the Today I Saw postcards I have done, and she just completed a full year of daily postcards. What an accomplishment! As a parting note, she has arranged for a swap between the various fans of her site to exchange their own Today I Saw postcards. Mine will be headed out tomorrow to Trine in Vanlose, Denmark. I hope it survives the trip! When I receive my postcard, I'll post it so you can see it too.

Please do check out Jill's year of postcards. They are all delightful!

As usual, I am wondering what YOU saw today...

It's that time of year

The mosquitos are back. The experts predict an onslaught of mosquitos this summer, due to all the rain and flooding we had this spring. Here's a body map of my bites after a particularly bad, oppressively hot, sleepless night in a room in Philadelphia with an open window and no screen. I lost the battle. It's amazing how much damage such a small, weightless thing can inflict on a person. One bite is peculiarly satisfying to scratch - but 25 is enough to make you nuts.