Hillsboro House window

My last vacation entry--the left side is the window at the Hillsboro House in Nashville. I loved the frame details and the shabby chic curtains falling from the halfway point. The bizarre images on the right are... well, I'm never sure where these things come from. They just exist. ;)
Mixed media on acrylic background in my large Moleskine.

Abbey Sings Abbey

More sketched images over an acrylic painted background. Ink and colored pencils emphasize shapes and add color. While at the bed and breakfast in Nashville, I got to hear a CD by Abbey Lincoln (jazz)---truly an inspiring singer... one of my new favorites. :) I tried to capture some of the verses while the songs were playing.

Balance

Before leaving for Nashville, I prepped some pages in my large Moleskine with basic craft acrylic paints. I was able to use ink and colored pencils to add images to the backgrounds when I had time. In this spread I also used some alphabet rubber stamps that I found in my art studio when I returned home.

Sketches at The Hillsboro House

These are two sketches I made today in my watercolor Moleskine. It was unseasonably cool with a light breeze here in town-- a gorgeous day for outdoor art in Nashville. Tomorrow Jeff and I will visit Radner Lake, which I hope will provide additional scenery-- perfect for watercolor techniques.

The Hillsboro House

Our bed and breakfast is only 2 blocks from Belmont University. Since this is a university area, there are many students and professors walking and biking to and from the college campus. Vanderbilt University is also just a few blocks away. They are both beautiful schools... lots of trees and wonderful flowers.

Dalton, Georgia

A quick stop in Dalton, Georgia. We loved the thick pine trees all around the area. This is my daughter Caitlin on the way to string camp in Nashville.

Nashville Adventures

On the way to Nashville... the view of the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.

New Art in the Moleskine

Liquid Sunshine

Consider the order of things... the evidence of beauty,

the breath of life.

I'm nearing the end of another small Moleskine journal--only 2 more pages to go. I've enjoyed adding to this one since the beginning of March 2007. Time has gone by so quickly, and some entries are spread too far apart. But it is difficult to keep up the momentum each week with so many other interests pulling at me, so I've learned to be content with the art that does manage to break free. And so I face a new, blank journal, sitting on my bookshelf--encased in its plastic wrap. Another journey of color and line about to begin!

I have a difficult time deciding to work in the larger Moleskine. I guess I like the smaller size better... I finished the left side of this journal spread this morning. The right hand side was a collage that I created in January.

I ended up using a lot of studio materials for this: gouache, ink, graphite, colored pencil, and found papers. The portrait image was sketched on regular drawing paper and collaged into the Moleskine.

This is my first larger Moleskine, and it is taking me longer to fill up. Not sure if I will buy another one this size, although I'd like to try the watercolor version for our trip to Nashville this summer.