Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.
~ Pablo Picasso
A lot of my sketchbooks are filled with doodles from daily life: coffee shops and the people in them, parks and riverbanks, nearby buildings and far-off vistas. They are records of my day, of the days that fill my weeks. Those rough sketches bring back far more detailed memories than any number of photographs. This is part of the reason that I love pen sketches and watercolor doodles – they allow me to dive into plein air work whenever I have a few moments and savor those snapshots of my life.
- This week’s artist – Liz Steel – shares that same sentiment – “One of the things that I love about sketching is the fact that it slows you down, making you stop to look and appreciate the world around you…and especially the every day things that you often are too busy to notice.” Whether you appreciate tea, travel sketching, everyday sketching, or a deep dive into sketching tools, be sure and check out her website! Like her style and want to learn more – she offers online classes.
- The Scrapbook Nook has a variety of classes this week: Saturday at 10 they will be working with colored pencils and Pentel Glitter Pens. Tuesday and Thursday at 1 they will be making cards with some awesome specialty papers! Saturday there won’t be a class due to Easter weekend. Their April art contest has been announced!
- Local creative Business spotlight – 3rd Ave Arts – We have a few businesses in Durango that focus on supporting local creatives. In 2005 C. Scott Hagler “began creating festivals and events, with the idea of supporting local musicians, artists and arts educators by providing space for performances, education opportunities and display of visual arts.” If you’re interested in appreciating local music and events, check out their website or their FaceBook page for more information.
- My wife will be the first to tell you that I am not an obsessively neat person. I am a piler, not a filer. One of my favorite authors, Austin Kleon, says that’s actually ideal for an artist.
- From artist Liz Steel, “My daily practice is to spend an hour at the start of the day at my local cafe doing some work, sketching my coffee and a few people sitting at the other tables.” That sounds delightful to me!
- If you haven’t been yet, you can still see the SAQA trunk show at Stitch next Saturday. Find out more at Stitch’s website.
- If you enjoy tea in addition to your art, don’t miss Patrice DeLorenzo’s demonstration at Create Art & Tea this Saturday. Join them, starting at noon for Inspiration, treats and tea! Create Art & Tea is located in the Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.
- If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Pablo Picasso’s painting, Guernica, check out this article.
- In the mood for some music? The 25th Durango Bluegrass Meltdown is this weekend. Get your tickets here.
- Our second art contest of the year is under way – there is just over a week left to send in your entry. You can see the contest details here and all of the current entries here.
- If you want any advice about beginning Plein Air Painting, here is a great starting point. Read the comments for even more wisdom.
- This week we put together some watercolor sketching kits. There are four different options. If you’ve been curious about using watercolors, like the idea of painting on the go, or just want to play with a different version of the materials – now’s the perfect time! They are 25% less than buying the materials individually – and if you pick up some tubes of paint at the same time you’ll get 25% off of that, too!
Carrying my sketching materials everywhere and setting aside times to use them also help me get more work created. If I waited for an open day, I would never get any art made. Since I eat fast and go out to paint at lunch I get to enjoy a lot more painting time. Speaking of… my Portable Painter is sitting beside me on the desk. I’m going to wrap this up and head out for a bit of sketching. I hope you enjoy some creative time this week!
Cheers!
Matthew & the Art Supply House crew
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