Drawing and painting

Processing the Blue Wave

~ MaryG ~ 22 Comments

What a crazy time to be alive.

I’m happy, but wary. And also scared.

Scared

It’s like we really don’t know what he’s going to do. Trump is too stupid, arrogant, and insulated to acknowledge that he is WILDY unpopular and RUINED his political party (and much more) for the foreseeable future. In the White House, he lives in a bubble, lovingly attended by sycophants. And yet, he remains the most powerful man in all the realm—with access to nuclear weapons—for two more years.

Happy

I mean come ON…the blue TSUNAMI feels so good. After all the poster-making, protesting, singing, letter writing, donating, art making, posting, calling…we actually won. Grassroots organizing and VOTING beat the billionaires. Holy Shit.

Wary

OK, so I’m like 93.5% sure that MAGA Trumpism is on life support. But what is gonna come next? According to historians, huge defining moments of change and great progress have taken place at the end of eras like this (1850s, 1890s, 1930s). In the words of Heather Cox Richardson, “we have a chance to build something.” I so want this to be the dawn of a new age. I want my grandchildren to grow up in a better, kinder, safer, more affordable, less terrifying world.

I’m wary because I’ve already heard such wildly diverse viewpoints from people on my side. Even SNL came right out with a skit making fun of Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer for being way too mainstream to meet the moment. Will the right leaders emerge to lead us through the storm and into 2028 so we can get The White House into good, safe, smart hands? Will people stay engaged?

OK, so that’s ⬆️ where I’m at on the Sunday night following the Tuesday, November 3rd midterm elections of 2026.

FACEBOOK

In case you don’t know, Facebook is like Ground Zero for GenX politics. (Remember youngsters, GenX lost track of our classmates for decades between school and the invention of social media.) Facebook is where you rediscovered anyone you ever knew when you were much younger, and then found out which ones had drunk the MAGA Kool-Aid and which ones you would not need to unfriend.✂️

I went to bed early on Tuesday night. (I wasn’t going to get burned again watching heartbreaking election returns into the wee hours.) On Wednesday, I woke-up early and immediately saw that there had been a huge Blue Wave—I think they were even calling it a Blue Tsunami in the NYT. My Facebook feed was weirdly quiet though.

I did see one post from an old friend who rarely posts. It just said “YAY, VOTING!” Another rare-posting old friend just said “sending thoughts.” The most ardent activists I know posted nothing. I think they were stunned. Also, gloating seemed wrong.

I decided to post my recent abstract circular painting with the caption “I’m naming this painting Blue Wave 🌊 😊” on Facebook. It just felt right to post some art on Wednesday morning. It received many hearts and wonderful comments from FB friends who were feeling like me. I even got some likes from folks with whom I very rarely interact and didn’t know their political leanings.

Blue Wave, 2026, watercolor and ink

Breathe

Watercolor bootcamp—last class

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments
This was the second homework assignment for the last class. The idea was to draw a bunch of circles and lines over a landscape and use different styles or techniques inside each shape. I tried a bunch of stuff and didn’t worry too much about the final painting.

This was my inspo pic:

The final in-class assignment was to complete a still life of objects we brought ourselves. I brought peppers.

She was really pushing me to expand colors and contrast, including in the shadows. For example, she said quite definitively “daylight is blue” and led me towards using blue in the green pepper. And she wanted me to use purple (yellow’s complement) for shadows on the yellow one. And finally, she talked me through how to get a deeper orange by adding red, rather than it’s complement (blue) which just makes it muddier.

I feel I am learning new things from this rather demanding artist/teacher. (This wiry little woman is a bit intense, but she knows what she’s talking about!) She ran the “bootcamp” in two levels. I participated at the beginner level, but I feel I now have the confidence to join the second level. I definitely won’t be the best artist in that group, but I’m confident I could keep up.

Watercolor bootcamp 1

Watercolor bootcamp 2

Watercolor bootcamp 3

Watercolor bootcamp—part 3

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

I got pretty good feedback on my colorful still life, although the drill sergeant didn’t love the white table they were sitting on. She wanted me to have done more with the shadows. (Geez lady, I thought this assignment was about the colorful objects!) She did say that that was an “advanced” concept and that my painting was “very good.”

We then moved on to learning all the different ways you can manipulate watercolor paints to achieve different effects. Everything from rubbing alcohol to wax to salt to Saran Wrap to sandpaper was covered. It was a very long demonstration and the British lady was absolutely driving everyone nuts with her incessant questions and interruptions. I’m shocked that the drill sergeant hasn’t snapped at her yet.

This was our in-class assignment.

There are TWO major homework assignments. I just finished the first one:

She had us create these circles and lines in class and the assignment was to add black ink to certain shapes, and then fill in the rest with mini landscapes and other techniques we learned in class, trying to keep the intensity/values balanced with the pure black.

This took many hours. And I still have another very difficult assignment to do by Tuesday.

The drill sergeant has revealed a distinct bias towards realism. She feels that abstract artists who can’t draw and paint accurately aren’t “real artists.” (She’s OK with abstract art by artists who have proven themselves able to draw and paint realistically.)

Truth be told, I’m enjoying the challenge and it’s keeping my mind off other problems and concerns.

Watercolor bootcamp – part 2

~ MaryG ~ 18 Comments

This week our watercolor drill sergeant made us copy a colorful abstract collage. The point was to recreate each color as accurately as possible. It was really hard!

I did OK on the color matching but got disapproval for using “subpar” paper which created all those streaks. (I didn’t want to waste my expensive paper on what was essentially an exercise.)

The homework was to paint a still life comprised of colorful objects, getting the colors as close as possible. Again, hard.

Here’s my homework. I’m pretty happy with it although the yellow is not right. I think I went too light on the yellow because I knew I was going to paint those flowers over it. (It would’ve been too much work to mask out that whole flower area. )
Here’s what I was looking at—a collection of objects from China and Japan that
I happened to have in my house.

In other exciting news: I decided to move all my painting and drawing stuff out of the dining room and into an extra bedroom upstairs. So I guess I have a “studio” now.

Cute bedroom with nice light that nobody ever used
This is not ideal, but it’s better than the dining room. That card table I’m painting on was my parents. I think it was made in like 1960. It has some sort of faux leather covering that smells moldy. I need to get rid of the daybed and get a new, larger table.

Related post:

Watercolor bootcamp

Watercolor bootcamp

~ MaryG ~ 29 Comments

I’m now embarking on Year 2 of my watercolor “journey” 😉

After two sessions of “loosen up with watercolors,” I signed up for something called “watercolor bootcamp.” I probably should’ve taken this class first, but the description scared me off. It’s a watercolor techniques class with heavy emphasis on color theory, color mixing, etc. We spent a whole three-hour class mixing greys. There is homework. There are in-class critiques of the homework.

The very first homework assignment was to do a monotone (one color) painting of three objects with a clear light source.

I used Payne’s Gray.

For this week, we had to do a “complementary color” painting. So two colors that sit across from each other on a color wheel. (Red/Green; Yellow/Purple; or Blue/Orange)

I used only Rose (Red) and Phthalo Green to paint these hydrangeas.

I didn’t spring for all the expensive professional-grade paints that are on the syllabus. (There’s a syllabus!) I’m using what I have and will buy new stuff as needed. Jury is out on whether I’m going to like this class. It’s a bit intense so far. Bootcamp.

Basic stuff

~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

What are some life hacks that you practice?

1.) Set-up the coffee the night before so you only have to press start in the morning.

2.) Pre-made, roll out pie crusts, specifically these:

3.) If a British lady sits next to you on Day 1 of an adult watercolor class and announces to everyone that she has ADHD and then demands so much attention from the teacher and others that you feel like you’re being pranked, move your seat for the next class.

Student Art Show

~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

I’ve been enjoying participating in the arts (a lifelong love) more than ever, now that I’m retired from paid employment.

I took my first watercolor classes at a lovely community arts center in the fall of 2025 and spring of 2026. I was asked (as all students were) to submit something for an end-of-year student art show. I did not win a prize, but I got to see my painting up on the gallery wall and mingle with lots of other students at the opening reception. Also, I figured out which teacher I want to learn from next.

All photos by Gregory Ciccarelli.


The theme of the Student Summer Showcase is S³: A Moment of Reflection, which was described like this:
“We are experiencing difficult times with heightened division and misunderstanding, and we believe that art is the great connector. Art helps us take a moment to be introspective, muse about our personal mission, express feelings and emotions that can’t be described in words. S³: A Moment of Reflection means to give our community a space to come together and reflect on our personal journeys as student artists, community members, and human beings.”
My husband and me checking out the art
A friend I met in class and me looking at my piece (top right)
My friend and her piece
Some of the abstract pieces were really great
There were ceramics too
There was art on two floors
Me and my piece: a portrait of my granddaughter at 9 months old
The piece they’re looking at here is titled “Have You Seen My Glasses?” 😂 It won a prize.
The Grand Prize Winner is an oil painting called “Waiting” which is very cool. Reading the judge’s comments, you can see how a good title can truly impact a viewer’s understanding of a piece.

“Martha Owen’s painting, Waiting, attracted me immediately. It seemed to radiate moonlight and mystery. It suggested a story that the viewer had to create. The power and simplicity of the stark, tight composition added to the drama. I enjoyed the fresh vision and originality of the subject matter. All the visual elements of the painting worked together to reinforce a feeling of emptiness, stillness and longing, capped off by the title.”

The judge fully acknowledged that art is subjective. She said she chose pieces that spoke to her.
I’ll definitely take another class here next year.

The whole thing felt supportive and not competitive.

Yes, but

~ MaryG ~ 21 Comments

Are you a lifelong learner?

Yes, but I “study” what I want. I got my BA in History and never went back for a graduate degree because they all sounded so boring and cost too much money. MBA? (snooze fest) Law School? (are you joking?) A Master’s in History? (not interested)

And when I was working, I was never big on “professional development.” I only took the required stuff on topics like cybersecurity. All those LinkedIn courses and certifications on business-y topics were available to me, but I hardly ever opted in. I felt like the best way to get better at my job was to do it, and since I was a fundraiser, the proof was in the pudding. I raised millions of dollars for my employers and clients. Nobody cared that I didn’t have an MBA.

Courses I took outside of work included Italian, photography and music (singing lessons). Now that I’m retired, it’s been studio art classes that interest me most, particularly watercolors.

In fact, just yesterday I participated in a 2.5 hour class called “Yoga, Meditation and Abstract Art.” It was my first time using acrylic paint in decades. My abstract piece really wanted to become some sailboats on a green sea, so that’s what happened.

This started as an abstract, but then a couple of sails emerged. “The FDT” is part of the Resistance 😜

Vaccines and bathing suits

~ MaryG ~ 35 Comments

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

I feel like the older generations have messed things up so thoroughly that our “best advice” should be taken with a grain of salt.

However, here are a couple of things my kids have brought up recently in a “you were right” kind of way:

My daughter said it was good that she got ALL her vaccines including the HPV series that some other parents declined. It prevents unnecessary complications later in life, including during pregnancy—a time when you absolutely do not need extra things to worry about!

So, I’d say get yourself and your kids all the vaccines you’re offered, including the annual flu and Covid shots. And people 50+, get the Shingles vaccine for God’s sake. It works and Shingles SUCK. (My husband had it and it was awful.)

In general, avoid the “I do my own research” crowd, especially followers of that quack RFK, Jr. Listen to actual doctors and scientists.

My son said he broke one of my “life rules” on a recent business trip and I laughed. He had forgotten to pack a bathing suit and it turned out his hotel had a lovely pool. I LOL’d, but it’s true, I always say pack a bathing suit, wherever you go. They take up so little space and you just never know when an inviting pool, pond, lake, stream, ocean or hot tub will present itself to you.

As a corollary to that, I think everyone should learn to swim well. Make your kids drown-proof. Get them swimming lessons, even if it’s a hassle.

I love this dish towel my daughter got me. 🤣

HCR and the Obamas

~ MaryG ~ 34 Comments

Who are you most inspired by?

I’m really leaning on all the brave people helping those of us who pay attention to the news get through the absolute degradation of our country that is the second Trump administration.

We recently got a huge dose of inspiration from the Obamas, with the opening of the Obama Presidential Center last week. Their speeches (especially Michelle’s) are incredible. Watching the follow-up videos of the Obamas greeting families and reading library books to children are fantastic too.

While I was listening to the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center, I worked on a watercolor portrait of Heather Cox Richardson that I had started a few weeks ago.

Did you know this mild-mannered American historian gets hate mail and threats for keeping us informed as she does? And yet, she keeps showing up on our small screens and writing her nightly “Letters from an American” which are read by hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of people each day.

She said her 250 for 250 series is a labor of love for the country she loves. Be sure to watch a few of those short videos, when you get a chance.

This painting actually looks a bit better in person than in the photo. I like how the bookshelves and her pullover came out, but skin tones and face contours are really hard. I do like painting portraits, so I’m going to try to find some YouTube tutorials to practice this summer.

Which inspiring figure should I try to paint next? Should I give Michelle Obama a shot? (I’m actually a bit scared to try her at my current skill level.)