Recently, I drove through the Central Valley of California, seeing the strikingly near-empty reservoirs, a herd of tule elk (a real treat, msgnificent creatures that were once thought to be extinct), and some promising clouds to sprinkle the farms and dry, abandoned dirt.
We passed a large vineyard, the leaves turned yellow in November, shining gold in the dusky sun. The clouds had silver linings, and the rolling desert foothills had lots of shadows, light, and texture only dry barren hills can have. I HAD to paint it, but I was obviously not at home next to a canvas.
So I drew the scene on scrap paper with my son's crayons.
Then, I got home and realized I had an overdue handmade postcard swap, so I decided to use watercolor pencil and markere to recreate the scene yet again. (Sorry it is upside down).
And lastly, I got a how-to collage book in the mail today and was inspired after a collage hiatus. So I did a mixed media collage with acrylics, papers, dryer sheets, cedar needles, twine.
