In Search off....STORY STEEMARTISTS

Finding an art community on the road is sometimes difficult and after almost a year travelling, I've been feeling drained. My husband Roger went to Coronado National Monument to do some photography and while at the Ranger Station, found a flyer about how to Journal in Nature workshop held by Linda Feltner. I was going!! Her work is amazing and I needed to hear and see.

The drive for the RV Park we are at in Huachuca ,Arizona is about 45 minutes from the Monument so I grabbed my rucksack and off I went. Linda brought her journals and a box of artwork that she has done to show us different ways watercolor and drawings react on different papers. Her to-go sketch kit, watercolor pencils and ways to make your own kit was informative and so fun to see. Her approach is joyful and energetic..I was coming alive again.

Two Park Rangers came to the site we were at and brought various boxes of leaves, pods, antlers and animal pelts for us to feel and draw or we could go out on our own and find something that interests us. I chose to wander off a bit since there were a few kids and after awhile they wanted to run around rather than concentrate, but they came which was cool.

The hard part about this excersize was I had to actually concentrate at what I was doing. One would think I'd just sit down and out would come an amazing piece of art, yeah..well, no. Pencils were smudging way too much and I was far away from what I wanted. Not a landscape painting here Sheila.

I was using a white gel paint pen and Linda mentioned that she loved doing graphite and white gouache washes. My eyes lit up as I told her about my series of rodeo cowboys. We agreed we'd meet up after I finished suffering concentrating on the leaves and tree trunk bark and I think I closed up shop right there and then.

SHOW AND TELL

http://2018.conf.gnsi.org/program/workshops

On this workshop page you can see one of her owl drawings using the white gouache highlighting the owl. I was in love.

This is the one I showed to her. It was a mutual appreciation moment.

WHAT ELSE DID I SEE

I didn't get the photo of the rattlesnake I passed on the way into the park and planned on getting it maybe when I was leaving. It was my first real rattler with diamonds on his back and to me he looked huge. We would see pygmy Rattlers in Florida at night laying on the pavement to get warm, but this guy..a little scary to this city girl out in the West.

One of the Rangers at the table answering questions.

This photo you can wonder was I taking a photo of the great looking Ranger or the table of animal pelts. ;-)

So after two hours were over it was time to drive home again to the RV Park.

Warmly,
Sheila

All images are my @originalworks

Linda Feltner info from the internet