“Fields of Gold” copyright Ruth Armitage 2011, Watercolor and Gouache, 11″x15″ SOLD

Saying goodbye to summer is never easy, but I love the cool crisp weather and the return to routine. The image above is not the best shot of this painting… I’m not sure what happened to the photograph, but you can’t really see the calligraphy in the sky, and there seem to be some issues of pixelation when I converted it to gif for the web. I’m adjusting to a new computer system after losing my hard drive and many files and photos 🙁 Don’t delay, back up your system today!

The calligraphy in this painting was something new for me, but something I felt compelled to do at the end of my process. The entire time I worked on this image the song “Fields of Gold” (Eva Cassidy, Phil Collins and others sing it) was playing in my mind. I hope that the finished painting has some semblance of the emotion from that song, which has always been one of my favorites.

I can’t really use the computer trouble as an excuse for not posting recently… it’s been more laziness than anything. I’ve been enjoying the garden, seeing friends and reading books. Two that I’ve recently finished and enjoyed were The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Postmistress. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is not one I would have picked up if it hadn’t been for my book club, but I really enjoyed it. I loved the way it was written with both fact and emotion, and the ethics questions that it raised. The Postmistress was an excellent story about a strong woman during World War II. Vivid descriptions of the mood of the time, London during the blitz and small town life.

I’m also spending time getting ready for my October Spark Session, and I’m excited that the class is full with a waiting list! I’ve arranged to teach the same class in November in Roseburg, Oregon at the Umpqua Arts Association. It should be a great time, so sign up if you’d like to jump start your creativity with some mixed media techniques. Thanks to Jlynn Peterson who requested that I teach it there and got it all set up!

I’m also getting ready for a big weekend in Sunriver, Oregon next month. We will be having our semi-annual Watercolor Society of Oregon convention and I will be giving a talk as well as demonstrating at a paint-out. For the talk, the organizers gave the same photograph to 3 artists, and we each interpreted it in our own style. Or at least, that was the idea. I’m not sure mine turned out to look like my work… what do you think? It isn’t a subject that I would normally do, being more of a travel scene. But I tried to push the color and used a dominance of pattern.

“Hong Kong Memory” copyright Ruth Armitage, 2011 Watercolor & Collage 15″x11″

I’ll leave you with a couple of photos of the flora that I’m enjoying so much here on the farm. One of my 3 succulent containers on the back patio, and some dahlias from my neighbor’s garden.