Saturday

Rumor has it that it will be winter before we know it, and I felt the need to take advantage of the warm weather on Saturday to get out to the woods and do some painting. I biked, stopping in the orchard to pick a few pears that still hung on the branches, and a few of my favorite late-summer apples, to add to my painting bag. No starving artist here!
 The dogs were with me, dashing off at the slightest insult from a squirrel, or something I couldn't hear or see at all, only to return with wagging tails to be told what good pups they were.
 Once again, I picked something "simple" only to be almost overwhelmed with how complicated I actually found it to be. The shapes, colors, texture of the trees, and the number of them... partway through it looked pretty dismal. But what a day to be out. The warm yellows, oranges, and greens of the trees and shrubs in the background, along and beyond the barbed wire fence that separates the pasture and woods from the orchard, were lovely. Little stems of wild asters bloomed in amongst the trees. The paint went on thick.

Late September in the Poplars, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

In the evening I attended the opening for the Between the Bluffs plein air painting event in La Crosse, Wisconsin. A great show! Really fun to see all the new work and pick out favorites. We were each allowed three paintings. I submitted "Roadside Glory", which I wrote about recently, and these two:

Sundance, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

"Sundance" was another orchard painting, done underneath the trees, looking out. The apples themselves are named Sundance, a tangy-sweet late-ripening variety, and I wanted to highlight the play of light on the ripening fruit. They won't be ready for harvest for some time yet, but the apples hanging on the outer branches pick up a lovely blush. When trying to paint something like this, I really get a chance to notice things like the differing shapes of leaves, a little insect damage, variations in color like those little touches of reddish-brown on some of them, and I appreciate it all that much more. This piece was awarded the Best of Show at the opening! I am so thrilled and honored.

Saturday Sunshine, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

My third painting was the first that I did for this event. An old, long admired barn situated on a narrow gravel road that should probably be avoided by sane drivers. I made some little friends here when I asked permission to paint. They kept me company, kept me on my toes, drew me pictures, and when they disappeared into the barn and reappeared on the low roof shouting "Paint us! Paint us!", I did. I'm delighted to say that this one sold at the opening and is going to a new home. What a fantastic and humbling feeling it is when someone chooses to live with a piece of my art. :)

Do you ever wonder who's behind these paintings?

You might be surprised:

My smallest painting buddy.

Trying to paint figures again. This time two jolly little girls who joined me on a short jaunt to the woods. Drawing or painting people from life is, I think, always challenging. With children, it's pretty much always a quick pose. There just aren't enough goldfish crackers in the world to keep that youngest one still! Besides that, there was her friend's hair to "braid" (she's probably still working those knots out) and a toad to follow, and a few improvements to add to Auntie's painting (there should be pink in more places, and Auntie should use much bolder strokes!) 

 Paintings don't always turn out how I want them to, but there's always something gained.

Picnic in Mosquito-Land, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

Binksie and Bep - It's Here!

Binksie and Bep is finally here!
 It's now available on my Etsy shop: Here!


Written and illustrated by (yours truly) Hannah C. Heyer
8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm), soft cover, 34 pages, with 27 full color illustrations.


Yay! :-D

I wonder if...

"I wonder if......there are any fairies..."

There are now, Cinta!
Love,
Auntie Hannah

9x12 ink and watercolour, copyright 2011 Hannah C. Heyer

Slackers.

We were meant to be mulching the garden,
but it was hot.
Mom was away.
We had a bag of chocolate-covered doughnuts.


We trampled out a spot in the middle of a patch of tall yellow flowers, and poured ourselves some milk.
We knew how to party.

Book Progress

My eyes are red from staring at a computer screen for too long! :-P But I think, I hope, I'm nearing the end. I'm still working on the editing and formatting of my book, including the cover.
While it would have been nice to be done sooner, the longer I'm taking with this, the better it's getting. Little extras have been added, fonts tweaked, scans improved, and ideas developed. I've still got a mountain of work to do, but real progress has been made, and that feels so good.
This is what the title page looks like at the moment:

Grand Plans in Spring

We shall build a fort
of sticks and twine and nails.

We'll live on gooseberries
and applesauce sandwiches,
and drink from a brook
(once we've discovered one!)

Our bare feet will grow tough as leather
and we will scoff at wearing shoes!
One of us may spend a summer with a thorn in her foot as a result...

Copyright 2011 Hannah C. Heyer
Girl with a Hammer, 9x12" Ink and Watercolour