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Writer's pictureFrances

Middle of the Night Ramblings

I kid you not!

I sit here at my hotel in Clearwater, BC. It is 3:42 am and I am, perhaps, not fully awake.

I did fall asleep at about 5:00 pm yesterday, and was in and out of sleep since then, mostly asleep. So I guess I've had more sleep than I usually do!

I miss my home studio. I have become so accustomed to painting every day, that being without my paints, is kind of disturbing. I brought a sketchbook and cheap watercolor set with me, to save space.

Yesterday, I took a break from driving and stopped in Valemount to sketch. I remember now why I tell people I can't draw! Regardless, I will share my results. It's hard to see I sketched anything, since I then covered it with a rudimentary attempt at watercolor.


I could pick at it for a while and say that the perspective is off, the lines are not straight, the watercolor attempt is hideous, but, hey, I had fun at the time!

I made myself a Sketching and Poetry book, so I will add it, shamelessly, to this book.





While I brought up the Sketching and Poetry book, I will share with you my first entries.


This is the book cover. It started with gelli print paper on a canvas board. From there, the paints covered it up (it's a long story, and includes a video lesson that wasn't very helpful for me). Sad, because it looked nice with the gelli print papers I had created.

Anyhow, I ended up with this, and added a poem into the scene. I know you can read it on the cover, but:



The roar of the wind fills the silence of the night, lifts the moon up high

Dark is the winter, long and endless the cold, we long for spring time

Bright, snow blindness, white waves of snow block our passage, fear of the unknown

Candlelight flickers, its warmth and glow flood the room, pull your chair in close



Inside cover and title page - a work in progress...






We have a family of blue jays in our back yard. I will be sketching them and hopefully get better at it.









I love old houses. I think about who might have lived there. I'm amazed to think how many souls passed through them, each leaving a bit of themselves behind.

Once, warm and cozy

Time past

Footsteps find their way inside

Doors slam on broken hinges

Floors creak, lights, long ago, flickered and went out

Walls yellow, paint peeling

A gaping hole where a pane of glass once kept the rain out

Old smells, an empty suitcase lies forgotten

A diary of the past, hidden within my walls


On the subject of poetry

I have started writing poetry about some of my paintings. I plan to write them on homemade paper and tuck them into the back of the painting. A special little find, for someone who purchases the painting.

This is my intention. Since I am putting it on paper, so to speak, I guess I will need to follow up on that. Sometimes, it is good to state your intentions to someone, because that makes you accountable. Maybe you'll get asked if you ever followed up. So feel free to ask me if I follow up on my poetry intention!


On the subject of midnight ramblings

Well, it was not midnight, but I was rambling. In an attempt to occupy myself and keep awake at the same time, I turned on my phone video camera and just said what came to mind. I'll share it with you. I hate myself on camera, so I'm being very generous with you!


One tree falls, another stands

Fires blazing in different lands

Taking a different route to avoid the fires,

Just adding a little more time to my tires

Tires go round and round

New summer tires hit the ground

Roads are clear, no traffic about

Just a few going the other way, no one taking my route

No rock slides, no rain storms, no snow, no sleet

No icy roads for me to meet

Over bridges, down the road, up hills, and down

Here I am in British Columbia, Mount Robson Park

I've got a long ways to go before it gets dark.


In conclusion

Well, in conclusion, what? I guess, just don't be afraid to let it all out. Whether in the form of sketches, poems, bad video recordings. You don't have to make it public, like me (why do I do that? another topic...) Just let yourself go. Don't be too critical, everything is a learning process. A "letting go" process. So have fun with it, laugh about it, share it if you wish. Don't let anyone tell you it's not worthy. It is worthy, because you are worthy. I'll also try to remember that.


Have a happy day!


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