Remnants of Life Photograph Noticing the remnants of life around me. After a great visit with our family in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, we started the long drive home. Aspen are magical, as they transform the color of an entire mountainside in Fall. They take my breath away. My husband and I stopped on the side of the road and took a short walk to stretch our legs and reenergize. We followed what looked like an old game trail meandering up the hill.

A Beautiful Spot

Remnants of Life 02 — 14.5w x 22.5h watercolor, acrylic on 140lb wc paper

Suddenly, as we crested the hill we came upon a beautiful meadow with a patch of brilliant yellow aspens just a little way off in the distance. There was this great old fencepost standing with a lean, he was all tangled up in barbed wire and I could see where the fence line was long ago. There were multiple posts leaning and falling down in a line leading away from us.

Remnants of Life 07 I wondered what kind of stories that old fence post could tell if he could talk. That post was where a gate had hung, at the base of a beautiful expanse of grazing land. Was this a large farm or ranch in the past? Were there cattle, horses, gardens, homes, and barns? This artist’s mind kicked into high gear then. Wouldn’t it be great to explore and see if the story from a long time ago could be found? Are there pioneer cabins back there? Big ole’ log barns? Ponds?

Remnants of Life 12 Where did all the people go? Standing there, we were very much alone as the sun sank further down in the sky. I took some photographs of this sturdy old cracked fence guardian before leaving.

Remnants of Life 18 His, “Remnants of Life” will remain a secret, but the beauty of the land that he guards will be seen by whoever views this painting.

Coeur d’Alene Figure Drawing get-togethers have started again at Terry Lees studio, and I am so happy. There is nothing as greatly inspiring to an artist as drawing with other artists. Practicing from a live model really improves my art skills significantly. This week was drawing from a nude figure. The human form changes with even a slight shift in weight distribution or a little change in the direction of gaze.

Last night we did a few 5-minute and a few 20-minute poses. I am obviously a little rusty after three months of no practice. Or, even a lot rusty. By the last 20-minute pose I was able to say, okay it is coming back. So, on the way to improvement always.

I’d be glad to show you the way, or carpool, if you are interested in trying this out. The next life drawing session is on

Monday, April 10th

It will be a clothed portraiture 3-hour session. You bring your own supplies, to draw or paint. As a group, we ask that you use odorless spirits if you are using oil paints. There are benches and easels in Terry’s studio to borrow. The cost is $15 for each session (to help pay the model), and it goes from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on select Mondays… Terry lets us know about the dates he is able to schedule a model via email. With good attendance, we have even had a class each Monday night before, so spread the word.