Geographical Transitions

We left Missouri this morning at 7:00 AM, embarking on the front end of our 18th round trip from Missouri to Washington to Missouri, in a period of 7 years. Yes, its a tough drive (about 30 hours of actual driving, each way). Getting one house ready to leave for awhile and then “opening” up the one on the other end is challenging. 

But for now, it’s what we do in order to be with all the family some of the time.

This trip is happening as the pandemic continues to trend in the right direction. In fact, most of the states we travel through feel pretty safe, with low incidences of COVID19. It will be interesting to see where people are wearing masks, where McDonalds are open more than just the drive-through, and where there seems to be lockdowns and where not. I will say this, if people are “staying home,” I’d hate to see the highways when they are not.

Just before I packed away all my art supplies for this trip, I did a couple of paintings. These two demonstrate that I still play around with different styles, and really neither of these is representative of my best effort. Neither of these is my favorite style of watercolor painting. And what is that? Still not sure—Probably somewhere between very loose watercolor and realistic. Whimsical styles (like the puffin) are fun but not where I would want to spend most of my art time.

I continue to maintain that if I forge ahead, learning is taking place.

This little puffin is another from the Watercolor With Me in the Ocean book by Dana Fox. These little creatures in her books are very simple to do, and I usually rely on this style to give me a quick project that kind of fills the blank space while I’m trying to get motivated to do a more challenging attempt.

 

I followed a tutorial for the following tulip piece, and I do not like how it turned out. But I made a decision a long time ago that I will post the bad with the good. That makes me feel more accountable. This piece IS, however, more artsy and realistic than the whimsical puffin above, so it’s closer to what I like a finished product to look like.

So now we are in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I am seeing almost no one wearing facial masks. In Missouri, many people are wearing them.

This is just a strange time.

#tulips #puffin #roadtrip