Author: Lynn Holbein

When you flip an abstract painting around, sometimes you find a different perspective that you prefer.
Here are two views of the same painting.
Which do you like better?

As I painted this, I said to myself: Forget the real background or shadow colors of the lemon I’m looking at (this is art, not photography, after all). Since purple is the opposite of yellow on the color wheel, and how can I mix several shades of bluish purple to make the lemon pop?

There are beautiful water lilies on a pond near our house. The flowers open in the morning and close in the evening.

Isn’t it fun how a series of casual dots and dashes can suggest a lively populated scene? This sketch was painted on a hot August day, sitting on the grass watching kids splashing in the wading pond on the Boston Common. (The pond becomes a skating rink in the winter.) This took about 15 minutes; sometimes when you’re not trying hard, it’s easier to catch “the magic.”

My painting was inspired by memories of the colorful buildings in Mexico, and a beautiful painting by Robert Noreixa. Why do North Americans paint our houses such drab colors? In Central America, you’ll find pink, blue and green houses next to each other. I like the diminishing perspective of the buildings and telephone poles and and the loose shapes that portray figures.

First, thanks to the many people who wrote last week with their opinions about abstract vs. representational art. A plurality like something they can recognize in a painting; many appreciate pure color and shape, and many others like both. Thanks to those who said they are enjoying the experimentation of my personal art journey.

“Values” is the art term for the darks and lights of a painting, and it is said that the value pattern is more important than color. The challenge of this exercise (for a new class I’m taking) was to make an entire painting with a single color, diluted with more or less water.

Having never done any art in my life, I took my first watercolor class at age 49 and was hooked. Since them I’ve been mostly a representational artist. But the colors and shapes of abstracts are starting to appeal to me. Do abstracts appeal to you, or do you prefer paintings of things you can identify? I’d be interested in your opinion.

Following the seasons, we left our unheated northern Vermont cottage, stopped in Boston to see old friends and neighbors, and returned to our new home in North Carolina, where it’s no longer in the 90’s every day. 

In Chapel Hill, whether you’re a grad student with a laptop or a woman with a sketchbook, one idyllic place to spend an hour is outside Weaver Street Market.

This is a quote on Insight Timer, the meditation app I use every day.

The connection between reality and abstraction is interesting, don’t you think? Often all it takes is to zoom in the camera lens, or crop a photo until you start to see patterns rather than just objects.

Remember when you were a kid, and your parents had to stop the car to clean the bugs off the windshield? Does that happen to you anymore? Our insect populations are collapsing because we are covering our land with hybridized and imported plants our insects weren’t evolved to eat. Since we depend heavily on insect pollination for food, this threatens what we eat. Here’s an ode to reducing our lawns, no more pesticides, and planting native pollinating plants.

My painting was inspired by a visit a couple of weeks ago to the Maine coast, and by a painting at the Portland Museum of Art. And last week Bruce and I were blessed to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Like general stores in many small towns, Willey’s is the heartbeat of Greensboro, Vermont, where our summer cottage is located. At Willey’s you can find just about anything — groceries, hardware, housewares, clothes and shoes. But if you gossip about someone at checkout, be warned that their cousin may be standing behind you in line. I was commissioned to make a painting of the store; they printed my painting on t-shirts, which are worn here by my cousins Bliss and Alan and me.

Buoys are painted different colors and patterns to show where the nets or traps are and to whom they belong. I’m on a learning curve with acrylics, which is fun and challenging.

We are celebrating our “50th anniversary honeymoon” on the coast of Maine. Here is my sketch of the famous Footbridge, first built in 1901, crossing Boothbay Harbor.

I haven’t had time to make art this week because our son Andrew’s family has been visiting our family summer cottage in Vermont. Here’s Maggie, age 5, and Jasper, 9 months. Jasper was willing to sit on my lap for a few seconds, before he took off crawling across the grass to chase the doggie.

In my Apple newsfeed today is an article (link here) titled, “Could the Secret of Happiness Lie in Being More Grateful?” Then: “According to experts, the act of practicing gratitude (which goes way beyond just saying “thank you,” by the way!) has been shown to have myriad benefits for your mental and physical health—from increasing feelings of optimism and hope to strengthening your relationships, boosting immunity, and even improving sleep.” And:  “Gratitude works to encourage recognition of the sources of goodness as being outside of the self. This requires an appreciation for the contributions of others and external events. In this way, it is an unselfish practice, as the focus of gratitude is on the world around us, on both people and activities—externalities—that are not ourselves.”

Ah, summer days.

The vantage point of this sketch — lifeguard large, figures small — was a conscious choice. I should have made the two buildings in the upper right lighter, more subdued colors to show they are in the distance.

Here’s hoping you have time this summer to relax and recharge!

On my birthday last Friday I remembered this.

On Monday we commemorate the day that slavery finally ended, when enslaved African Americans in Texas, months after the Civil War actually was over, learned that they were free. And Wednesday we celebrate the longest day of the year. Happy summer!

Please click here and see me making this (no time lapse) in just one minute!

This little painting, based on a photo I saw, is one of my favorites. The style is semi-abstract, based on reality but taking liberties from there.

A Buddhist says to the hot dog vendor, “Make me one with everything.” After getting his hot dog, he hands the vendor a $20 bill. After a minute he says, “Where’s my change?” The hot dog vendor says, “Change must come from within.”

During my 25+ years painting, I have developed a specialty in pet portraits. I finished Porter last week. In the future, if you are interested in a pet portrait for yourself or as a gift (birthday, anniversary, Christmas), here are details: $195 for a watercolor portrait, from your photo, in an 11″ x 14″ mat. Click “reply” to any art email (which goes right to my inbox) if you have questions.

the force that through the green fuse drives the flower … e.e. cummings

Spring is a multitude of greens.

Try this: How many greens can you count in this little painting? Then look outside: how many greens you can count?

Watercolor on Yupo paper. Starting with viridian on the left (a light green) and phthalo green on the right (a dark green), I added different yellows and reds and used varying amounts of water.

Below is this week’s homework for a challenging class I’m taking, making “out of the box” versions of the same image over and over. The assignment was “texture,” and my process was a lot crazier (and more complex) than the ink on rice paper version last week. My steps are explained under the painting.

I painted this just before our household was hit by Covid this week. Mild cases, getting slowly better. Giving thanks for vaccinations and paxlovid.

“De-Stress Your Life with a Healthy Green Haven,” read the magazine cover at the supermarket checkout. Since it had been cold and rainy for three days, I drove right to the plant store. An hour later, my credit card was groaning, but my spirits were soaring.

Easter, Passover and Ramadan were all celebrated last week. The peace we all yearn for would be closer if we realized how much Christianity, Judaism and Islam have in common. Quick videos to learn more: How is Ramadan celebrated by the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims? Link (3 min.) What do Christianity, Judaism and Islam have in common? Link (6 min.).

Draw the moving parts first. I sketched this woman quickly, but once she left with her scones there was plenty of time for the bakery cases and signs. Avoiding facial features makes life a lot easier.

It’s fun and meditative to sketch everyday scenes. If your subject is stationary, you can sketch from life. But if people or vehicles are moving, it helps to snap a photo. I usually start an outline in pen and pencil, and then add watercolor.

Today (March 20th) is the spring solstice. All around us, the earth is reawakening, grass is greening, birds are headed north, baby animals will soon be born. These sheep will soon be joined by lambs.

Pen, pencil, colored pencil, water-soluble crayon, watercolor.

Many people who paint with oils and acrylics — which are easy to correct — find watercolor intimidating. Watercolor’s virtues are portability, ease of setup, lack of fumes or toxicity, and the translucence of the white paper shining through. The magic (and frustration) of watercolor is that when two wet areas touch, the paint flows between them. Wet paint is attracted to other wet areas, but it won’t go into dry areas. Here, after painting the top half, I “painted” the bottom half with clean water and let the paint do its thing.

Sometimes magic happens.

One thing you learn, after you do art for awhile, is that no lightning bolt will strike you dead if you paint something different from what you are actually seeing. This pepper was all red, but it was much more fun to drop a variety of colors into it. Do you notice the colors in the shadow?

Hope your week has hearts and a little chocolate!

One of my favorites. (Simmer until tender, top with browned butter. Thanks, Mom!) How about you?

This week I went back through my old photos from our 2007 trip to Utah to visit the National Parks. One photo captured my attention, and I finished painting it barely in time for my weekly email to go out at 5:00 today (Monday). There are only two colors — brown madder (red/brown) and cerulean (turquoise) — in varied combinations, plus a little green and yellow for the trees.

I’m starting a series of Affordable Originals. This watercolor original is 9″ x 12″, fits a standard 11″ x 14″ frame, $100 with free shipping.

So far I’ve been faithful to my two New Year’s resolutions: eat one more vegetable or fruit a day, and at least 10 minutes of painting. Ten minutes is enough time to sketch figures, paint color swatches, or watch a “how do” video on YouTube. Being creative — taking an unusual photograph, writing a few lines — can be a “moment of delight.” If we forget a day, or a week — hey, it’s still 2023!

This little painting is based on a photo I saw, and it’s one of my favorites. You might call it semi-abstract, since it references reality but takes off from there.

Wisdom from a well-known meditation teacher.

And speaking of little things that are important, I’m blessed to be in New Orleans helping out with our grandson Jasper, who is nearly three months old.

Many of us make resolutions about our health. My ambitious resolutions never seem to last, so I’ve set more modest ones: 3 fruits/vegetables a day (rather than 2), and 10 minutes of sketching a day. What are your 2023 resolutions?

Bruce and I and our family wish you a happy holiday season!