Red Barn, Last Big Snow

 © Robin Edmundson, 'Red Barn, Last Big Snow', watercolor, 9 x 12 inches.   Framed $300.

After that last big snow we had in February, Eric grabbed a pic of this red barn, gold grass and blue snow shadows.  

Winter Woods

 ©Robin Edmundson, 'Winter Woods', watercolor, 8 x 11.5 inches.   $225, unframed.  

I have the tremendous pleasure of working with Angela Fehr as her director of operations and part of my job is to spend time in her online community.  The membership focus is to become heart-led in your creative practice; to work on mindset as much as technique; and to learn to enjoy the whole creative process in a way that allows you to become your own favorite artist.  It is truly a joy to spend time there every day. 

Last month, one of the lovely members of our online community posted a reference photo and told everyone to paint it their way.   [Thank you, Deborah Ropp!]  The painting above is my version - leaning more toward a southern Indiana woods, than a northern woods.   [Yeah, it's what I know.]  

First Light, Covered Bridge

© Robin Edmundson, 'First Light, Covered Bridge', watercolor, 16 x 12 inches
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

As I've mentioned before, I've been studying composition.   Mostly this means becoming aware of how I could have better composed a painting after it's too late to do anything about it.   Paint and learn.

I've been collecting composition structures that speak to me and while I was at it I found one that I loved, but only if I added something with some visual oomph off to the right.    I did a couple of drafts, playing with snow and light and shadow while I was at it.  Eric saw this one and loves the glow of that early morning light.  

Two Young Beeches

© Robin Edmundson, 'Two Young Beeches', watercolor, 14 x 10 inches.
Framed to 20 x 16 inches.  $375.

One of my favorite sights of winter is the glow of the young beech trees in the woods. 

It's funny,  I'm only ever aware of these young beeches and the very old ones, that are full of tunnels and hollows and populated by raccoons and owls and scolding squirrels.  I never notice the medium ones.

Young beeches hold most of their leaves all winter long.   It's these trees that inspired the name 'copper beeches'. 

After the rest of the woods goes gray and dull in the winter, these young trees continue to light up the woods until it's almost spring.   Just as spring begins to arrive, these copper leaves turn white at last and drop.

Frost Stops at the Edge of the Woods

©Robin Edmundson, 'Frost Stops at the Edge of the Woods', watercolor, 11 x 16 inches.
Framed to 16 x 20 inches.  $395.

Our first few fall frosts are lovely blankets of sparkle that always stop just at the edge of the woods. The fields are white with a faint undertone of greens and the woods sparkle with fall color. 

At first glance in this piece, the temptation is to wonder why the trees have been cut off at the tops, but this piece isn't about the trees.  

This piece is about the transition space at the at the edge of the woods, where the leaves still cling to the trees and the temperatures stay a little warmer.  It's about what's happening at the feet of the trees. That's where the magic is happening.

I love the edge of the woods. We so seldom look there. We look at the trees, at the grass, at the frosty field, but we rarely look at that space where the frost ends because the warmth of the woods held it back. I love that space.

Frostbitten Leaves

©Robin Edmundson, 'Frostbitten Leaves', watercolor, 16 x 20 inches. 
Framed to 20 x 24 inches. $595

On very cold days, while the blue shadows linger, the oranges of oak leaves glow through the heavy frost and light snowfall.  I love that shifting light, that combination of exposure and concealment. 

I've been practicing meeting myself at the paper.  Breathing, working slowly, watching the paint and working with it rather than forcing it to do what I think it should.

The truth is, I have control issues. I am fully aware that I'm a control freak.   One of the reasons I chose watercolor is that it is a life lesson for me.   It does what it wants.  I have to learn to work with it instead of controlling it.  This is really good for me. 

I stick with watercolor because I like the way it makes my brain feel.  Less control, more collaboration.  Less forcing, more interaction.   So I meet myself at the paper and breathe and work one step at a time and then pause until the paint tells me what my next options are. 

Midwinter Sky & Birds

© Robin Edmundson, 'Midwinter Sky & Birds', watercolor, 18x24 inches. 
Framed to 26x32 inches.  $750.

I've been working with this scene for a while and I realized that what it really wanted was more space, so I worked it up in a larger format. I love it.

Our winter palette is mostly umbers and ochres - until it snows, and for a few days it's hard to tell where the sky stops and the trees and fields begin. Then the trees shake off the snow and clouds and re-establish the boundaries.

There is a stark beauty in a winter day like that, with scraps of earth showing through the snow. On a day like this, there is quiet in the clutter of our woods and farms, with nothing to distract from the ebb and flow of winter birds moving from one field to the next.

I love this about Indiana.

Winter Barn, Purple Shadows

© Robin Edmundson, 'Winter Barn, Purple Shadows', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches
Framed to 18 x 22 inches. $375

The shadows this winter have been really interesting.   It's been so wet that there is a perpetual haze in the woods and it's been so cloudy that the shadows aren't their typical winter blue.  I've enjoyed the challenge and have been happily experimenting with new color combinations.   This one made me particularly happy. 

Winter Cornfield, Blue Barn

© Robin Edmundson, 'Winter Cornfield, Blue Barn', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.
Framed to 18 x 22 inches.  $375

Here's what I like about our winters:

• They're varied.  This has a negative flipside when it comes to things like beekeeping, but mostly it makes things really interesting.
• There's a lot of green.   The fiddlehead ferns in the woods are evergreen, as are the southern red cedars.  Then there are the lowest layers of grass in the fields, and the moss on the trees [and the north side of most houses/roofs]
• Willow tips turn gorgeous reds in the winter and get brighter as the weather warms in the spring. 
• Cornfields retain a lot of gold all winter long and can really glow when the light is right.
• Last year's little blue stem and wild petunia plants turn the most gorgeous orange.  You can see it in all the hayfields, roadside ditches and windbreaks. 
• The old gray tobacco barns turn blue - it's probably because the old rusty roofs really show their orange this time of year.
• Oaks and young beeches hang onto their leaves most of the winter.   Beautiful russets, rich browns all season long.

Right now I'm loving the quieter palette of a southern Indiana winter.

Winter Bean Field

© Robin Edmundson, 'Winter Bean Field', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.
Framed 18 x 22 inches, $375

I've been really studying our winter fields this year.  Cornfields retain a lot of gold, even after harvest.  Bean fields turn luscious umbers.   On cloudy, misty days, the woods, clouds and shadows turn all the shades of purple.  The subtleties are breathtaking and make for interesting play in the studio. 

Midwinter Sky

© Robin Edmundson, 'Midwinter Sky 1', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

This scene has been in my head for a few weeks now.   I finally put it to paper.   I'm kind of in love with it, so I'll be playing with this a lot more in the next little while.

Haan Museum of Indiana Art

Haan Museum living room with three Hoosier masterpieces on the wall. 
[There were many more in that room.]

A couple of weeks ago, Lily and I drove up to Lafayette, Indiana to get my painting from the 'Hoosier Women Artists:  Works Selected for the Indiana Statehouse' exhibit that just ended at the Haan Mansion Museum of Indiana Art.

This museum is amazing.   We met the people who restored the house from a crumbling wreck and who filled it full of the treasures of Indiana art and American furniture.  We toured the house and were overwhelmed with the wonderful things there.  Tickets are $10 for adults and well worth the price given that this place is packed full of rich architectural and artistic history.   It will take me several more trips to fully appreciate all that is there.

On this trip I was there to pick up my painting, 'Winter White', which had hung in the Lt. Governor's offices for a year and then came here for the special exhibit of all the paintings in one place.  Here it is hanging on the wall in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Here's a full view of the piece, which, I am happy to report, is home again at last.

© Robin Edmundson, 'Winter White', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

Geese Flying

© Robin Edmundson, 'Geese Flying', watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.  $375

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Split Roof & Grassy Bales

© Robin Edmundson, 'Split Roof, Grassy Bales',  watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

This place is not far from us, at the bottom of a hill in a damp, sheltered spot.   The bales often sprout before they're used for winter feed.  The old tractor shed's roof split a couple of years ago when we had several heavy snows in a short time.   It's quiet and peaceful.  Even in the winter, the grass stays green for a long time there. 

I studied this barn for a long time before I painted it. I routinely do a few versions of a piece to get a feel for color, shapes and light.    Here are a couple of practice pieces:

I may try to do it again as a snow scene.  I'll keep you posted.

Cozy

So, 'Hygge' is a thing I've been seeing a lot in the past year or so.  It's a Danish word that encompasses all things cozy.  [Go to the link to find out more.]

I am practicing hygge these days.  It's perfect weather for it - ice storms with power outages, bad roads and very cold temperatures to keep us home.  The things I do that cultivate the hygge is to keep fires in the woodstove, quilt on a new quilt, watch the snow swirling, snuggle with warm cups of things, feed the birds and watch them feasting, light candles, make smelly bath salts.  It all adds up to delicious self care and a reminder that abundance is a feeling, not a list of things we own.   That helps me live my best life now.

What are you doing to bring hygge into your life?

2017 Watercolor Society of Indiana Juried Show

© Robin Edmundson, 'White Roofs',  watercolor, 10 x 14 inches.   Framed, 18 x 22 inches.  

This piece was just juried into this year's Watercolor Society of Indiana's member show.   The juror this year was Barbara Nechis.  I'm pretty excited!   I have now achieved signature status in the Watercolor Society of Indiana.  [This means I can sign the letters, WSI after my signature on my paintings.]

The WSI show will hang at the Indianapolis Museum of Art from October 8 - December 3, 2017 in the gallery across the hall from the gift shop.

Blue Air

© Robin Edmundson, 'Blue Air, Late February', watercolor on paper, 10 x 14 inches.

Once in a while in late winter/early spring, we get a warm day when the air hangs blue in the distance, but last year's grass glows pale gold on the hills.

It. Is. Gorgeous.

We had one of those days recently and I put it on paper.   I like how the rust on the barn roofs contrasts with all the blue in the air.  I'm also in love with those cattails at the side of the road.  

Palette:  cobalt blue, raw umber, ochre, quin burnt orange.

Frosty Winter Windows

I have been having so much fun doing winter paintings.   A happy accident showed me how I could make 'frost' on the paint so of course I had to do a bunch of frosty winter windows.

I've done a limited edition series of these winter windows.   Each is an original watercolor with the same composition and palette. Initialed in ink on the front and signed on the back.  Matted and framed.   Framed size is 10 x 8 inches.   $75.


If you're interested in purchasing one, please email me.


...and if you're wanting a little something on that window sill, check out my other one below.

Right now our window sills are full of forcing vases with green shoots [and a couple of early blooming hyacyinths.]  So I thought I'd do a few paintings with a forcing vase in front of that frosty window.

I've done a limited edition series of this composition also.  Each is an original watercolor with this same composition and palette.  Initialed in ink on the front and signed on the back.  Matted and framed.   Framed size is 10 x 8 inches.   $75.

If you're interested in purchasing one, please email me.

Bee Check In

I checked on the bees this week, while the weather was warm.   All 4 hives are doing fine.

WOOT!!

Here's a pic of the cluster in #4 under the quilt box, eating away at the sugar.  They're really happy!

I have to give credit to Rusty, from HoneybeeSuite, who gave me the idea for the quilt boxes because I really think that's what's making the difference this year [and last].  

Only one of the hives had a moisture issue in the quilt and that was because I had forgotten to put shims between the quilt box and the next lid up.   The cedar chips in that box were pretty wet, as was the denim liner under the chips.

I added the shims and all should be fine now.   The bees inside were doing OK anyway.  This week the weather will be warm and I'll check the chips in a few days to make sure they're drying out.

Maybe I'll start the spring with 4 hives?  
Maybe I'll get a real harvest this year?
Maybe I've figured out the key to overwintering here?

Stay tuned!

Geese Flying

© Robin Edmundson, 'Geese flying', watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 inches

It's true that Indiana's winter colors aren't much to get excited about, but they sure are moody.

The other day I was travelling north near the White and Eel rivers and I was lucky enough to see thousands of geese going further south.

I love seeing the birds fly and I love seeing them in number even more.   My timing was almost perfect for their morning push south toward Goose Pond in Greene County, Indiana.

Goose Pond is a huge staging area for the Midwest flyways. It's one of my favorite places.

From the car, I could see dozens of groups of birds flying in loose formations all over the sky.   It was lovely against the blue and beige clouds with the blue and beige fields. The air was so misty that everything at any distance was indistinct except all those birds.   I couldn't wait to get it on paper.

Deets:
9 x 12 inches
Arches 140 cp paper
Colors:  Ochre, indigo, bt sienna, bt umber, raw umber