Ah, September! Warm, sunny days.  Cool nights.  A month that makes me glad I live in the Midwest.  There are other reasons why I’m glad I live here, too:  no hurricanes named Florence or Hugo; enough rain that–as least so far–prevents wildfires; the lovely changing of the seasons with yellow ochres and scarlets and crimsons and sap greens and beautiful deep blues and orchids entering into the landscape. 

Autumn is also a good time for me to evaluate how my year is going and see if there are things I can do to improve both myself and my work before the end of 2018.  I’m leaving for a vacation to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island this month, and I’m taking my sketch book and travel watercolors and brushes and pencils and an eraser.  A BIG eraser.  I make lots of mistakes.

I envy those of you who draw so easily.  I “get” the color mix and shades and hues and tints, and I also “get” how watercolor works on paper.  However, I REALLY have to work hard at the drawing thing.  I have to keep reminding my self that I’m working on drawing shapes, not objects.  In fact, I talk to myself as I’m drawing:  “This shape needs to be rounder;” and so it goes.

I hope you enjoy what is usually a beautiful autumn season in Indiana.  I hope you get a chance to go north to the Dunes or south to Brown County–or both.  I hope you enjoy the many fall festivals and Octoberfests that go on in our area.  I love visiting other places–and I’ve been to many places that I loved (Italy, anyone?) –but I still prefer to live here.  Summer, fall and spring I love.  Winter not so much.  But I endure it for the sake of summer, fall, and spring. 

But that’s just my opinion.  ?

Happy painting. ??