Masks, Painting, Prep for Summer Screenprint

The ceramic masks are a kind of fun and relief from the labor of printmaking, and painting.  They refresh my mind, wake up my hands, and bring the opportunity for play. 

This one is just finished.  There are three more in a final phase.

Planning to gear up for sketching in the warm part of the year.  Outdoors, just whatever I see. Planning to try the waterbrushes, which are nice tools.  A brush tip with a hollow plastic handle for water.  Makes a portable watercolor tool, which I hear is in wide use now, especially in Japan.  I will report on it's use. Next year more sketching on trips, maybe more figures.

Some little jewels from the garden:

Just today sketched out in charcoal on horizontal canvas.  How to retain the hot feeling of the light, the tiny sweetness of the flowers and shapes, and to make it say all it has to say in as elegant and true way as possible.  Those are my tasks.  My job is fun.