[lefthanded]

After my third (of four) abdominal surgeries for ulcerative colitis a few years ago, my mom sent me a few art supplies, her Hummel (Little Artist) and a note that said "Get back to your art."

The next summer I did. . . I took a once a week sketching class at a local nursery, taught by the master gardener there, thus joining the "Artists in the Garden." Less than 18 months later I was hanging my first solo show with our local arts commission . . .

I work in colored pencil, pastel, watercolor and other mediums. . . and am very grateful that I have something I can do that doesn't interfere with being sick and tired all the time!


A few examples:


Retired, watercolor


Baja Gold, colored pencil


Where Mountain Meets Sky: Muir Snowfield, pastel


My avatar is a colored pencil I did from a thermal photo I took of myself with my MacBook. It is a little different than most of the work I do. . . .

Oh . . . I didn't just become an artist after my health went South. It is what I was SUPPOSED to be, but realistic life got in the way many decades ago. And since life with Crohn's, et al, is so unreal at times. . . I figured I had nothing to lose finally being the real me!

By the way. . . I have no idea how to post the thumbnails that everyone else does. . . can anyone enlighten me as to where to go for instructions? I imagine they save bandwidth or something . . .

[Curious]

wonderful lefthanded!

no..post the pics. we love seeing them that size. plus using photobucket...they host the bandwidth.

i can't wait to see more.

[lefthanded]

Oops! Didn't see the attachments button at the very bottom. Is there any reason we can not use the picture button up at the top where all the font information is?

Ok . . . one more for the trial. . .this is a graphite called "Morning Run"

[Curious]

that is to insert an image already hosted on a website. like photobucket or flikr. otherwise doing the attachment uploads the picture from your computer.

[Burntmarshmallow]

I cant help much with your question but I love your work!!!!
My favorite is the "bug" in the grass the bettle bug vol. wagon "Retired "great title. they are wonderful .and yup i am with curious post them that size so we can all see the beautiful detail and full affect of image!
Thanks for sharing... and I say keep your "second career" it is your true talent!!
Peace
BMW

[Jomar]

Excellent work , I love them all.

[lefthanded]

A few more . . .


Lazy Bend on the Maquoketa River, pastel
I kayaked down this a couple of times in my little inflatable Sevlyor . . . it is the closest thing I had to the sea kayaking I did on vacation before moving to Seattle.


Alpenglow on Mt. Adams and the Tatoosh, pastel
From a photo I took my first night on Rainier, 1995, the year I made summit attempts on Rainier and Olympus.


My First Descent: The Artist Descending the Ingraham Glacier, colored pencil
From a photo my guide took at the point where we turned around to come down. Not a failure to reach the top, but a success that I even tried.


Waiting at the Window, colored pencil on pastel card
My daughter during those great junior high school years . . . you recognize the attitude!


Off Road Vehicle #2, colored pencil
That is me, in a healthy body . . . in a fantasy piece, as I will likely never be able to sit on a horse again.


Santa Cruz, watercolor (done in the three primary colors only)
I did this as a gift for my daughter's mother-in-law, who planned my daughter's entire wedding when I couldn't, due to distance, my health, and the fact that she REALLY REALLY wanted to and knew the city where they were marrying better than I did! This is mom-in-law and my son-in-law, Kevin, at the beach . . . of course, long before my daughter met him!

[FinLady]

Very beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I feel like I could really touch the trees, water, etc.

[mrsD]

I just found this thread, after replying to the other!

I think that having this outlet and talent is very helpful when we have to
face adversity. It is a shame that society makes it so hard to live off your
talent. I found that to be true as well.

I cannot work when I am in pain. I can putz around, but not seriously work creatively. So I have started doing sculptures and that seems easier somehow.

The creative part is smaller, and the hands on is larger if you get my drift?

Thanks for posting your work. You should be very proud of it!