I turn 43 in a couple of weeks and I’ve been thinking about what it is I’m doing with my life and asking myself a lot of questions around my purpose. This year for the first time, I realized that I do this every year before my birthday, and so it hasn’t negatively impacted me like it has in the past. Rather than being upset and doubting myself, I’m noticing my thoughts and acknowledging that this is normal for me at this time of year. It feels good not to freak out over this stuff, to have perspective and to be able to sit with what used to be uncomfortable thoughts for me.
Does your birthday mark a time of reflection for you? Or send you into a tailspin? What kind of things do you think about during that time?
Wind on the Mountain, oil and acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches
Fruit definitely tastes better when you pick it by vineyards on a hike.
Whew! After a trip to France followed by getting sick, I am back in the studio/office.
My husband, our son and I went to France as soon as our son’s school let out in June. We visited family and friends we hadn’t seen since the before-times and went hiking in the Alpes with my brother for a week. We got home after 3 weeks on the road and promptly got sick with Covid – all 3 of us.
I’m starting to feel like myself again though, so I wanted to write about some things we learned in the last month:
Hiking difficulty ratings are off the charts in France. One of my cousins took us hiking near Dijon on the Chemin de Felix Batier. The route we took was marked as Difficult, but we felt prepared since we consider ourselves fairly experienced hikers. We ended up doing what amounted to climbing without ropes. It turns out this Felix Batier character created the trail in the 1950’s to help train alpinists for the difficulties they’d face the Alpes.
Always stop and pick ripe fruit you find during a walk (unless it’s near the ground of course). See the image above of us eating cherries we found along the aforementioned hike.
Stag beetles don’t typically bite unless you accidentally grab them – which is exactly what my son did during one of the climbs on this hike. Luckily he did not fall off the rocky climb. And yes, it hurt like hell. He had the marks to prove it.
Don’t trust the guy at the gear shop who recommends the perfect hike for your family. After telling him what we do and don’t enjoy when hiking and letting him know we had a 9-year old with us, he recommended a hike up the Crête du Vars. Instead of making a loop, we ended up turning around at the summit because we were so terrified by the exposure. When we saw the crest from the bottom, we thought for sure we’d be hiking around it. No, we would be hiking on it. Lesson learned: if you’re so scared that you’re not enjoying the views anymore, it’s time to turn around. Note, this hike was marked as Moderate in the hiking app we used, which is shocking to me given the level of exposure we experienced up there. But I realized that steep (up to 30% grades here) or sustained climbing doesn’t add to the difficulty level in France. It’s the technicality of a hike that matters when rating them.
We survived Covid. I think we caught it on the plane ride back Stateside when a woman near us took off her mask before having a coughing fit for 5-minutes. We’re still tired and needing to sleep a lot, but we are ok. I’m also thankful for Zoom which allowed me to teach a workshop virtually rather than in person when I was sick.
Drawing is the best. We knew this already, but I’ve been reminded again as I make drawings and watercolors in my sketchbook. From taking notes and color references, to practicing drawing skills, to trying out new techniques, to figuring out what to do with a painting, the humble sketchbook is the place to do it all. This summer, I’ve been drawing a lot. And my son is old enough to model without moving too much now too. He even likes modeling! See the drawing below to see what my son has been up to…
I am still afraid of everything until I do it once. I’d wanted to try Paris’ bike share program Vélib since I’d heard about it, but hadn’t had the chance to do it yet. Well after a day of walking around the city with my brother, I decided it would be a good idea to ride the 45-min ride back to our apartment by bike. I hadn’t ridden bikes in a city since we lived in Australia, and WOW I had forgotten how full-on city riding is, especially in a place where there are so many things going on at once. Cars, city busses, other cyclists, scooters, motorcycles, pedestrians, trams… the list of possible ways to get hurt goes on. I almost got squished by a bus (my fault entirely) and was afraid to get hit by the eerily silent trams, but thankfully I made it back to home-base in one piece. And it was so fun that I’ll probably do it again next time we’re there.
The Crête du Vars. We were way up there on those rocks. My son making the most of summer and reading in bed
This morning I went exploring in the neighborhood with my son. We walked through a stream and through bramble and over fallen trees and on a hillside of kudzu… we found animal tracks and bones and all sorts of adventurous stuff. We also found beautiful flowering weeds!
I always get excited in that transition from winter to spring, when the dandelion, violets, clover, and nettle and all sorts of tiny tender leaves and flowers start to appear. I picked one of my favorite (it was in a spot filled with many others), some purple dead nettle, so I could make a drawing.
I thought you might like to see the process and maybe even join along. So here we go back in the studio…
In case you do want to join me, I’m using pencil, Pigma micron ink pen, watercolor and a 140lb watercolor paper.
Want to learn how to use watercolors? Check out my watercolor course.
Hi everyone! Join me as I add watercolor to a botanical drawing. Here I’ll show you how to layer transparent watercolor in a loose relaxed way to add color to your drawings. This is the follow up to my Step-by-step botanical drawing video.
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If you are looking to dive deeper into watercolor, check out my new watercolor class HERE. It’s for all levels and features video lessons you can do at your own pace. See you in class!
On Wednesday May 13th, I’ll be hosting an auction right from my studio!
You’ll need to be on the Insider’s List to join in on the fun so if you’re not already, email me to sign up by the end of this week because my email with all the info goes out Monday.
MINDFUL MONDAY WITH ELDER GALLERY
I’m pleased to share with you that Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art invited me to host an Instagram Live event on Monday May 11th. Here’s the post about the event on their Instagram.
Mindful Monday with Jessica Singerman Monday, May 11, 2020 | 10 am
Join us and gallery artist Jessica Singerman for a special “Mindful Monday” on Instagram. In addition to guiding us through a hands-on art exercise, she’ll discuss her current “new normal” during the pandemic as an artist, a teacher and a mother, and tips for staying grounded during these uncertain times. A great mid-morning art break for anyone working, teaching or learning at home!
Monday, May 11, 2020 at 10 am Instagram: @elder_gallery_clt | @jessicasingermanfineart Based in Winston-Salem, NC and inspired by a deep passion for the outdoors, cycling and traveling, Jessica’s work was first featured at the gallery in the 2018 March Invitational. In the 2019 exhibition Beyond the Mountain, Jessica’s paintings surrounded her impressive Paper Mountain installation composed of 1,000 hand-folded origami cranes.
I’m super excited to announce the launch of my first online workshop Little Watercolor Square! This is my most popular class available for the first time in digital form for you to enjoy wherever and whenever you are.
If you are starting from scratch, if you have some experience and want to learn more, or you’re trying to rekindle your art practice, this is for you. In the workshop, you’ll learn how to use watercolors, how to mix beautiful colors, and how to make a vibrant watercolor painting using geometric abstraction. This is a very practical workshop that will give you tools you can take to continue making artworks wherever you are. You’ll learn how to paint mindfully, for relaxation and enjoyment.
The workshop is inspired by a daily project I made a few years ago when I made a small watercolor painting each day for a year. The paintings were inspired by the poetry of nature: color and light in the landscape, seasons, and the passing of time. It was a kind of meditation for me and it led to making my book of watercolors.
The class is available to purchase for two weeks, but you’ll have lifetime access to the class materials so you can review whenever you want. You’ll also be invited to join the private Facebook group where you can meet your classmates, share your work, ask questions and get feedback.
Hi everyone! Here’s your little mindfulness break – this time with a botanical drawing! Follow along with me as I draw a violet just picked from my garden. I’ll start in pencil, then move into pen. I’ll talk you through my thought process for making a drawing from life or representational drawing. These are tools you can use to draw anything you want. You’ll also see how drawing can be a mindfulness practice.
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If you like this, you’ll love my botanical watercolor prints. These feature my botanical drawings of North Carolina plants. Find them HERE.
Looking for the follow up video where I add watercolor to this drawing? Find it HERE.
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Hi everyone! Here’s your little meditative break – with Mountain Pose! This is an easy yoga pose that is grounding and helps with breath awareness. You can practice yoga and mindfulness anywhere.
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Sign up to receive my weekly email to get more content like this, to see behind the scenes in a working artist’s studio, and to get special freebies just for members of my Insider’s List. I look forward to getting to know you!
Hi everyone! Here’s your little meditative break – today with contour drawing! We can practice mindfulness through simple drawing. Here’s how.
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Want more positivity in your life right now?
Sign up to receive my weekly email to get more content like this, to see behind the scenes in a working artist’s studio, and to get special freebies just for members of my Insider’s List. I look forward to getting to know you!
Hi everybody! Here’s your little break for the day… some breath awareness and tension relief in the neck and shoulders. Enjoy and share freely!
Want more positivity in your life right now?
Sign up to receive my weekly email to get more content like this, to see behind the scenes in a working artist’s studio, and to get special freebies just for members of my Insider’s List. I look forward to getting to know you!