By The Lantern's Glow

9:22 AM

Watercolor and Ink
3.5 x 8.5 inches
Handbook Watercolor
Sketchbook
As I mentioned in an early post, I find that the days are whizzing by so quickly that I (and my husband) are having trouble keeping track of the what event happened on which day, and I feel a "need" to capture more info about those days in my sketches.

Does this mean I'm getting old?

You would think that the date of the day you lost power for 17 hours would lodge in your brain, but no, it didn't. When I asked Chris which Thursday the storm happened on, he wasn't sure if it was two weeks ago or three. I had to google it to make sure I had the date right. It was March 31st.

What did we do before Google?

I had already drawn the lamp a couple of weeks ago and finally got around to painting it last night. I turned out the lights, lit the lamp and away I went. I recommend painting by firelight once in a while—it will show you just how familiar you are with the paints on your palette and their layout!

The first thing Chris noted about this sketch is the purple background.

I made a couple of missteps, adding green rather than blue a few times, but for the most part, I was able to relax and just go with whatever I happened to pick up on the brush.

Painting and reading by lamplight gives me new respect for my grandparents and the generations before them—it takes a real desire and dedication to do much by lamplight, most especially if you're spoilt by modern day conveniences!

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16 Creative Thought(s)

  1. ...I love this painting...it glows! My favorite part is the shadows cast at the bottom...they really give me the feel of lamp glow.

    My brother and his family were in Indian Rock (near Tampa) during the storm. Their hotel was right on the ocean where the huge waterspout was...and the tornado. It was crazy...an exciting vacation for them! I'll have him visit your blog! :-)

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  2. Based on your wonderful painting I need to turn out the lights and try this. (Or not.) It really glows beautifully.

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  3. Beautifully done. I found a long time ago that it was hard to remember what happened when so I started a verbal journal and I use it a lot for reference. but this really is more fun. and yes WHAT DID WE DO BEFORE GOOGLE?? LOL

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  4. Nice painting, I especially like the reflections and shadows.

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  5. Laure you took good advantage of what could have been a long night .. Such a beautiful page you created; I love the colours.

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  6. I love the purple...of course. Great way to immortalize our day of excitement.

    I appreciate all our modern conveniences, but as my husband said, "I'd be willing to give up my cell phone, computer and television if everyone else did, too." I guess it's feeling left out of the culture that sometimes keeps us tethered when we would rather do something else.

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  7. Lovely sketch and by lamplight too! I like the way you've used purple - it's very atmospheric! Yes, indeed, what did we do without google?

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  8. The subject fits this format so well although I think its your expertise that pulls the whole page together. A great way to record the event. x

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  9. I think it's wonderful to not only document the event with a painting but to do it by the light available at the time is super. No, I don't think I will try it. I don't see well enough even in bright light! I love the reflections below the lamp! The candle glow and level of lamp oil are great too.

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  10. I would be shocked if I could hit the paper in firelight. Great job.

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  11. Oooo, you captured the romance of lamplight!! I'm with you, days are running together. I giggled at having to know where your paints are on the palette. I know one of my full moon paintings has a bit of a dark green sky :)

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  12. Thanks, Kelly!

    Teri, give it a go—you never know 'til you try!

    Thanks, Cris! We either wrote things down more or we remembered more!

    Thank you, Vicki!

    Carole, it was definitely a long night! Thank you!

    KJ, I asked Chris the same thing (if he'd go back to the age of no cell phones, etc.) ...he said no. Surprise!

    Thank you, Caroline!

    Thanks, Gillian, I really, really like the format, just not the paper!

    Oh, come on, Timaree, you might surprise yourself!

    Thanks, Lisa!

    There are some missteps in this too, Pam! It's fun and challenging to paint by firelight/moonlight!

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  13. 17 hours without power...YIKES! and you have this beautiful piece of work to show for your time!

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  14. Perhaps an unexpected time to paint. Can't vacuum, do laundry....The storms are getting scarier don't you think? Is it climate change?

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  15. Pretty cool...paining by lantern! Love this!

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