When I first saw the painting Lady Agnew of Lochnaw in my art history book I was hooked on John Singer Sargent but I didn’t know the significance this painting would have on me until I researched more. The painting was fairly small in my textbook and wouldn’t appear on our exam or in a big lecture but to me it became everything. I pulled images from different books in the library and compared different reproductions, to get a sense of the color (which is never quite reproduced the same way.)

At the end of the semester, I didn’t sell my textbook like most of my classmates because the reproduction of Lady Agnew was better than anything you could see online. My interest in Lady Agnew went deeper than my interest in color, brushstrokes, and composition. Much of what I’ve read about Lady Agnew is conflicting but one thing every historian agrees on - Lady Agnew was sick, throughout her life and in this portrait.

Her husband's diaries note malaise, long hospitalizations, carriage ride ambulances, and days recuperating in bed. Lady Agnew sat for Sargent over six sessions to complete the portrait. At that time, historians say she was sick with influenza, her doctor was present and she had to take many breaks. Despite her illness, she looks undoubtedly beautiful. Was this the way Sargent painted her? Or was this a reflection of life with an “invisible illness” as we call it today, an auto-immune disease before we had much of an understanding? The extensiveness of her illness and death point to this possibility.

I found out the painting lived in Scotland (a place I was sure I’d never visit.) You see, traveling with my own illness has proven tumultuous over the years. On occasions, I’ve ended up hospitalized in a foreign country or returned home in worse shape than when I started… and this was well before 2020. Needless to say, I don’t travel much and I quickly accepted this painting would be one I’d never see.

That’s until the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston announced: “Fashion By Sargent”. … and Lady Agnew would be there - a truly rare occasion.

When I bought the tickets to see Fashion By Sargent, I was a week out from surgery, but I pulled the trigger anyway and shot my hopes to the sky. We had some flight credit due to a previous trip that had to be canceled because of my health so we had little to lose!

I made it to meet Gertrude…. incredibly surreal. Because my illness is so concealed, I often feel isolated, like I’m living a double life. Next to Gertrude, interpreted by Sargent, together she and I stand, with grace and illness.

I was amazed how many people were there to see the show. It was loud with excitement for Sargent’s work! I struggled to stand throughout the show, I could tell that the Crohn’s complication I was dealing with was getting worse quickly and a fever was brewing. My doctor called in an emergency script of antibiotics when we got back to the hotel. My illness became much more visible as I vomited on the plane ride home and I was deemed a “biohazard.” Horrified, the person next to us was moved to a new seat…

I thought of Gertrude vomiting in front of John Singer Sargent. I thought of her hiding her symptoms at one of her big lavish parties at the Lochnaw Castle - the place she refurbished with her extensive skills for decorating and remodeling. I “cheers” to Gertrude with seltzer water.

An unexpected highlight of our trip was staying at the VERB. When we arrived at our hotel, our wonderful host upgraded us unexpectedly to stay in an airstream stream fit for a rock star. As some of you know, Evan and I planned to buy an airstream last Spring and take to the road but with my illness, plans fell through… but here we got to live a bit of that dream …Another God wink.

Some more pictures from the show…

Many of the textiles were on display themselves, like this bird hat below, and silk top hat above.

Sargent was a master of hands…

It was fascinating to see the dresses and compare the colors. Here I noticed for the highlights, rather than painting them on top, (wet into wet we artists say) like Sargent usually might, he allowed the canvas to show through and created the effect of the highlights that look just like the velvet this dress was made of.

Compared to these highlights below, which are assumed to be painted alla prima style and took on a lovely blue hue in person.

The painting of Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth was a show-stopper. I especially enjoyed the note about Ellen who felt she wasn’t accomplished enough to be worthy of being painted by Sargent and wanted to postpone her painting. Artists!

Can you tell it was Evan’s favorite?

I was always taught to utilize perspective when I can, like, using eclipses, bracelets or stripes to describe the form. I would have been keen to capture those stripes on the dress’s sleeve. Not Sargent. Guess some masters don’t need the tricks!

No one ever told me Taylor Swift modeled for Sargent!?

Just kidding, but you do see the resemblance, don’t you? His niece modeled for each figure here, which I admire because I also use the same models over and over as I have access to - like many commercial artists do.

As always, thanks for reading about glimmers. Have a wonderful Christmas and whatever you are dreaming of doing, I hope you don’t write it off just yet…

When I received the news a special friend was expecting I couldn’t get to the quilt store fast enough. My inspiration came from my friend’s vision for her nursery - classic Winnie the Pooh colors.

For this quilt, I finished with silk edges for snug-able, chewable binding. I attempted for the first time a diagonal orientation for the squares. To me, this is an extra wow factor and something I haven’t tried before. It does mean losing some fabric on the edges.

I did have to pace around the house a few times before I made this cut. Creative risks pay off. It certainly adds a bit of interest on an otherwise classic design

When I make a baby quilt, one of my goals is to create a heirloom quality blanket so it can be loved for a long time or passed down. Because of this, I choose fabrics that have a timeless quality. (Can’t go wrong with gingham.)

The meandering stitching is abstract and one of my favorite things to do on a quilt. I don’t use a long arm, just my standard juke machine, patience, and a bit of arm strength.

I have this habit of making a quilt for someone I love and then deciding it’s not good enough to give. Perfectionism gets the best of us! This plus quilt below is the first one I made, its color is a little brighter.

I love the plus design, which I find both classic and modern. Unfortunately, I don’t have a full picture of it completely finished. (Some baby’s timeline do not line up with mine ;) I ended up adding straight stitching in stripes with the meandering in stripes running in another direction. The look came out almost plaid-inspired and worthy of snuggles. Will use this idea again.

Both quilts are being loved on now by friends I love so much. Until next time.

Hello Readers,

Happy fall. A Horse Named Sky remains on the New York Times Bestseller still. I’m extending thanks to EVERYONE who has shown their support in any way - THANK-YOU! If you’ve ordered bookplates those will go out this week.

It has been a tremendous season for dahlias. The heat stuck around in Michigan and I was able to catch these end-of-season dahlias in my sketchbook. The deep purple are my favorite this year.

My Mom’s garden rarely disappoints with little wonders…

The purple parade extends from the garden to the kitchen. After researching (and a bit of procrastinating) I’m finally fermenting… and yes, surprise, purple. This jar below was all veggies, carrots, cauliflower, onions, red cabbage… and whatever else was in the fridge.

The flavor was tangy and worked well in a rice bowl. Curious to see how the flavor will mellow out over time in the fridge. Seems easy enough to add on top or to the side of dishes. I also tried to ferment some salsa, which took a bit longer. Overall, I liked the flavor and feel more confident about experimenting with more spices. (Maybe from next year’s spring garden?)

I’m focused on doing everything I can to help my gut health, seeing these colors change throughout the project was an unexpected joy. I had no idea how visually creative and inventive the process could be. There’s lots to learn about fermentation I can tell, a new technique for my Living Canvas. (And the lactobacilli takes LIVING to another level.) ;)

Hope the colors of fall feed your heart. When you see the color you love, squeal to spread the joy.

More soon.

Kirbi

I’m feeling a lot of momentum after the release of A Horse Named Sky. On our family trip to Lake Michigan, I packed a few sketching supplies to keep the creativity flowing.

My new basket was perfect for carrying supplies to our spot on the dune. New tools are an important shake-up. On a visit to my illustrator friend’s house, Deb Pilutti showed me some inking supplies I’m getting familiar with. I’m especially fond of this senneliner brush pen. It’s Payne’s grey, I don’t believe a true payne grey but I do like the blue hue.

The pens shown below I learned about from Emmy Kastner. With heat, they erase. Emmy demonstrated with a hair dryer in her studio. I’m familiar with the fabric versions of these pens for sewing but they are also available in the office supplies section.

I thought the friXion pens would be a unquie addition to my supplies pack for the beach. I could sketch moving subjects while the initial sketch lines disappear in the heat of the sun. Kind of like drawing against the clock in figure drawing class…. Fun!

But the wind on Lake Michigan kept my paper cool and the Michigan sun was not enough to make the lines disappear. Good news for those using these for writing.

Sketching on location is never without its challenges. Subjects move. Clouds roll. Some family members are known for their joy of a splashing….

Plenty of time for some drives near the lake shore for some inspiration and a few less distractions.

If you are going to try fricXion pens in your work recommend the ball roller version rather than the gel ones I have shown. The gel damages the paper a bit more with it’s pointy tip but it’s what Amazon could bring to me before we left for the trip.

I don’t mind the colored line holding together the drawing here and there.

A simple pack of tools on location can be a good thing. It isn’t easy with extra eyeballs around you - I try to enjoy being in nature and get in the zone.

I encourage myself to do something daring when I sketch, like drawing a flying bird that was only in view for a second. Go with the flow as they say! I’m not one to mess with a precious resting pup. I take breaks when they come - we are on vacation after all!

Observing subjects closely (whether or not the drawing turns out) is a meditation. Crohn’s has been giving me a heck of a time lately but staying submerged in my sketchbook is a powerful distraction from anything happening physically. This vacation was a much-needed rest!

Hope you get a break this week and try something new.

It’s back to the studio for us!

Dear Readers,

The world is covered in snow but in the studio I’m singin’ about colors…

Living Canvas is all about me embracing all sides of my creativity, letting one project inspire the next in whatever medium that calls to me. I let my new rainbow quilt, which you can see in more detail here, be my inspiration for an illustration. I started, like I usually do, by sketching on my iPad in procreate.

My rainbow quilt makes me so happy, it just tickles me when I seeing all the colors lay around the house. I wanted to create a piece that was about hope - something we all need right now, that I could share on the web to lift spirits. One of my first concept sketches is shown below. I thought drawing my quilt waving in the wind while a young character holds it running would tell my story…

But this type of carefree, bright day wasn’t connecting with me. Collectively we are “hanging in there,” many of us in the midst of the darkest part of their lives. I sketched more until I realized this required a portrait, a face that says, it’s going to be alright. And she splashed out of my pen…

Everything felt right, I went to final, enlarging the drawing onto to some vellum. Colored pencils take a lot of a layers, so I like to lay down a layer of air brush with a copic marker airbrush attachment (Kindly gifted to me from Copic.) In bolder areas, I put marker directly onto the vellum.

Then I build up the colored pencils, moving a small circular motion. Each area has about 9-12 layers of color. It has been some time since I’ve done a full colored pencil piece. I found these pencils in the bottom of the barrel chewed my family dog, I couldn’t part with them… I’m guessing they are from around 2009. Anyone else’s dog just LOVE prisma colored pencils?

I fell into a rhythm of blending colors and sharpening pencils.

When I finished, I scanned the drawing into my computer and added text. Hold on everyone, we will get through this. I really believe that.