Nothing like humidity in the desert to sap all one's will to do anything. For the last several days, it's been hot (normal) and humid (not normal). Yesterday, it felt like a sauna even in the house with the air conditioner running. Last night we had a pretty good thunderstorm and rain. So, when the sun came out, it was horrible! Thankfully, we had another set of thunderstorms this afternoon that seems to have lowered the humidity level back to bearable.
I haven't gotten much done these last several days -- some reading, video games, chatting with Persian cat folks, and thinking. I really need to get doing something other than filling time between cat feedings.
Showing posts with label desert heat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desert heat. Show all posts
31 July 2011
04 July 2007
Excessive Heat Warning!
It's official -- it's hot. Only 109 today. Tomorrow is suppose to be over 112! In fact, I'm in an area with an excessive heat warning. This is what I get for living in a desert. So, no strenuous outdoor activity, lots of water, and a big bowl of ice cream. Okay, the last one is my own idea, but I'm willing to see if it works to make me cooler.
Actually, 109 isn't so bad with a breeze and no humidity. Well, there's a breeze, but.... Unlike normal heat waves, this one came with clouds. Not the big thunderstorms but high wispy clouds. Well, clouds means humidity otherwise the clouds evaporate over the mountains. So, this 109 is like walking out into a sauna. I doubt that this humidity is enough to lower the fire danger, so all it's doing is making life miserable outside. (Hey, even the cactus wrens are walking around with their mouths open.)
While my house does have air-conditioning, my studio still gets plenty warm. If I turned the a/c to cooler, it would be better in here, but then the rest of the house would be too cool. (I keep it about 82-85, so I'm not sweating but I still adjust to the heat.) So, I adjust my schedule. I now am painting in the morning, knitting or reading in the afternoon (in a cooler room), and then back in here at night to work on my web site or draw (doing colors under artificial light is frustrating to me). I can work with this, except for one minor annoyance. There's nothing interesting on the radio at night. (Hey, I said it was minor!) Flexibility is key to an artistic life.
So, what am I working on? There's a dog portrait, a short-eared owl, a warbler, and an alpaca print. The last item I have done, but I just need time to print it. If it ever gets cooler outside, I'll get back to working on a couple of sculptures, but not when it's 105+! If I can get my web site updated, then I'll have even more time to do art.
And now, I think it's time for that bowl of ice cream.
Actually, 109 isn't so bad with a breeze and no humidity. Well, there's a breeze, but.... Unlike normal heat waves, this one came with clouds. Not the big thunderstorms but high wispy clouds. Well, clouds means humidity otherwise the clouds evaporate over the mountains. So, this 109 is like walking out into a sauna. I doubt that this humidity is enough to lower the fire danger, so all it's doing is making life miserable outside. (Hey, even the cactus wrens are walking around with their mouths open.)
While my house does have air-conditioning, my studio still gets plenty warm. If I turned the a/c to cooler, it would be better in here, but then the rest of the house would be too cool. (I keep it about 82-85, so I'm not sweating but I still adjust to the heat.) So, I adjust my schedule. I now am painting in the morning, knitting or reading in the afternoon (in a cooler room), and then back in here at night to work on my web site or draw (doing colors under artificial light is frustrating to me). I can work with this, except for one minor annoyance. There's nothing interesting on the radio at night. (Hey, I said it was minor!) Flexibility is key to an artistic life.
So, what am I working on? There's a dog portrait, a short-eared owl, a warbler, and an alpaca print. The last item I have done, but I just need time to print it. If it ever gets cooler outside, I'll get back to working on a couple of sculptures, but not when it's 105+! If I can get my web site updated, then I'll have even more time to do art.
And now, I think it's time for that bowl of ice cream.
04 June 2007
It's 100!
The first time each year when the temperature hits 100 is always a bit of a surprise. 100 is hot, even in the shade, and especially when the highs had been 85-90. But give me a month, when it's 110, and I'll be saying how cool 100 is. It's just a matter of getting used to the heat.
While I was a bit hot at times today, I did manage to get a fair amount of work done. I made a few corrections to the dog portrait. I am about half done with the Father's Day portrait. And I finished an oil artcard. I do kind of wish I had time to work on my sculpture, but I've decided to be a bit more disciplined and get all portraits done ASAP. Besides, I'm not used to the heat yet and I would die if I went out and worked in a respirator at 2 pm.
One nice thing about the heat is that oils dry faster! Here's my latest artcard:
While I was a bit hot at times today, I did manage to get a fair amount of work done. I made a few corrections to the dog portrait. I am about half done with the Father's Day portrait. And I finished an oil artcard. I do kind of wish I had time to work on my sculpture, but I've decided to be a bit more disciplined and get all portraits done ASAP. Besides, I'm not used to the heat yet and I would die if I went out and worked in a respirator at 2 pm.
One nice thing about the heat is that oils dry faster! Here's my latest artcard:
This bald eagle has good points and bad points. First the bad. The pose looks awkward eventhough it's really how the bird looked. Then I don't like the white feathers under the beak -- they look off, but I never could figure out why so I couldn't correct them. Now the good. I like the bright sunshiny white head. I did a great job on the eye and beak. I like the textured surface. Overall, it's fine -- not one of my best, but pretty good. It was, afterall, an experiment on using thin 'washes' of oil paints. I usually like a nice thick paint layer, but this was done almost like a watercolor. It came out well enough that I do plan on doing this technique with some larger pieces!
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