Judi Whitton's Watercolour Workshop in Cornwall

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The Cuisine of Cornwall

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Perranporth Beach

This is my painting of the famous rocks at Perranporth Beach on the western coast of England in Cornwall. We spent a day here doing plein air painting with the Judi Whitton course.

Coming soon is a montage of our gourmet dinners.

New ART Montage

This painting is of our local Methodist Church in Half Moon Bay, CA.

With the help of "One True Media.com" I have had the fun of making another short montage of my artwork. This piece includes a painting by Dalla Brown and also one by my sister, Kathleen Ryan. Enjoy Montage II below.

Tomorrow I fly to London and then on to Cornwall to paint with Judi Whitton.

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Cornwall . . . HO!

Packing now for two weeks in England with a week studying with my favorite teacher, Judi Whitton.  Her work in this image shows a vibrant, spontaneous style that I admire. The workshop is being held at the lovely Crantock Bay Hotel in Cornwall.  Then on to London to spend three days browsing museum. the food courts at Harrod's and seeing some great theater.  

Parenting: the Ultimate Improvisation

When we improvise we step up to the moment with eyes wide open and with a mind/heart ready to make sense out of whateever is going on, and do something constructive.  I continue to be delighted and amazed at the applications people have been making for the maxims of improvisation.  I have heard from ministers who have used the prinicples to write a sermon, Lesbians who are using the maxims as wisdom for dating, health care workers using it to train Alzheime's caregivers, entrepreuneurs who are applying it to business challenges and most recently I've read a wonderful blog which uses improv wisdom in Parenting a teen.  Dr. Nancy L. Brown, a specialist in adolescent health has written a delightful blog on this topic. 

Or, of course parenting and grandparenting are the ultimate improvisation.  Nothing really prepares us for the surprises that children and teens bring to our lives.

I love this photo of my brother, Michael and his grandson Ryan.  It won't be too long before Ryan will be teaching his grandpa things about the computer.  

A Bigger Voice Interview with Carol Ross

Wisdom Entrepreneurship is a wonderful idea. Carol Ross has been providing help and inspiration on her exciting blog, A Bigger Voice. She interviewed me a few weeks ago and recently posted part I of a talk with me about the origins of my book Improv Wisdom. Thanks, Carol. If you go to listen take some time to explore her blog as it is chocked full of great ideas.
Today, March 11, 2009 Carol Ross posted Part II of my interview. In this section I talk about how Improv Wisdom has been used by those coaching Alzheimer's caregivers and by a women who woke up from a coma. She discovered that all she could do was improvise! And now, Part III of my interview. Moving into action is the theme. I would like to thank Carol for her initiative in making this interview happen. Clearly SHE is one of the new "wisdom entrepreneurs." I salute you, Carol!

The Art of Patricia Ryan Madson 2009

With the help of OneTrueMedia.com I have created a montage of recent art work. It is a pleasure to share this.

The Orange Cattleya

This week I'm working indoors and I've painted a beautiful orange Cattleya. I'm still trying to get the hang of the Whitton style of loose watercolor. Note the messy blobs and splatters.

Listening to A BIGGER VOICE -Interview with Carol Ross

I was recently interviewed by Carol Ross, a talented change maker.  Her blog "A Bigger Voice" is in the business of promoting the idea of "Wisdom Entrepreuners" and assisting them to get their message to a larger community. Her edited version of the interview in three parts will soon be posted on her website. Stay tuned.  Our lively conversation has helped kickstart me to return to this blog and get involved in spreading my thoughts to readers.  

As a place holder I'll publish several of my recent watercolors.  I've joined a local plein air painting group who meet on Wednesday mornings to paint and help each other.

This weekend I'm welcoming 14 Madson relatives to our home for the first ever Madson family reunion 2009. 

A new way to paint . . .

Studying with Judi Whitton in Wales has given me a new lease on watercolor. The precision of my earlier botanical art study has helped me look at subjects more carefully and seems to have improved my drawing. Judi's technique of dropping in paint has encouraged me to be playful. Here is some of my recent work.










This is Sawrey House, a charming inn just a few miles from Hawkshead in the Lake District. This venerable and comfortable establishment was our home for a week. It is literally next door to Beatrix Potter's famous "Hill Top House" which has been lovingly persevered and is part of the National Trust in England. Potter bought over 4000 acres of land and gave it back to the English people in trust.

I sat outside one day and drew this lovely building covered in ivy.

From a Cottage in Wales

This is the view from our cottage in Wales, The Granary.
Miles of rolling hills with a thousand colors of green. Paradise, indeed. Ron and I have come to Wales for a rural adventure. So much of our travel in the past has been rushing around. This time we both agreed: "Let's go somewhere and BE there for a time." So we are renting this "self-catering cottage" miles from a paved road. We wake to the hens clucking and the family horses clomping down the cobblestones. Last night a nearly full moon rose over the hillside across the way which is the site of an iron age fort. Ron climbed the hill during one of his walks.

I am here to do some watercolor, and there is no shortage of subjects.

Last night I filled the tiny cottage with the smell of roasting potatoes and Welsh spring lamb chops in raspberry sauce. We are able to enjoy the fresh eggs laid by their dozen feisty hens, who have been gobbling down the table scraps which we drop in the compost pile near the henhouse.

The cottage is near the village of Bala, a Welsh town near a very large lake. We're not that far from the town of LLangollen famous for the yearly Welsh music and culture festival. We visited Plas Newydd, the 18th century home of some famous ladies, early trend setters in fashion and the arts.

Last week I took part in a wonderful course in watercolor painting with the artist, Judi Whitton. Her book, Loosen Up Your Watercolours is a brilliant guide to freeing your style as an artist. Here she is demonstrating her technique.


Her style of painting is very much in keeping with the spirit of improvisation so I found a kindred spirit.

Ron is enjoying running in the Welsh hills, meeting sheep, cattle and the odd farmer who look at him with wonder. In addition to his jaunts around the countryside he is spending time in local registry offices hunting down facts and figures of our ancestry. His genealogical database now holds just short of thirteen thousand of our closest relatives. We've spent quite a bit of our time walking in truly lovely small churchyards, observing gravestones.

Before coming to this part of North Wales we spend a few days in Hay on Wye, the village of BOOKS. When we leave our precious cottage we head for Blackburn and then the Lake District. We are staying in an Inn in the town where Beatrix Potter lived.


Here we stopped at a small cheese factory along the way. It was a charming teahouse as well and we savored the fresh lemon cake made by the owner.

The last image, which captures Wales for me is this of the family of sheep. Cheerio from the UK!

The Seven Ages of Woman

I stumbled across this artwork as I was trying to find the right wording for the famous, "All the world's a stage" quotation from Shakespeare. Wickipedia kindly provided it.

Seeing the progression of bodies and faces I was reminded of a wonderful montage that Patti Digh posted of herself on her blog.

I'm nothing, if not a copycat, so I decided I'd put together "the many faces of Patricia". Here goes:





So, there you have it: six months to 65! Life is amazing.

Trudy and Dalla

This is Dalla with her husband Jeremy in the photo on the left. That was a wonderful day. We were visiting the Asian Art Museum in SF. This happy time a few years ago was when they were "snowbirding," visiting California in retreat from their frigid Canadian winter and enjoying our sunshine and mild climate. They live in Gananoque, ON. Dalla is possibly my oldest friend, or rather the friend of greatest longstanding. She's a brilliant artist of life.


The other photo is of my other "best friend," Trudy. Trudy is also a Canadian, living in Calgary. She and her partner Gottfried run the Canadian Constructive Living Center.
Here she smiles with her daughter Meghan and her newborn granddaughter, Sophie. You can tell by everyone's smile that these folks appreciate life. They are a beautiful family.

In the past month, however, both Trudy and Dalla have received a cancer diagnosis. Both have begun chemotherapy. Both are adjusting to the interruption that this news carries into their daily lives. Both are smart, kind, and realistic. Both are surrounded by loving friends and family . . . AND, a network of unseen friends stretching across the planet, tied together by the Internet.

Last week I was corresponding with the amazing Patti Digh, whose award winning blog, 37 Days is a must read. I told her about my friend Trudy and her news. The next day Patti's blog invited readers to join her in wishing Trudy well by making a "god-box" and putting Trudy's name in it. The following day readers made suggestions of other names to add, including Dalla and Sean. This idea is now making its way around the world, and on April 4 Kate Iredale in North Saanich, B.C. blogged that she had started a box, too. I borrow her wonderful photo below. You will enjoy reading her blog. What I have discovered is a world of amazing, uplifting writing by women around the world, helping each other. I am indebted to them for joining me in sending a message of hope and support to these dear friends who are facing health challenges. And, I'd like to call your attention to the announcement of Patti's upcoming book, LIFE IS A VERB. It is possible to preorder this book from Amazon. I've had the chance to take a look at an advance copy of this remarkable book. Keep it on your radar. And, you might want to join us making your own box.

Noticing the gifts. . .

Recently I was invited by Google to give an author’s talk on Improv Wisdom. Walking into their Mt. View, California campus is like stepping into the future. The place is abuzz with things happening. Space is organized such that no employee is farther than a stone’s throw from a convenience station where free lattes, fresh squeezed juice and tasty snacks help these maven’s of creativity keep their blood sugar up. Doing purposive work and enjoying life appear to be hand in hand in their workplace. Here I am with Meng, the famous "Google guy."

Someone asked me if I had a favorite improv tip from the book, and what came to mind was the ninth maxim: “Wake Up to the Gifts.” As we improvise we discover that virtually everything around us is an offer, and upon examination the vast majority of these are truly “gifts.” The work of others is constantly supporting my efforts. I simply cannot function without the countless products and services provided by others. How easy it is to overlook this truth and take things for granted, or focus on what's wrong with the picture. I find that making lists of what I’ve received from others is an enlightening enterprise.

As introduction to my talk I chose to thank Google for the many “gifts” I had received using their products. So, I made of list of “what Google had done for me this week,” and shared it with the crowd. It was a pretty long list. I’m afraid that this took quite a long time, and I may have lost some of my audience before I got to the part about “how to improvise.” If you run into someone who says “thank you” a lot, you may well be around someone with Improv Wisdom. A skillful improviser doesn’t overlook the gifts.

Writing to Change the World

Browsing my local bookstore, the "chock full of good ideas"--Moon News in Half Moon Bay, CA I stumbled upon yet another book on writing. Frankly, this is the last thing I need to read these days. My shelf is overflowing with encouraging advice to writers. I have ALL the right books about what it takes to write, how to keep going when your critic tells you, "This is lousy. What on earth every made you think you could write, my dear?" Grand advice from all the famous writers. Who needs another pep talk. I just need to write. Right? Wrong. I needed to read this book.

This isn't another "Snap to it, girl. Sit down at a regular time and just "keep your hand moving" book. No, Pipher, a therapist and to my mind, an astute socialogist has written about WHY we, who are writers, must write. Grandious, yes. Writing to Save the World is a reminder that what each of us does matters, and that writing can change things, can help one human heart to make a better choice, can make a difference. Her wise and inspiring advice has put me back on track. Thanks, Mary.

Deep Economy a FIVE STAR read

Bill McKibben’s penetrating book, Deep Economy, posits the idea that neighborliness may well be the long term answer to global warming. Don't roll your eyes. If you know who McKibben is, it is likely that you will sit up and take note. In this carefully researched and reasoned treatise he points out that the unexamined cultural dictum of “more=better” is putting all of us on the fast track to misery. Unbridled consumption is leading us deeper and deeper into alienation and to what he terms “hyper-individualism.” Wealth is driving us into our separate boxes, monster homes and private dens. MORE is not making any of us more fulfilled. More is making us depressed. And, the more we have, the more isolated we have become from one another, from our communities, from our neighbors. Our huge gains in economic growth and development have come at a staggering price to the planet and also to personal happiness. Read this book to understand how all this has come about, or better yet . . . what to do about it.

It is his solution that I find wonderful—and if we thought about it—the most obvious. We have lost touch with each other. And, it is only in community, being in touch with each other--with our local environments that can provide a return to health and sanity, and in effect 'the good old days'. If economics's blind eye to common sense can be opened, then perhaps liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, atheist and religious can unite on a common theme: let us relearn how to be neighbors, to be neighborly. Think globally, eat and shop locally. His vision is an obvious and simple one in which there is a gradual shift to economies that are more local in scale, requiring fewer resources, and causing less ecological disturbance.

An example of how this might work can be found in a fascinating statistic. Sociologists studying shopping behavior reported “that consumers have ten times as many conversations at farmers’ markets as they do at supermarkets—an order of magnitude difference”(p. 105 ). The import of this is that a change in economic activity can produce an enormous change in social life. And aren't we really longing to be with others, but don't know how anymore? An awareness of interconnectivity and interdependence makes for a better life. McKibben shows us that this shift is doable!

The book reminds us of the old Chinese adage: "If we don't change the direction we're going, we will end up where we're headed."

This book fills me with hope and actually gives me some concrete ideas about how to be part of this revolution. Please read this book.

. . . which brings me to an overdue note of appreciation.

I have a debt of gratitude. I first learned about McKibben's life-changing book on the pages of Headbutler.com a remarkable resource. Jesse Kornbluth, former editorial editor at AOL and the genius behind this goldmine of wise advice, has become my person concierge of the good life. His reviews of books, movies, music and popular culture are lucid, funny and bulls-eye on target for what is worth knowing these days. You can trust his opinions. Do yourselves a favor and check out the web site, or better yet, sign up for his weekly post, which is an unobtrusive and entertaining "teaser" for his reviews of the week. His archives of the past three years are a smart person's reading list. I particularly love his "Lists" of books for special occasions. Right now he has Books of Summer 2007. A few weeks ago he posted Books for 2007 Graduation Gifts. Spend an hour browsing his site for the best shopping advice anywhere. With so many voices and advertisers telling us "what we MUST read" it is a relief to find a trustworthy and feisty friend who knows GOOD when he reads it, and shares his prodigious findings in wildly readable and short reviews. You will soon see why his title as Head Butler is perfect.

Patricia Ryan Madson May 25, 2007

Botanical Art

Early in March I signed up for an Introduction to Botanical Art class at the Filoli Gardens in San Mateo, not far from Woodside. My good friend and editor, Toinette Lippe, flew out from Manhattan to join me for this workshop and to catch up on our friendship.

You could call me a dabbler in art: I've taken various introductory classes and workshops over the years. Art relaxes me and gives me a private focus. For the most part my work has been impressionistic. A class in painting on silk over twenty five years ago gave me the tools to create washes on silk. I have gloried in watching silks dyes permeate the fabric. The "landscape" pictured here is an early piece. This one is small, the size of a 5 X 7 greeting card. I tear the silk pieces and glue them on cardstock.

For a year I have been trying to learn how to draw. I took a ten week class through Stanford's Continuing Studies program, but was longing for some solid technique in perspective and shape and line, etc. A classmate, who was already an artist suggested that I take a class with Catherine Watters at Filoli. I signed up for a March class that met for two days in the hope that I'd learn how to focus my attention on a subject and learn how to draw it. I was not disappointed.

We spent the entire first day on two drawings: one of a single cyclamen leaf and the other of a yellow pear. I'll attach my first drawings here. The cyclamen was done with graphite pencil alone, and the pear used colored pencils to achieve its brilliance.



I was pleased with the outcome. The class taught me more than the expected skill of careful observation. With botanical art the goal is to draw ones subject life-sized. A new tool is added: measurement. Using a caliper gizmo I was taught to take accurate measurements top to bottom and side to side. When I came home from the class I was so jazzed that I did a red pear that had been sitting in the fruit bowl. I've started a five week course in botanical perspective. The first day was learning how to draw a cylinder. This pencil drawing of an asparagus spear was the homework. Fun, eh?

More as my learning progresses. I am developing new eyes.

LOSAR Tibetan New Year February 18, 2007

Today is Losar, the Tibetan New Year. We discovered that we are not far from Tashi Choling, a Center for Buddhist Studies. This colorful building will house an empowerment ceremony this morning. We attended the ceremony with the resident lama and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. There was snow on the pass.

Losar Tashi Delek!

Ashland, Oregon in the Winter

February 17, 2007
It is our anniversary weekend. Ron and I were married on 2/18/1989 in St. Helena, CA at the Landor estate. We are celebrating our 18 married years by a road trip to Oregon and four nights in the Romeo Inn, a B&B with sumptuous breakfasts and overstuffed beds. We have tickets to the three preview nights of plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As You Like It, The Cherry Orchard, and On the Razzle. Ashland is a town full of art galleries, book stores and upscale restaurants with names like "Dragonfly" and "Morning Glory". We like browsing the little shops. Yesterday we took a tour of Harry and David's manufacturing plant in Medford, Oregon. Seeing how a ton of "Moose Munch" is made was a treat. And, the raspberry truffles . . . oh, boy.

All three productions were first rate. Ashland will have a smashing 2007 season if these are the benchmark. Laird Williamson's On the Razzle was farce the way you dream of it--high energy and lots of doors slamming. This production will only get better with time since this kind of farce is all about timing and precision. The play is flawlessly directed and perfectly cast. It will undoubtedly be a sellout this year. If you are going to Ashland be sure to order seats for this play well in advance. Libby Appel's Cherry Orchard is Chekov perfectly done. He's the only playwright I know that writes scenes that make you laugh and cry in the same moment. Appel understands this and finds all the wonderful, rich comedy. The pathos is apparent, and never overplayed. The set design is masterful. I recommend all three plays, although I have to admit that As You Like It is not on my list of the Bard's favorites. It always feels overwritten. Still setting it in the Depression was a brilliant idea.