Wild Tomato Arts by Dr. Lisa Chu

Celebrating the organic and spontaneous...in art and in life

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Hard to believe that next week I will be arriving in Gettysburg for my 2017 residency of one action-packed week! Starting next Saturday, I will be doing my first Instagram takeover of the @destinationgettysburg account, posting each day from my adventures sketching, teaching an illustrated journaling summer camp and adult creativity workshop at Adams County Arts Council, and exhibiting a First Friday pop-up show with artist talk, live music, and hors d'oeuvres at the Grant Building on Friday August 4th. Just added: a sketch crawl on Sunday, July 30 at the Pennsylvania Monument! Check out my Facebook page for more details. Hope you'll enjoy following along or join me in person...😍 #GettysburgInspired #GettysburgMoments #urbansketchers #uncoveringpa #pennsylvania #sketching @gettysburgnps

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Today, hourly illustrated journal, 8am-8pm. I'm finding this a great practice for registering experiences throughout the day, and making quick drawings when I am on the go/not able to sit for a long session. #illustratedjournal #sketchbook #drawing (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Hourly illustrated journal challenge, 5pm-9pm. Thanks @jeanmackayart for the inspiration! #drawing #sketchbook #illustratedjournal (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Today's hourly drawing journal challenge...7am-4pm. #illustratedjournal #sketchbook #drawing (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Today's illustrated journal challenge (via @jeanmackayart ) will be a 5-minute drawing every hour of the day...here's 7-10am! #illustratedjournal #drawing #sketchbook (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Campsite at Indian Canyon Creek, Yosemite National Park. #backpacking #wilderness #yosemitenationalpark #camping #hiking #sketching #painting #illustratedjournal #illustration #california

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Yosemite Creek 2017, just above Yosemite Falls. #sketching #watercolor #ink #pleinair #backpacking #yosemitenationalpark #wilderness #wildamerica #yosemitecreek #water @yosemitenps @yosemiteconservancy

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Li'l peek of my Yosemite backcountry sketching this year! #sketchbook #travel #backpacking #illustratedjournal #yosemitenationalpark #halfdome #northdome #alpenglow @yosemiteconservancy @yosemitenps

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

July 4th on the coast: bundle up! 🌫💨#summer #californiacoast #layers (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

#livefree (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

The popcorn had just gone on the stove. I had just sliced up the watermelon, and was munching on it as I looked out the window. I remember seeing Matilda take a drink from the water container, then suddenly squat down and start spinning quickly near the ground. Then the unmistakeable form of a hawk swoop down within a foot of her before turning back toward the sky, its flight path a parabola. I ran out, the chickens had scattered. The popcorn. I came back in to turn the stove to summer, the kernels already beginning to pop. I find the chickens huddled under a thick bush near a tree trunk on the far side of the yard. Randy manages to get the two youngest chicks into the coop and close the doors. Stevie (the black jersey giant) remains brooding in her nesting box as she has for the last 30 days or so. I wait for the hens to regain their willingness to come into the yard. It takes awhile. Many minutes. I want to carry them in but then I think, that's how a hawk would carry them away! I want to protect them from untimely death, but once I get them back into the confines of the coop, I see how limited their existence is. How they are unaccustomed to just sitting on roosting bars and eating out of a container all day long. I have raised them to live free. And I now have a chicken mother/owner's dilemma: live free or live safe? #livefree #backyardchickens #hens #hawks #predatorprey #circleoflife #risk #love (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Yeah, the FLAX store in Oakland is quite awesome...and @gracemendez and I had a blast at @sundewhiteindustries workshop today! Cutting, pasting, painting, drawing....and most importantly, GOOGLY EYES!! 👀 @flaxart #workshop #artworkshop #mixedmedia #paperart #collage #artsupplystore (at Half Moon Bay, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

When Women Gather. There are circles of women who move the world just by gathering together, sharing and listening with their hearts. Last night I was invited to present my Badass Women Portraits book to a book club in Atherton, CA, thanks to my very magical friend Denise who took a leap, followed her intuition and suggested a PICTURE book as this month's selection for the club. We are all so grateful you did, Denise! What a kind and varied group of women, celebrating each other, growing, seeking truth and expressing kindness. We talked about what makes a Badass Woman Badass, the women who inspire us, and what touches our hearts. I ended up sprinkling in a bit of everything I have done/am doing in my life. Speaking my story all the way from the beginning, sharing my latest visual art, leading a sound healing journey (that's me with my Shruti box), and facilitating liberation through art-making. Let's do more of these! 📷 by Denise Hughes. #bookclub #womenscircle #gatherings #wisdom #healing #art #creativity #badasswomenchallenge (at Atherton, California)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

June in Half Moon Bay = veggie chili and mac & cheese and an olallieberry blondie from #dadsluncheonette ♨️ Rare and precious is the place you can go and be 100% *never* disappointed by the food. Thanks, Dad's! @dadsluncheonette #spreadthelovejelly #local #excellence (at Dad's Luncheonette)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Another group of recent commissions hanging in their happy home at Kathy's Kiwi Berry Farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania! Excited to return for a week in August for a First Friday pop-up show in the town square! Contact me for your fruit or vegetable commissions and remember your harvest throughout the year! #artcommissions #gettysburginspired #mygettysburg #farmers #growers #kiwiberry #organicfarm #pennsylvaniafarm #adamscounty (at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

A couple more from today's farmers' market in Pacifica. #sketchbook #drawingonlocation #watercolor #ink #sketching #farmersmarket #californiacoast #pacifica (at Coastside Farmers' Market in Pacifica)

[wildtomatoarts-blog]

Yes I am that crazy person using collage to sketch the market today in Pacifica. #farmersmarket #californiacoast #pacifica #farmfatales #eggs #sketchbook #collage (at Coastside Farmers' Market in Pacifica)