My sleeper is broken. In the olden days of my life, 9 hours a night was a requirement. For the last several years, I feel lucky to get 8. What does one do in the middle of the night if sleep won’t happen? I think, I pray, I plan, and sometimes I just give up. […]
I Love February
Because there are flowers in the yard and the flowering quince is coming soon. Because it is green around the studio. Because the daylight lasts longer, the sky is blue, and the cats don’t beg to stay in the house during the day. Because Kaweah is waiting for me to go paint. And although she […]
Working from Photos
It isn’t popular in the artworld to admit that one works from photos. In fact, the closest you’ll get to reading that someone works from photos is “I use them for reference”. Brings to mind something Jack White, my painting inspiration/guru/mentor said – “All realistic painters either work from photos or they lie about it”. […]
Thinking About Facebook
A Thinking Place, 11×14″, colored pencil In the fast-paced, always-changing high-tech world we occupy, there are decisions that need to be made. By not making a decision, a decision is still made. (And some people think I just stand around painting all day, lah-lah-lah, happy little idyllic pastoral groovy life!?) I’m trying to decide if […]
What to Draw
This is the third article in the series, Thoughtful Thursdays. Were you ever given vague art assignments in school? The ones I remember the most vividly were generally focused on ways to use different media, and somehow the students were expected to be instinctively creative enough to come up with an idea to illustrate the […]
Cranking Up the Painting Machine
That would be me, the Painting Machine. I’ve spent the past several weeks evaluating my inventory, thinking about subjects that might appeal to a flatland audience, analyzing my photos and asking others to share their opinions on a pile of pictures. After making decisions about subjects and sizes, putting the hanging hardware on the backs […]
New Year Lessons
Here is a list of what I am learning so far in 2011 1. How to use the Total Gym 2. How to update my website by adding pictures 3. What a mistake it is to not photograph every piece of art 4. What a mistake it is to not label every photograph of art […]
Why Artists Choose Three Rivers
First in a series called “Thoughtful Thursdays” When my art studio was in Exeter and I lived in Lemon Cove, people assumed I lived in Three Rivers. I’m guessing this was because of my occupation of pencil artist. (Given the choices of of towns in Tulare County, this is a reasonable assumption.) Now that I actually […]
A little plan
In reading other blogs, I see patterns of posting. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee has “Random Mondays”, Jon Acuff has “Serious Wednesdays” and Abby has “Five Senses Fridays”. As an original thinker (sort of, maybe, mas o menos) I am hereby now instituting “Thoughtful Thursdays”. Starting this week, I will republish articles written by me for the Kaweah Commonwealth, […]
Year-end, Year-beginning
Ever notice how all those lists appear at this time of year? Here are two lists of mine: 1. Some of the things I did in 2010 that are worth noting: Didn’t accept any more weird sweaters from my knitting needles – instead I ripped all the ones that were heading in the wrong direction. […]