AquaVenture Bound

I heard on Friday that my watercolor portrait entry to AquaVenture was accepted!  This is only the second juried event I've tried (the first being the LaGrange contest), and I'm thrilled.  The model for the portrait sat for a drawing group I attend during the winter.  I found her fascinating. The painting was actually begun last year (and that was a second attempt) and finished just a month or so ago.  I've posted a version of her before . . . here she is-- Dark Angel-- or Kurai Tenshei (coo ray ten she).

PufferBilly

The painting I displayed last week won a prize.  First place for adult acrylic painting.  This MAY be because there WERE no other acrylic paintings at the Painted Cow in Louisa, KY.  

I DID just win second prize (and MONEY) in a juried show . . . for THIS painting--Big Engine in LaGrange.  It depicts an old fashioned engine (with a cowcatcher) superimposed on downtown main street LaGrange.  I used the same technique for this train engine that I did for "Mama's Homeplace".

I'm waiting to hear about a watercolor I submitted to the Kentucky Watercolor Society's Aquaventure.

I've prepared 3 watercolors (painted, signed and framed) to take to Midway tomorrow for their Fall Festival.  Hope that goes well.  We'll see.

Movin' On . . .

I've taken my heart in my hand and placed three of my paintings in art shows.  I've been asking myself what I really want to do before it's all over and I waft off to dreamland.  The answer is ART.  I don't actually care a fig about making money, but I DO care if people like it, although that wouldn't stop me.

The first painting is of my mother's homeplace in eastern Kentucky.  The old home was destroyed this summer (both burned and bulldozed) and that weighs heavy on me.  Sooo, Mama's Homeplace has been placed at the Painted Cow Gallery in Louisa (my hometown) for September Fest.  If you're at the festival, please stop by and see it.

The painting is taken after an old photograph (upper right) and done in a primitive (think Grandma Moses) AND cartoony style.  The style makes it happy, and it WAS a happy place.  Enjoy, and
stay tuned for progress reports.

A little too much summer . . .

Finally . . . RAIN.
And not a GullyWasher.  Just Right.

It's been soooooo miserably hot it's hard to explain. So looking forward to going to the Black Hills and the workshop
in Billings.

Great productive week.  Completed 10-12 sketches.  Monday, I found a place to get giclee's done in Lexington and made arrangements to have three scanned on Thursday. Took two paintings to be framed--
one for art show.  Placed two paintings at SoapWerks in Midway.

Do you remember what it was like to live forever?

Sometimes when the jarflys jit . . . I do . . .

. . . For just a second . . . or two . . .

How are you spending YOUR time?

The Wall Street Journal adapted a list from 10 1/2 Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said, by Charles Wheelan. Among the points made are . . . "You'll never read the following obituary: "Bob Smith died yesterday at the age of xx.  He finished life in 186th place."  Whatever race we're running, it's not THAT.

Three weeks ago, or so, we had Mario as a model in my "long pose" session.  I've drawn him before, but did a better job this time.  I can tell I'm getting better . . . I'll probably finish in the top 300 at least.

Another Commencement point from Wheelan . . . "It's ALL borrowed time."

Nora Ephron died today.  She was 71.  I guess her neck was worse than she thought.  I'm 69.

I've painted my friend, Linda Blaine. She is one of my friends from high school. Her niece posted a photo of her (online) as a young girl.  She looks so "Alice-in-Wonderland" to me. I couldn't help but paint it.

I seem to be dipping and bouncing through the summer.  So many people and things are gone, and yet--during the "bounce" I'm having a wonderful time. Having a purpose seems to be the thing I get hung up on.

Drawing and painting seems to be taking up more and more of my time and I'm loving that.  I think laziness is the only thing standing in my way.

John Cleese said "we don't know WHERE we get our ideas from.  What we DO know is that we do NOT get them from our laptops.''  Ta Ta.

An "AHA" moment!

The most vivid "AHA" moment I can remember was on vacation (for me) at a conference (for my husband) on South Padre Island.  One of the members of the conference was to "run" for office and needed a campaign slogan.  Since I was a "creative" it was decided that I could easily come up with a slogan, thereby settling high expectations and a total creative block on me--for something I really didn't want to do in the first place.

There was no time constraint since the election was months away, but I really wanted this off my plate so I could enjoy the beach and the ocean--thereby setting my own insufferable and resentful attitude toward the task.  The candidate's name was Campbell.  I took a notebook and sat out by the pool waiting for inspiration to strike . . . and . . . it did. Campbell's Super became the campaign slogan.