Good Red Things!

Well, it's been a few days since I have blogged. Silent migraines have plagued me for a few days, a very rare event, though I managed to start a very enjoyable painting that distracted me from the headache distraction. Attached is a good start for "Good Red Things," an oil painting from a photo of a still life setup I had painted from before. My other painting of this arrangement was done on a wooden palette, which I floated in a black box frame. It sold the first time I showed it, and so I thought it would be a good subject for The Garden Of Art's "Bon Appetit" show come November.

I think my headahe and back pain is payback from building that patio, but it was worth it. When I am done here I will go out on my patio in the dead of night to gaze at the beautiful full moon and the stars, without having to worry about creepy-crawly things at my feet in the grass.

Attached also is a portrait study I did a couple of days ago. Spotted this beat-up old poster at a Habitat For Humanity thrift store for $5. This was actually the 2nd time I saw this poster there, and had resisted buying it the first time because the frame was broken, there was no glass, and the picture had a scratch through the face. But what a face ... and it was a face I knew I had to paint. The poster was from the opening of the National Museum for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., which I had been a member of at one time. "Lady with a Bowl of Violets" by Lila Cabot Perry (1848-1933). What I'd give to actually gaze at this painting in person, and see the actual brushstrokes firsthand. Nothing compares to being in the presence of a work of art created by such a master. To own something like this must be such a thrill, and to have it actually hanging in your home--well I can only dream ... and try to copy one for myself!

Well, my camera is on the fritz. The zoom is acting crazy, blurry when I try to zoom in. And I notice photos are distorted in birds-eye fashion, but I've done my best to correct them as best I could. I've about worn this one out, like I did my last digital, taking thousands of pics a month, trying to capture every beautiful thing I come across to keep for my own.

Tomorrow I must finish my pastel of a Walpi Indian and frame it, and buff up my bronze bust of a Seminole Indian, to ready them for entry in the Backus Gallery's Four-County Competitive, which I won the watercolor prize for last year. I'll try to post them tomorrow. The competition is fierce as many accomplished artists enter this show, but I may just get lucky again. I hope tomorrow also to have enough time to work on "Good Red Things" ... the doily under the still life will be so so much fun to work on. And then there's the table, that's always an adventure trying to create a weather-worn-looking piece of furniture from my head. It's like the sections of a jigsaw puzzle, each section is distinctly different from the other, and enjoyable in a slightly different way, and when completed is a collective joy to see as a whole, and a source of accomplishment and pride. I hope I don't screw this one up.