Burning the Candle

I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, recently, and feel like I’m going to hit a brick wall unless I slow down a little. Not that I’m staying up late or partying, just after-work commitments, so that I feel like I’m working 12 hour days. Happy to say that this weekend is commitment free and I can spend some time cleaning up the back garden, and framing up the “Desert Rose” pastel painting. Maybe I’ll take it to class on Thursday and see what Lorin thinks—I know he can offer some suggestions. I’ve also been thinking of taking pastels to Thursday night classes instead of my oils. We’ll see if I can come up with a comfortable set-up until I get a Heilman pastel box.

Everything's going to be blurry

I finished 4 mini paintings on my lunch hour yesterday. I’m experimenting with extreme close-ups of flowers, to the point that a viewer may or may not identify the subject as floral. Also painting without my reading glasses so the subject is a little more blurred, that way I can pick and choose which area to zone in on to create the focal point. Photos this weekend.

Good News

I found out last week that one of my paintings was accepted into the Richeson 75 Still Life and Floral competition. It's absolutely thrilling--I'm ecstatic about it, and kind of surprised that I haven't plastered it all over facebook, and emailed every single person in my address book.


I've been so, so busy getting ready for the Artwalk, that I've let other things go a little. Oh well, today it's dinner at Cosmos Cafe with the Martini Girls, then Carol will give us a demo of her tecnique in pastels.

Be someone

"How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something - but to be someone" - Coco Chanel


Saw this quote today and really like it. I'm an artist, but that is "something". I am the artist "Hero" and that is someone.

Joanna's house and other things.

This weekend Chuck and I went to visit Joanna and Ken in Montello. I've known Joanna since 2nd grade at St. Thomas Aquinas grade school. She's a great hostess and always cooks wonderful meals for us. Good thing she's currently doing the Atkins diet with no carbs, as I'm currently on the first 3 weeks of maintenance after a round of Dr. Simeon's HCG Protocol, and can't eat any starches or sugar. So she cooked us a divine pork roast with mashed cauliflower (pseudo mashed potatoes), and grilled zucchini. Yum.


Saturday we went thrift store shopping, and I found quite a few things. 3 pair of shoes, 4 blouses, 1 jacket, 3 tees, 2 pair of slacks. We also stopped at TJ Maxx, and I really liked some of the things they had, but we ran out of steam and time. And I found out that it's easy to do no starches at McDonald's if you just order a quarter pounder with cheese--no bun.


Sunday we built 3 Oriole feeders out of scrap wood. 2 for Joanna and 1 for me. Now I just have to hang them from the pergola with orange halves stuck on the nails for that purpose.


Fun weekend, and I'm enthused about doing a project, and can't seem to figure out what exactly I want to work on. Maybe a mosaic project.


Tonight, Marcia 1, Debbie, and I are going to the Bay View Arts Guild spring mixer to meet and network with other artists. I think Fred is going too. Should be lots of fun. I should probably remind them to take some business cards.

Easter Weekend

Jose (my ex) was up here for Easter weekend. Sandy called me on Thursday night and said she and Jose were taking the 2 boys to the zoo on Friday, and asked me if I could go too. Ahnna had school. So I said sure 'cause it was a holiday and no work, so we met and went to the zoo. I always love to get together when Jose is here--we always have fun and laugh a lot. He talked about George Houde, and remembers the joke about "wooden eye" (hairlip). I thought that Sandy would take the family to Robert's birthday party, but she said she got the evite just a few days before the weekend, and had already made plans. I'm pretty sure I told her about it too, but maybe she just wanted to spend the weekend with her dad. I would have preferred to stay in town and hang out with Sandy and Jose, but that's a little hard to sell to Chuck. In fact, we even joked about it with him. "Hey Chuck, I'm going to stay in town and hang out with my ex and the grandkids while you go out to Beaver Dam to see your family." It was pretty funny.


So we did drive out to Beaver Dam and stayed with Chuck's cousin, Sandy and her husband Art. I really like Sandy's house, and her decorating style. Very antiquey, and fun. She has a screen porch and on Sunday morning, I taught a beginning oil painting class to Sandy and Judy (her sister, visiting from Colorado). They were in their pajamas, and now I call them the Pajama Painters. It was really fun painting with them and giving them pointers and info, but by the time we got to Michelle's house for dinner, I had no energy left, and couldn't wait to come home. Thank goodness we had a furlough day at work on Monday.

Latest Art Stuff

So Chuck and I went to Beaver Dam for Easter, to enjoy the holiday with his cousins, and we did just that. His cousin Judy was in town and was waxing poetic about refreshing her interest in oil painting, so I brought out my easel and oils and taught a beginning oil painting workshop to Judy, and her sister, Sandy...the Pajama Painters (they paint in their pajamas).

Here is the finished portrait of Ahnna Grace...finally finished it in my last class with Lorin Willey. Thank goodness, I thought this was going to be sentenced to life in the basement. The next classes with Lorin start on April 22nd.

The Art of Absynthe

Just thought I'd share the photos I took of Rachael making our absynthe drinks a few weeks ago. This was at the bar named "2" right next door to the Art Bar. It was very interesting! Fancy glasses and a glass urn with spouts. Then sugar cubes perched on top of the glasses over a flat utensil with holes in it which looked very ornate. Then the sugar cubes are ignited, and the spouts opened to dissolve the sugar into the glasses. Finally--stir and enjoy!