Cow Painting

Cow with a Green Earring, oil on cradled board, 11x14
based on photo by Susan Marks Dalton

My friend Susan posts great photos of their southern Virginia farm on FaceBook; I asked if I could use some for paintings--she agreed.  Okay, so her trees weren't violet and there wasn't a dead one in the foreground, and the grass wasn't golden, and there were four cows--not just one (this is based on the photo).  I liked this one who had delicately picked up her left front leg.  How do those little legs support so much cow?

 

Lots of paint on this one--it may never dry, and I'm not quite finished.

 

 

I don't know the breed of cow--red angus?--I like her color; the same color as my hair when I was younger.  AND my parents let my friend and me paint my bedroom lavender when we were about 10 years old.  We used lots of paint and signed our names behind the headboard.  Holy Cow--this is probably another self-portrait.

 

Arting around the May Pole

MRI Waiting Room, Gouache and Black China Marker on Arches, 18x12

Remember those May Pole dances?  Going in circles and weaving in and out--that's what I did during May.  I decided I must finish something so, on Thursday, I used gouache and a china marker, and painted this quickly from a photo taken in a waiting room during January (I accompanied a friend).  I don't know who this is but I liked the newspaper and the cap.  I sneaked a photo with my iPad and used it as a guide; I don't think anyone will recognize him (unless the foot cast is an identifier).

Rose drawing, on back of envelope

On May 8, I cut the first rose from the front yard and drew it on the back of an envelope.  I liked it so..

Rose with Paul's Ashtray , colorsoft pencils on pastel board, 10x8

I began drawing it with colorsoft pencils, after I found my hand-embroidered napkins--no roses so I went with violets.  I stood to look at the arrangement; then sat to draw--exercise.  Unable to decide what to do with the background I took a photo of the drawing and...

Rose with Planets Aligned, iPad painting

played around on the iPad.  I have five different versions now but have never finished the colorsoft drawing! 

Snake by my front step, photo

Then there was the snake...      There is a crack in my walkway beside my front step.  I haven't had it repaired because the skinks (blue-tailed lizards) live down there, and I like watching them.  Maybe I should say they lived down there.  My dog Willie had been sniffing the hole; then my husband asked, "Is that a lizard?"  "Well, no."  I put Willie in the house, sent my husband inside, and I sat on the porch for quite a while waiting with my camera.   



Snake Departing, photo

Later, my neighbor called to say she had seen a snake in her house.  Willie and I (SnakeBusters) visited but didn't find anything--it was only a black snake and I'm sure he's long gone. 

Another Thursday at the Y

Clarksville Y, black/white conte on Strathmore, 12x9

Thursdays are for Art at the Y.  I showed up with black and white conte, gray paper, and had no idea what I might draw.  I looked out the side door of the Y and loved the clouds (yes, they actually looked like animals heading south).  The road leads to the soccer field.  I took a photo on my iPad, sat at the card table, and drew.  Later I added the soccer boy sculpture with vine charcoal--hope he doesn't mind being moved about 30' north.  In real life, he's closer to the front of the building.

 

Creating on the iPad is fun but nothing's better than getting dirty with conte or charcoal while drawing.  I was limited in my choice of supplies; sometimes, that's a good thing. 

Small Town Drawing



Robert, Inktense pencils on hot press w/c paper, 12x9

I'm a Sunday evening regular at The Pizza Pub Restaurant/Bar here in town--so is Robert.  He's usually helping out or having a cup of coffee; and I see him outside always with his pipe.  I asked if I could take a few photos with my iPad--he obliged.  It's been a long time since I've tried portraits other than my own.  Robert liked this and, last Sunday, he walked with me through the restaurant as I showed it to the customers.

Most of you fellow bloggers live in cities where you can sketch strangers at coffee shops, but I have to brew Starbucks in my kitchen.  I live in a place where everyone knows our names (and The Pub knows my drink is unsweet iced tea) so Thank Goodness it does look like Robert.  This was not as much fun as my self portraits where I tear into myself and pounce on every wrinkle.  (Maybe I can do that with tourists or fishermen I don't know next summer.)

Hurricane Sandy looks ominous but I'm 150 miles inland from the coast; my area is not expecting much damage but we might lose our internet (that's what happened last year when Hurricane Irene hit the coast).  We think this latest hurricane is named for one of the bartenders at The Pub.

I'm now putting the Inktense pencils aside and will be trying Colorsoft pencils on different papers, then on to Polychromos pencils.  (Dick Blick had a sale so a big box was delivered to my front porch Wednesday--lots of new stuff with no instructions.)  I'll play with pencils for a while, then get back to my studio and paints.  Well.... that's my plan today.

Behind the Facades

Behind Main Street Facades, South Boston VA
 alkyd, 14x11

I don't remember playing with blocks as a child but I enjoyed playing with my kids' blocks and Lincoln Logs.  I have a trunk filled with blocks in my workshop (and keep buying more); I still play.  This scene reminds me of my blocks of all colors, sizes, and shapes.

I've been away from blogging for a while--it was a hot month, a beloved aunt passed away, and I have a few paintings hanging in a group exhibit at MacCallum More Museum and Gardens in Chase City VA.  I have kept up with reading your blogs; I'll now get back to leaving my comments.

April Delayed til June



April in SoVA, acrylic in progress, 30x24

 April weather in southern Virginia was beautiful; we sat on our front porches as the irises bloomed.  That's the month I started this painting and expected to be finished in a few days.  I really wanted her feet to be included but there was that voice as I began painting the head:  "Make her larger, make her larger."

Maybe I spent too much time sitting on the porch or, maybe I spent too much time "arting around" with this.  April is running a bit behind schedule.


Early sketch--I think I know her.

 


I don't know this person;
I was thinking of Picasso exhibit.

 

Drawn on running-out-of-ink print; she looks familiar.



Don't recognize this one--really low on ink.
I think of Frances Bacon's cross-legged self portrait.



Don't know her but I like this one....
she might actually have a pet rooster.

 Company is arriving for the Memorial Day weekend; I won't be back at the easel until June.  I have no idea what the final April will look like--now I'm thinking about an August painting.

I have begun putting my name on works posted here because I've seen some in Google images--and not always attributed to my blog.

Tabernacle Road in Winter



Tabernacle Road in Winter, oil on gessoed w/c paper, 18x24



I don't normally paint local landscapes; everything is usually just green. For ten years I have passed this scene and just noticed it last Sunday--I liked the farm on the hill--so I went out with my camera Monday. Seventy-mile-an-hour winds and no sun; I held onto my camera as I held onto the flagpole at The Tabernacle. Everyone blew their horns, a form of greeting here in SOVA. (Whoever you were, I couldn't wave back.) I rode up to the farm--it's abandoned--the house, barn, and outbuildings are falling down. Sad. This was an area of tobacco farms and textile mills--beautiful country with rolling hills, creeks and rivers.

I used the photo as reference but much got eliminated and even tombstones got moved. My original pastel sketch reminded me of Thomas Hart Benton.

hmm..........Thursday was my birthday and I was painting a graveyard.

What Cleaning Ladies?

This is what the house looked like when we moved back in after remodeling five years ago.  This is what I hope the house will look like again.  The cleaning ladies never showed up--we hired them as a favor to a friend.  Was it because I said "no copper polish, no Pledge on my furniture, and no scouring of the countertop?"  Was it me?  Was the floor too much?  Too much dirt?   I think I'm more relieved than disappointed (and a bit ticked off that I got out of bed early--8 a.m.).  

Dave and I were not surprised when they didn't show; it's a common occurrence here in southern Virginia.  Contractors and workers smile and take measurements and say "yes;" many never return or call.  Later--when you meet at restaurants or parties--everyone pretends that all is well.  I pitch their cards.

I am pleased that, after my frantic prep work, there's a chance the house will be ready for the Holidays.  Tomorrow is art day at the YMCA--no cleaning.

Meet-the-artists Reception October 9, 2010

6:55--We're ready.  Me, my brother Bob, my sister-in-law Mary

Margie and Terry McHose (sculptor)

Food and Wine

Carolyn and one of her arrangements

People showed up.

Some of us played.

My across-the-street neighbor, Larry, thinks his house should have been included in this painting.  Is it under the mat?

The bouncer kept everything in check.  (Watcher Woman is standing in the front yard of his childhood home.)

Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a great evening--even the weather was perfect.  My brother Bob and my sister-in-law Mary (former owners of a gallery in Pasadena) brought a bit of California to SOVA--a great combination. Yall should have been here.

Thanksgiving

I celebrated Thanksgiving on Scuppernong Hill with my brother, my sister-in-law, and with friends who have become family. A sunny November day, great food, good people--for this I am thankful.

Hobnobbing Off the Main Roads

Tonight there was a celebration of regional artists--an annual Community Memorial Healthcenter Hospice Event. Six artists were featured: Shelly Hudson-Baker, Trey Eppes, Karolyn Hawthorne, Wayne Herrman, Debbie Vaughan, and Pam Wilkinson. The event was hosted by the 450-acre Rosemont Vineyard & Winery in LaCrosse VA.

I was invited by Friend A who said, "We will all need Hospice one day." She's right.

Since the vineyard is off the main roads, I printed a Google map and was confident until Friend B stopped by--she lives near the vineyard. She said, "That's the long way--take Route l, then Red Lawn, then 903, etc." I printed another map (which included a crooked Nellie Jones Road). These are narrow roads with beautiful scenes of pines, rolls of hay and tobacco fields--sometimes deer. After several U-turns and much laughter we arrived at Rosemont (36 miles = 65 minutes). I took the above photo from the parking lot--then posterized it.

For the return trip I selected "Take me home" on the GPS--it was the long way but required only one U-turn. I visited the website when I returned and looked at Rosemont's directions--the correct route is very simple. My route was memorable.

Relaxing in SOVA

Here in Southern Virginia relaxing is an art. The spiders, however, are always busy. This is one of my small sculptures--Of Two Minds (the heads are interchangeable). She hasn't changed her mind in several years; she just hangs out on the porch of my workshop.

Project: Clean Out the Workshop/Studio

My workshop is well-equipped with heat, an air-conditioner, a bath room and a back porch (with a view of the lake). To save energy during the cold weather, I painted in the upstairs bedroom. Now I need to get my supplies moved back to the workshop. This may take a while because--thanks to my accumulation gene--there is barely space to walk and I got wider during Winter.