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.

When I Met Harry



Chase City VA, pastel, 16x12

I finally had this framed last week--the 98-percent finished pastel had been lying in my studio since October .  When I showed it to friends, they said, "That's Harry's house."  I asked, "Who the heck is Harry?"

I was one of the artists invited to display a few works at the celebration of MacCallum More Museum and Gardens' listing on the Virginia Landmark Register and on the National Historic Register.  Since it's in Chase City, I set up this painting at the Sunday afternoon event (I also took my iPad and a printed copy of my iPad Bottle painting). 

When I Met Harry

And.......someone fetched Harry!  He said he chose the old mill because it was the most interesting building in Chase City.  Perhaps the building and occupant found each other.

Every local who saw the painting had a great story about the Southside Roller Mill, the water tower, or what they did down by the railroad tracks

MacCallum More is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon; here's a photo from an earlier visit. 

Autumn at MacCallum More Museum and Gardens



Chase City VA



Chase City VA >or<
pastel on Wallis paper, 16x12



I finally got off my porch and made it to the next town.  Chase City is about 15 miles away--a ride through the country side; then suddenly there's a view from an overpass that reminds me of Baltimore.  This is it--more or less.  I moved the water tower and omitted a few buildings.  For this view I'd have to look up and down; right and left.  I will add that Chase City has some very beautiful homes, and MacCallum More Museum and Gardens (where I've exhibited my work) is there.  For painting, I chose the grittier side. 

The tall building in the center has lettering on the bricks:

THE

SOUHT
SIDE

ROLLER

RINK

My guess is that the sign painter, after climbing down the 30-foot ladder, said, "I'm not climbing up again to change it to SOUTH SIDE--people will know what it means."  Actually, the sign can't be read from the road (most of these buildings are falling down)--I noticed it when I zoomed in with the camera.  From making posters I know how easy it is to transpose letters.

Update Oct. 31.  I just learned from my friend Everett's comment that this was a ROLLER MILL--not a Rink.  I guess that means a grist mill where flour was made.  I learn something new every day.

This work has been an education in how not to work with pastels.  I began the painting at the Y; then continued at home in the upstairs bedroom.  My nose was completely stopped up from pastels.  I looked at this the following morning and thought, "What crap."  I took it outside, whacked it against the side of the house, then used a house painter's brush to remove all the pastel.

I started again--got about three-quarters through and suddenly decided I should glue the paper to an Ampersand board.  To ventilate the workshop while spraying glue I opened both doors; then had trouble with placement of the paper--15 minutes is a long time to hold one's breath.  I covered the painting with wax paper, rolled it to remove bubbles, and used three of my wallpaper sample books to weight it down.  It worked.

I then put the painting on my "big easel" (for you, Celeste) and applied pastels to the sky and water tower.  The pale blue fell down onto my buildings!  It looked like sheets of rain.  I cleaned it up by blowing the dust and repainting; now I believe it's almost finished.

First I need to figure out how to cut off the top two extra inches of Wallis paper (18x12) without smearing the work; I cropped the photo.  I don't want to think about framing--glass, spacer, frame, fingerprints, etc.  I'll worry about that later; I just ordered a set of watercolors.

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.

Friends, Relatives, Location

Despite heavy rains during the day, Friday's art exhibit opening was well attended and successful--thanks to:

Friends. Friends showed up. Friends bought paintings and sculpture. Friends brought arrangements for the tables and roses for me. A beautiful young woman played the violin.

Relatives. My brother and sister-in-law formerly owned a gallery in Pasadena CA; they helped me set up the exhibit. My sister-in-law is also a former restaurant owner who had introduced my paintings by hanging them on her walls; she served great food with flair at the opening.

Location. My exhibit shares a Museum with an extensive Native American artifacts collection, and with a tribute to the Thyne Institute, which began educating African Americans in this county in 1878. The Museum is part of the five-acre organically-maintained MacCallum More Gardens which was begun in 1929 by Lucy Morton Hudgins, wife of Edward Wren Hudgins, former Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court. Their son, William Henry Hudgins, expanded the gardens until his death in 1986. Sculptures, stone walls, friezes, ponds with frogs and goldfish, innumerable plants and trees, birds and butterflies, places to sit and meditate--all in Chase City VA! It's a wonderful way to spend a day. The photo below is one of the Gardens' many beautiful sculptures--it was taken just after a light shower and before the dogwoods bloomed; I love the moss. The Museum, exhibit and gift shop are open Mon. thru Fri. 10 to 5 and Sat. 10 to 1. The Gardens are open every day 10 to 5.