Shorthand

Shorthand, iPad painting

I've always loved the symbols for shorthand--a secret way of writing--so I bought a small Gregg Shorthand Manual at the thrift shop.  I intended to draw in it.  I couldn't bring myself to mess up the pages (I have the same hesitancy with my neat sketchbooks--they're still pristine).

 

Instead, I used the kaleidoscope photobooth of my iPad to photograph a page; then added a layer with a painting. This was done in the Sketchbook app.   I like the "transform" feature; I can move and resize the painting--no symbol poking her in the ear.  I don't know the secretary in the above painting but I suspect she was influenced by my Sunday-night TV shows.  I watch Call the Midwife (the clothing), The Good Wife, and Mad Men (the chair).  Then I watch Mr. Selfridge on my PBS app (the women have this hairstyle).  Who programs all the good shows for the same night?

1961

I remember my days as a secretary--shorthand got me from the country to the big city of Washington, D.C.--working for the Federal Government, wearing hose that never matched my pale legs, and walking (even dancing The Twist) in HIGH HEELS.  I loved it.  In the photo above, my boss was away so I took over his desk at U.S. Department of Commerce--I was 19.

The Fisherman that Got Away

Fisherman Unknown, inktense pencils & pen on hot press w/c paper, 10 x 14

I live on 50,000-acre Buggs Island Lake here in Southern Virginia (called Kerr Lake in NC).  Fishing and fishing tournaments are popular.  Five years ago I saw two photos on a local site, printed them out, and naively thought I'd run into this fisherman and ask permission to do a painting of the other photo--one of him and his friend in a boat near a tree-lined shore--holding a 50/60-pound catfish.  No such luck so no such painting.  Most of the photos on the site are of gigantic fish (I think this one was posted as a joke).

Who's the Fairest?, pencil & ink on hot press w/c paper,  12 x 10

I wonder which came first in Holland--windmills or tulips?  I find aging tulips more interesting than those in their prime (this photo was taken by my son).  Age has been on my mind this week.  I was at President Kennedy's inaugural parade fifty years ago; I was eighteen and remember being on Pennsylvania Avenue climbing on piles of snow--wearing high heels, no hat, and no gloves.  As a Southerner I was not prepared for DC's sometimes harsh winters--I learned.

I recently finished reading Egon Schiele, a book discussed on RHCarpenter's blog.  I'm still looking at his drawings, watercolors, and oils; I especially liked his line drawings.  However, I still draw the same way I've been drawing since elementary school--use whatever's handy and add a black outline if I'm so inclined.

SOVA Title Photo Credit

The title photo of Clarksville VA was taken from the Tisdale Bridge on the day of its dedication--June 8, 2005. It is actually two photos taken by Pam Speed; I stitched them together using Corel Photo/Paint.

Pam and Brian "Stork" Seal are a young couple and former neighbors. They have since moved to Roanoke--an exciting VA city where they attend festivities like "70's Cocktail Crawls" and are arting around at the new Taubman Museum (http://www.taubmanmuseum.org/). During the seventies, I saw costumes like these only on 14th Street in downtown Washington D.C. In the suburbs we were a bit more subdued.

(I changed the photo--some people have dial-up and it took too long to load.)