We’ve all done it! Had grand plans to do something creative and new and then splat, we fall on our faces. Yep, I am guilty of doing that. In fact, this blog is a perfect example. Before I started this blog I had a ton of ideas, wrote a few down, explored what format I’d want and struggled with pros and cons of all the options, then finally, I got brave and moved forward. After spending a while figuring out the system I made my first posts. All was good then, ***poof***, all ideas disappeared into the clouds, just like many of my contacts and appointments on my calendar and other important items on my phone and computer when I’ve “upgraded” to a new format. “I got nothin'” seemed to be the only thought process for days, now weeks.
Like all good spouses do when one needs to be brought back down from the cloud, my husband says, “I haven’t seen a blog post from you recently. I signed up so I could follow you and there’s nothing to follow.” To which I thought, “You try to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and write a post too!” But, to which I said, “Yep, it’s been a while since I posted but I’ve got NOTHIN!” To which he said, “You don’t have to have a lot, sometimes people just want to see what you’re working on.” To which I had nothin’, he was right.
As a result of that conversation I’m showing you what’s on my easel. This is a detail of a piece that in all its glory is 48″x62″, oil on canvas. The subject is a Canadian goose being chased by a red-winged black bird. The exchange between these two birds happened in a neighborhood pond about a mile from my house (as the crow flies), this past spring. Red-winged black birds are very protective of their territory and nothing intimidates them. They’re the small, yappy dogs of the bird world. A friend of mine, Candice Anderson, took the picture and I fell in love with the action and reality of the bird’s lives that most people don’t have a chance to see. I asked her if I could marry a couple of her pictures and paint them. Obviously she said yes. To give it a more contemporary feel I have pushed the colors of the water so it falls more into the brownish/puke green side (can I say that in a blog?) This painting will have its debut at the reception for the 50 artists participating in the 2nd Annual Clark County Open Studio Tour, November 1, 2014, at which time I will also post a picture of the full painting here. (There will be more on that event in the next couple of days.)
Till then, enjoy the geese honking overhead, the lovely crisp air and the bountiful crops we are so blessed with this time of year.
Stories in My Mind 