Watch Birds; Watchbirds

 There used to be a little balloon in certain magazines when I was growing up.  It simply stated: "I'm a little watchbird watching you."  At least that is how I remember it.  I thought it was a sort of private joke. Today, thinking how birds do sit and watch - each other; for predators, for food, for "a signal" that it is time to fly, I remembered that little illustration.  As I watch them back, and paint their images, perhaps I seek to learn the signal too. 

A Gathering In Winter;   acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12. 

 

 

 

Wow - The images are wonderful. Now I've found that these were created in the 1940's by Munro Leaf - and were often illustrated to impart morals and proper behavior.

Munro also wrote many children's books, and even collaborated with Dr. Seuss.  He was rather controversial during the war years and is most famous for his book Ferdinand..

Perhaps all those watchbirds crept into my subconscious.  I especially love the one who sits on the tree branch.

Transitions

This past year has been transitional for me.  Not to say that all years, times, lives, - aren't filled with transition - but often these changes are not so obvious.  Having recovered as much as possible (reaching something called PPD in medical/insurance terminology) I have had to make mental and physical adjustments to what "normal" is for me.

I've always been highly energetic, willing to go to great lengths to achieve goals, working the equivalent of two full time professions in order to have what I wanted and to be what I wanted.  After my injury I found I no longer had the stamina or even the ability to work 14 to 16 hours a day, especially if on my feet.  I was depressed by my body's failure to live up to my wish to be restored to my pre-injury self - and I was dismayed  at trying to cope with the financial strain of being on Workman's Compensation.  (For those who don't know, workman's comp pays 2/3 of whatever salary one received prior to the injury, even if the job was only part time.  One is not allowed to earn other income of any sort without losing the w. comp. claim.)  I'll skip the rest of that nightmare.

The Wind, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 28.  

Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I, but when the trees bow down their heads the wind is passing by...

I returned to part time work and began painting again this past summer, and though my knee will never be the same, I am coping well. I heartily enjoyed the holidays for the first time in years and I am back to my old optimistic self.  I have the Democrats of the late 1930' s and early 1940's and FDR to thank. I received my first social security check in November, and though it's not all that much, it bridges the gap between barely making it and having just a bit of discretionary income.  The future's so bright I think I'll wear shades... of red, turquoise, blue, tangerine, chartreuse - every color on earth!

Redwing Sentry - Acrylic on Canvas, 12 x 12.

- Thank you, Roy.  You're the best.

p.s.  HAPPY NEW YEAR - may 2013 be your best year ever...

It's like painting a large abstract...

Making art.  Painting furniture artistically.  The same principles apply.  Make the color pleasing to the eye.  Add textures and more color/s.  Work the whole surface until you and your client are satisfied.   Seal to protect.  Head home for a dip in the pool... (See below.)  And I sold a painting last week! 

The finished desk.

The finished file drawers.  Yellow, gold and black over red.

Before - great functional piece - awful "pecan" finish.  Doors, hardware drawer fronts removed for sanding.

What?  You were expecting an in-ground kidney deal?  This is my rainwater filled cool down pool.  You'd be amazed how refreshing it is to just pour water over your head when the outside temp (and my body temp!) is over 95 degrees.   Sometimes the water heats up so much I have to add cold well water to get my cool down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gracie in the dryer.  The metal was cool and the house was hot...  Doesn't she look pitiful?

I haven't made that, but...

I've been hoping to get up to Sautee to photo the new paintings, but my work schedule - and that of the shop haven't permitted it.  Been really busy, refinishing kitchen cabinets with my bud Carol, doing a chair makeover (Carol sewed up the silk-screen fabric cushion covers - look at that piping!), and finishing the rejuvenation of a side table for a client.

So I wasn't going to blog tonite, but some things just won't wait.  For instance, Elvis wanted everyone to see his new nose scratch.

Elvis' ouchy

And Spooky has been pestering me to show off his rare and unusual coat.  Spooky is a "sable" according to my vet, but I've never seen any cat with fur like his.  In rabbits, the term agouti means varying colors on an individual hair shaft.  Spooky's fur looks black, but when the fur parts, he appears to have a cream colored undercoat.  His lovely coat won't be passed on, however, for Spooky boy traded his very large cahones for a forever home with endless head rubs and scratches (from me, not Elvis) 

Spooky showed up last fall looking too pretty to be a boy - and having a really fat (I thought pregnant) belly.  But when I finally got a close look (and smell) he was all boy, just fat from eating all the dry food I leave out at night. He went from total panic, to lying here on the computer desk, waiting for a pet or more food.

 

He says "teh."

And no post would be complete without Gracie.  Here she is lounging on laundry left draped over the cat tree.  She just loves a clean t-shirt.

"I cans cross me legs..."

Oh - and by the way.  It's a pretty safe bet that Elvis' nose ouchy is courtesy of Spooky.  But don't feel sorry for him; he always starts it.

Nest time: new art.

One Track Mind

Multi-tasking may be a popular concept, but it doesn't work for everyone (like me).  In fact, I don't really believe in it.  I think that what really happens is that our brains switch tasks so rapidly from one task to the next that it only appears we are doing more than one thing at a time.  And if the brain fails to switch in time, one or more tasks suffer.

Last week I finished two paintings for an upcoming show barely on time.  That same day I got a call saying one of my painted furniture pieces had sold in an adjacent shop, but that a bit of touch up was needed before it was delivered.  I wasn't surprised - as the little red desk had been there for over a year!  That's how slow sales are. So I loaded up my paintings, a variety of reds, glaze, topcoat, brushes, etc., and headed out for the forty mile drive.  I dropped off the paintings, hurried to get to the shop before five, did the touch-up, picked up some Chinese food and headed home.

After dinner I was happy to have some new work for my blog - until I realized I'd forgotten to photograph the new paintings!  And so forgive me for posting three of my personal favorites - paintings I've never been able to part with.  Note that Black Bird was painted before my divorce - and subsequent name reclaim. 

Grumpy Chick, 6" x 9" 2008

Black Bird/White Wind, 2005. 36" x46" 

 

 

The Watch, 2008 14" x 18"

I Love the Rain

Perhaps I was born during a rainy fall day.  Would that explain how much I love the rain?  Walking through the pine forest in a mist or fog I have often felt that time has stopped.  I could be anyone in any hour of any day in this or another century.  Everything slows down and I am able to focus on what is small and near and tangible - as that which is far away is softly obscured.  Bark and leaves and textures, tiny branches, toadstools and fungi, droplets of water on my head - and sounds - sounds that are both muffled and magnified.  The tapping of the water droplets, the sweet percussive sound of a runoff creek  as it carries bits of the natural world down a fresh gravitational path.

If I am lucky, the tree frogs are singing - or I may chance upon a rabbit or doe rustling away into deeper cover.  I love, too, the light after a rain, when the mist rises from warm earth seeming to carry the light up and hold it in place; a mist lit from within.

And then everything blooms!

After two days of steady soaking rain...

 

 My narcissus doesn't bloom every year.  The drought and heat of the South cause undo stress - making me wait for well timed rains to bring it into full bursting glory.

Before the rain... two days ago.

Yes, I've been painting, but I post my commissioned works here - a pair of paintings for Mother's Day.  So for further entertainment, here is the very undignified Gracie lounging atop my (formerly) clean laundry.  No - she's not nursing kittens, she just has very fine short hair, rather like a Rex, on her pink and plump belly..

Gracie - rescued last year from a Walmart parking lot.  She never has to eat greasy popcorn chicken again.

Over the decades of my life I've rescued or adopted many many cats.  Gracie is unique in that she shows her joy and gratitude at being safe, loved and fed regularly.  She is affectionate, sweet and loving all the time, and wants nothing more than to be a lap cat.  Whoever dumped her there missed out on a very special feline.

Dreaming of Friskies...

Ain't that the pinkest kitty nose you ever saw?

And when it rains, Elvis gets back in "the box".  Note the new scratch on his nose.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms.

Blackbird on a Wire

I am often asked how I come up with ideas; how to be creative - how to be imaginative.  I can't answer these question/s because I don't understand how else to be.  I don't comprehend a negative.  My head is filled with so many ideas and the world is just as full of materials, textures, colors and sensations as to be a constant source of inspiration.  If I could live a dozen lifetimes I can't imagine that I would ever be bored, ever run out of things to make or do or think.

Blackbird on a Wire  36 x 28 acrylic on deep cradle panel

Don't you want to make something?  Don't you just want to make something that is yours alone - but that can be shared with peers who understand the drive?  And don't you just want to make something - some things that is/are yours to keep?

We are each unique.  Our thoughts are our own to explore.  We each have purpose and a hunger to create.  Let's feed the hunger and turn it into purpose.  Let's make something that would never have been...

So if you are feeling confined and boxed in - do what Elvis does: Bust out of that cage.  Poke your paws out of that box.  Expand your horizons.  You'll be more comfortable...