Still Arm Wrestling and Are We the Neighborhood Diner?

My current painting has been quite a trip and I don't mean to the beach. The arm wrestling has gone on for such a long time my mind is reeling with all the different directions I have taken. I think I see daylight now but I thought that before so I can't wait until Friday when I can attack it again. Thursdays I teach most of the day and then take some young adults bowling so I just have to be on edge until I can get back to it. What a roller coaster ride!

I have mentioned before that our old dog is so nice that I caught her staring at a cat eating her dog food one day. She didn't budge or bark- just stared at the cat. I oftentimes see cats sneak into our yard. Birds take her food and dip it in her water bowl to soften it. One small dog squeaked his body through the fence and now my husband says squirrels give him a dirty look if the bowl is empty. Are we the diner here? I fully expect the goats at the end of the street to show up one day for a snack. Such is life!

Sold Two More Prints and My Fat Missed Me

I can't complain about this week-end even though I worked almost every minute of it on art, housework, or taking care of a sick kid. I used to brag about my great feet that never hurt. Those days are over. Sold a print on Friday and one today so that sweetens up a mostly sour week-end. It is great to be appreciated.

I have had to watch my weight my whole life. I was never very overweight but there were times I did have some extra. Fortunately my mother could have founded Weight Watchers. She cooked meals that are just like what you see in Weight Watcher menus. None of us are overweight and I have managed to keep the extra pounds off since I left home many years ago. I have a number of friends that are still fighting the battle of the bulge and keep trying this diet or that. They want to insist I am just one of those people that doesn't have to worry but it isn't true. I tell them Weight Watchers is the group to join. One of my friends lost quite a bit of extra weight and then slowly put it on over a period of a couple of years. She told her husband, "My fat missed me".

Arm Wrestling and Head Stuck in the Fence

Years ago when I was struggling with a painting that was not turning out the way I wanted it to a teacher made the remark that painting was like arm wrestling. You get it in the direction you want it to go and then it messes up and then you get the effect you want again and so on. It is always fun in the beginning and then it becomes more and more difficult and then you just want to get it done. If an artist works hard she or he can get close but never exactly what is desired. It is such a great experience when one is arm wrestled down and you feel like you won. I think my current painting that was started over a number of times is about to cry uncle! It never stood a chance against such a stubborn artist. Defeat is not in my vocabulary.

The tiny, noisy dog next door was squealing the other day. I am so used to hearing it bark like mad at my poor old dog that I didn't pay any attention at first. After a while I realized it was making some sort of distress cry and found it with it's head stuck through one opening in the chain link fence. It was jumping and spinning around in a circle trying to free itself. It looked a little guilty when I went over to help it. Usually it barks and bears its teeth at me but not this time. The owners were not at home so I called animal control. I could not get it loose but I stayed with it and tried to calm it down until help arrived. The animal control officer was able to free it and I think the dog and I are friends now- at least for a while. It still barks like mad at my dog.

Sold Another Painting and You have the Wrong Number

I am so pleased to sell another original oil painting to a great patron in Morganton NC. It is such a wonderful experience to mail artwork out of my studio. Painting is my life and people that purchase one of my paintings are getting a part of me. Visual art is such an intense means of communication. I try to promote the good things in life with my work and "Flower Field" is one of my favorite paintings for reasons that I can't explain. Sometimes the colors and textures come together in an especially sensuous way that makes all of my efforts worthwhile.

My husband has a cell phone that he doesn't use. He just has it for emergencies but has to add minutes every three months to keep the service. He has 500 minutes and will probably just keep adding to that number. He can't understand why cell phones have become so popular. If a lot of people started to try to contact him by cell phone, this is the message he would like to put on it.

You have reached the wrong number. Even if you think you have the right number you are wrong. Bye.

He would never really do this. He is one of the most diplomatic people I have ever met but at heart he is a curmudgeon.

I have not done that for a long time and Artistic Environmentalists

I live to paint but once in a while it is a terribly taxing experience. Today was one of those days. I try to move fast so I don't get too critical of one painting but this time I was determined to work through the frustration to get the effect I want. It wasn't happening today so I became very vocal about it after making sure no one was around. Sometimes it is very helpful to throw a tantrum. Right afterward things started to work right and I am confident it will be a success. Control and accident. I doubt the average person has any idea of what that means. They would if they took up painting.

My husband likes to tease me when I make certain comments about nature that pertain to being an artist. Certain trees have a type of visual accent that makes them stand out from the rest to my eye. Since my husband and I are both environmentalists he says artistic environmentalists hug pretty trees.

This Would Not Happen if I had Time and The Only Alien I am going to see

I'm sure all artists that don't make their living off of their artwork can understand this problem. I make part of my living at it and I will never give up on getting paid for what I consider to be my job but I need that rich patron to support my efforts so I don't have to stop in the middle of my work. I wish I could spend as much time as I want on my paintings. There are so many other things I have to do that I am frustrated with all the starting and stopping. Still whining for extra hours to the day...

My husband and I were talking about movies with aliens in them. I have seen so few and really don't like alien movies. Some of them are so gruesome and some of them are so frightening that I avoid them. I have enough nightmares. My husband is not that interested in them either. He said the only alien he is going to see is the one staring back at him from the mirror

Sold Another Print of Marsh View at Pawleys Island and Hot Water

I am so pleased to sell another print of Marsh View at Pawleys Island to a great patron in Ridgeland MS. I am especially pleased with this painting. It is 41"x 60" and takes up a large section of the wall in my living room. I'm so glad there a number of people with prints of this work. I hope someone will want to buy the original but I think they would have to be local. I have never shipped a painting that large. I know there are shipping services for such an item but I haven't crossed that bridge yet.

I am still whining about piriformis and have decided that I am probably having this problem because I have stopped two activities that I used to do weekly - skating and swimming in a heated pool. I only like to skate at rinks but I have become too worried that I might have a serious accident . I hated to give it up but I don't want to break a hip at my age. The heated pool at the hospital is no longer having free swim sessions so that is the end of that.

I told my husband that I think people our age need to spend time in hot water. He said he is always in hot water. Not true! He is one of the good guys.

Sold Burning Shore and I Think I am going to call it Nastyformis

I am so pleased to sell one my favorite paintings to a great patron in Florida. "Burning Shore" has a wonderful visual intensity. I am especially pleased with the color contrast and emotional brushwork. I thought "Burning Shore" was a perfect name considering the strong sunset colors that permeate the whole work. I am now in sixteen states, Washington D.C., Canada, Germany, and Australia. I hope I cover the planet!

I am still griping about the piriformis that is causing so much pain in my right hip. Ten years ago I had such a bad case of piriformis in my left hip that I was practically screaming in pain. Since then I have been doing the exercises a great nurse friend told me to do to prevent it from flaring up again. That time it went away after a few days. This time I have been suffering since the end of July. The pain is not anywhere near as bad as the first time but I wish it would let up! I think a better name for it would be NASTYFORMIS.

Sale of Beautiful Nude and NBC?

Yesterday a great patron in North Carolina bought a framed print of one of my beautiful nudes. "Reaching Out" is an intense charcoal study of a model that looks like she is trying to reach beyond the picture plane. The light effect and flowing marks are especially strong in this one. I am so pleased that I am selling prints of these nudes and getting wonderful comments from other artists. As I have said before, the ability to draw the nude so that it looks alive and not just a combination of detail is part of the discipline of a good artist. I hope to sell many more of these drawings that are so important to me.

I am still suffering from piriformis and am wondering how long this will last. I am using a heating pad which helps but I still can't work on my portfolio update. I am too sore to drag my heavy easel out doors to photograph artwork. I am really getting tired of this pain in the butt. I told my husband I need a new butt and where can I get one. He said, "I don't know, maybe NBC - New Butt Club". Not sure how that works as humor but it made me laugh.