Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Artistic Escapes While Rebuilding the House

      Much has happened this month...restoring the burnt house, getting furniture pieces to replace the dumped, working around the clock and missing sleep. This is the creative part: seeing the paint choices thrill, workers diligent, scheduling to meet a deadline. It is happening, but art is stressful.

      I will miss our temporary housing, the MEWS. The apartments have many amenities, even a coloring contest. Residents were to color signs of spring. Since this is a dog friendly place, I painted the pups sniffing the flowers, which Harry did along the Charles River! My drawn dogs, Bea and Twig, remind me of the two long-haired dachshunds who live next door with their artist owner, Laura. The charcoals are on blue pastel paper which surely will find a spot in the blue open plan on Stults Road. (Click to enlarge photos)


       I also worked on a recent painting Altered Landscape to add a string of broken pearls which disappeared at the time of our fire. I thought the necklaces symbolized other losses. Happily I found two strings of barely pink gorgeous cultured knotted pearls for five dollars each at an antique store. I think I can now let go of that painting after adding the pearls, but they could be more varied in size...always something to want to change.

        Next, I needed a painting for a landscape show. Although the painting in the previous paragraph would work, I started painting a sunflower-like-plant reaching for the sky from the flat grassland in Amarillo outside the Palo Duro Canyon, a miniature Grand Canyon. I photographed that flower at a 50th reunion and keep as my screen saver. I should have painted the canvas first with a strong undercoat color, but I just wanted to get started. I will pay for that impetuosity by having to spend more time on the painting to make values stronger. And what is its name, that sunflower?


        This month, I lost lots and lots of sleep worrying about how the house could possibly be finished by moving date, August 1; so in the middle of those nights I read My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout whose other books were good, with a new one on the best seller list. But when I read two thrillers by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies and The Husband's Secret, I found some books keep you awake turning pages rather than send you off to dreamland. Those books were a new type for me. I have started The Woman in Cabin 10, but Liane's books made me reflect on the perhaps unconscious desire of artists to do more than entertain...to affect the world by presenting what is important to them. Note the painter's repeating the sunflower's reaching upward.
     

19 comments:

  1. Yippee- - you have spent your time well. You are definitely a magnificent artist, my friend.

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  2. I love the blue walls and white wainscotting. Of course being
    from Kansas the sunflower is after my heart!
    NM

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    Replies
    1. I don't know if it is a sunflower. It resembles a couple of Texas wildflowers.

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  3. Thanks, Linda, for including the photos of your "new" home. It looks as if it is really coming along nicely! DJ

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  4. Love the optimistic nature of your blog. With spring, there is renewal. Puppies are very expressive of your joy. Interesting how you will miss the MEWS and the more positive experience that came out of loss and trauma.
    I was glad to see the pictures of the work being done. So sorry you also lost your pearls. Probably a long ago gift. K B-B

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  5. Omy it made me so happy to see ur blog. I've wanted to reach out to u, but felt u were just too busy to fool w/such.. Cannot wrap my mind around the many decisions u must be making..so glad u have the gift of such and a trained and practiced eye. Hang in there a bit longer... U are the energizer bunny w/paint brush and color charts in hand. Lvu much, js

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  6. This blog post is filled with both art and news! I'd never seen the flower painting and really like it! Love your color choices in the remodel. Sad about losing the pearls, but how great that you found suitable substitutes. Finally, the dogs sniffing the flowers brings a smile to my face and tells me that this needs to be developed into a painting!

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  7. This is in all ways an incredible, powerful, inspiring rebirth! With love, Ruth

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  8. Charles Alpert: Beautiful blue, with the right amount of white framing it. Love the open plan. You've captured something in Bea and Twig that makes me want to keep looking at them.

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  9. Blanche Brick: Great artwork. How about Palo Dura Sunflower? Or as you described it Sunflower Reaching Upward? Makes you think of the saying Bloom where you are planted!

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  10. Wendy Webster Keleher: You are the most successfully productive person I know❣️❣️❣️

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  11. I so enjoy your blog, and had to get caught up. The doggies portrait is lovely, and I'm not even a dog person. Glad you enjoyed the Mews/Muse (lol) and it looks to me like the house is on track - the blue is very nice and calming. -Ellen

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