Rhythm and Hues: Songs of Home

   Rhythm and Hues is a promising art show title for the Belmont Gallery of Art. I have four songs that inspired paintings: Home on the Range, Don't Fence Me In, You Are My Sunshine and Take Me Out to the Ballgame!  I can enter only 3 paintings, but I am not sure which I will choose. You can match the titles to the paintings.

      Don't Fence Me In:  A Southwestern lamentation: the eclectic cacophony of civilization and childhood drowning out "the wide open country that I love." The painting is built on a map of the Texas Panhandle.
    Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Next door neighbor, Lloyd, now a young man,was a child surrounded by music of his mother and grandmother, cello and piano performers and teachers. Lloyd was also a Red Sox fan. The image of his dutifully practicing the cello with his mind on the baseball field struck the right note of harmony and contrast.
     Home on the Range: The Texas Panhandle of my memory: a melody simple and uncomplicated but rich in mirage.
     You Are My Sunshine: As if there is insufficient sunshine in the Western plains, the ubiquitous sunflower adds its own voice.
(Click on paintings to enlarge)

     In the meantime, I have been giving thought to why so many people are more impassioned to paint all the time than I am. I think it is because they are busy doing it, making discoveries and having surprises which are gifts that keep giving. One loses religion, family, government, writing and art if one is not doing it full time.I am determined to get busier drawing, painting and printing to feel the passion again. At least I am seeing art and reading about it. I look forward to the MFA pastel show to color passionately again.


"One ought, every day, to hear a little song, read a good poem, sip a tasty wine,

see a fine picture, and if possible, to speak a few reasonable words."
                                          -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1836)

Spring into Summer

     Summer hopefully means time to try new things. One thing startled me, however, and makes all time more precious. My new museum badge is good through 2020 and guess how old I will be. OLD! How to spend such precious moments!

     I’m working on a few new paintings. After rereading the Town Musicians of Bremen, a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about animals past their prime, as well as thinking of a trip back to Texas, I thought I would quickly paint Home on the Range with a longhorn, pig, coyote and roadrunner, buffalo in the fields beyond. I totally forgot the horse! I need to work on the painting a lot more, but I am tempted to do another, bigger. I also have an edgy family portrait to do, based on masks from another culture. I have the sketch, but will save for the moment. I also have continued to attend life drawing classes. But those are nudes and probably not appreciated online.

     We have just returned from NYC and visiting the museums. I came back with a desire to make some prints and layers, inspired by Degas at MOMA. I also saw two necklaces at a museum I was crazy over, so I got Joe to walk 6th Avenue and the bead stores with me. The bead stores run between the NYC Public Library and Macy’s. I had to get out my tools and a beginner stringing necklace book to remind how, but it went fast and I am wearing tonight. I LOVE my Senior Metro Card, I may paint it as I did the dollar bill when we lived in Dallas.