No, I have not abandoned the Art World. I have not flown up on my own private rapture.
I have been waiting for the planets to align so I can get photos of this year's big mural projects.....about three of them. However, due to Seattle's extremely wet winter, the stucco has sprung a leak for the site of my three 5'x 9' canvases. The wine room client has had to have surgery, and the 9'x12' mural in CleElum is installed, but the furniture has to be just right before the client will set up for photos. Sigh. Life.
So, I have been busy with my other art....gardening. Note the size of the spinach on the right hand side of my raised box and other spinach slithering along at the box base. I got the seeds from Annie's Annuals and Perennials and the combination of rain and compost and this special seed has created acromeglic spinach. Huge, and more huge.
Phil is getting tired of spinach dishes and the whole green thing is getting out of hand. We've started to go to bed with a machete on the bedstand.
Also, we have put in a living room space in our basement apartment, and it has really amped up it's cuteness factor. (and we can charge more)
Got a new sleeper sofa, found the 50's TV trays at a neighbor's estate sale, and a real little Persian rug at a dry cleaners. Phil worried about the vases tipping over, but I told him that for 99 cents at Goodwill, we could deal with a little tipping.
And, I lowered my standards (and enjoyed it) by painting some Sofa Paintings. Two acrylics...sort of color fieldish with some leaf and water elements, and a gouache ala DeKooning/Carrasco for old times sake. Like when I struggled in Painting 101.
Leaf color field 5'x 2' Acrylic on Canvas
Leaf color field 3'x 1.5' Acrylic on canvas
Garden Frenzy 20" x 30" Gouache over watercolor
Hint: I painted the gouache over a big watercolor I screwed up....it was really fun....worked mostly with chip brushes, sharp points to scratch with and pastel pencils. I think I'll do more of these. After 40 years, I finally got the hang of it. Besides, I have enough messups in watercolor to keep me busy for a while.
Abstract art is a lot harder, in my opinion, because you don't have the resonance of an image to play against.
And Phil had real challenges with making the new room watertight. Seattle basements always leak. I thought Lynne would appreciate this, since she has an artisian well in her basement. Note also that Phil has installed earthquake plates all around the foundation of our house. San Francisco is not the only shaker and mover along this ring of fire!
I made the mistake of showing Phil the levels of finish for sheet rock that Regina featured on Fauxology. Now I warrant that our renter will be the only one living in a level 5 finished apartment! Painstaking.
Sheet rock knees. A disease of carpenters.
And also, I've been working on a series of watercolors called, eponymously, "Clear Water" They are quite large, some of them.....20" by 30", and so far I have about 10 I like. Here's one.
And then.....I have developed 4 images for a children's nursery that I plan to reproduce. But I'm keeping those under my hat until their grand opening.......
So, you see. I haven't been lolling on the couch eating bon bons.
Aaww- Phil looks cute! If I am not splattered with a paint or plaster, I have soil that refuses to leave my nails.
Speaking of, nice spinach! This year I decided to plant lots of veggies, rather than just flowers. Hoping to become more self-sufficient.
Of course, we also have 7 (!) gardenia trees. Nothing like stepping outside and smelling the blooms!
Posted by: Ann @ Plumsiena | June 07, 2011 at 07:30 PM