Studio Helpers

Ike

Bitsy

Simba

Several people have been sharing pictures of their studio helpers, from Linda Blondheim's Studio Dog to a Face Book friend who shared a picture of his black cat, lounging.

I used to have Toto, a Cairn Terrier, who sat under my feet while I was at my desk. I still miss putting my feet on her silky fur. She died at age 17. We got another dog, Pluto, but that is a one person dog. He stays with my daughter constantly.

But, the cats migrate toward me at meal time and nap time, for them, which is a lot of the day.

I covered my drawing table, in front of my window, with newspapers, for painting. Of course, the cats like to sleep there, or just look out the window !

In the photos, there is, at the top, the visiting, solid black tomcat, named Ike. He came to our door the night that the rain started as Hurricane Ike was moving in. We gave him shelter for a few days, then he left. But, he comes back several times a day, to eat Iams cat food, drink, and nap. Then he leaves. He has found a way to get into the house around the bathtup pipes, so, if we don't open the door when he wants to come in, he just makes his own way in and out of the house.

He is a large, gorgeous cat, like a small panther.

Long ago, when dreaming of things I wanted in the future, I thought I would like to have, not an ordinary Cadillac, but a solid white four door Jaguar with white leather interior. And, instead of diamonds, I wanted emeralds. And I wanted, instead of a fancy dog, a gorgeous panther. I guess we sort of have a panther, now. Ike is solid black, with green eyes, and very quiet.

In the center photo, during nap time, I put a couple of soft blankets on my bed, and Bitsy takes a nap there. Bitsy is 23, and still hanging on, though she is a sick lady with renal failure. She has lost so much weight, but she is still Bitsy and can outrun me!

Simba has been sitting on the back of my chair while I am either on the computer or at my drawing table. He is in the bottom photo. Simba is the king of the house-the Alpha male. He is very smart, and cuddly, usually, keeps the dog and everyone else under control. In the photo, he is on the back of the chair which is covered with one of my painting shirts to keep the little claws out of my leather chair! You can see Ike curled up on the table in the background.

The window is a good place for cats to watch squirrels and rabbits romping in the yard and Oak trees, and the birds that like to perch in the Crepe Myrtle in front of the window. And it is a good place for me to watch the changing light and shadows, and the occasional car that passes by.

My human helpers are not so interested anymore. They are more into computers and games, these days.

*********************

Have you had the Swine Flu?

I don't like "politically correct", or numbers, so, to me, it is going to stay the Swine Flu. Once I've learned something one way, it's hard to change to fit someone's whims. I heard a story today, on the news, saying that a worker from Mexico, in Canada, spread the Swine Flu to the pigs he was working with. It's all very confusing, to people all over the world. Now they are saying that the flu may be dying down some, but could return, even changed, and worse in the fall.

Personally, I don't want the flu, swine or otherwise. We're washing hands more and hoping that it doesn't get worse. The people who seem to be having the worst time with it, are those who already have some medical problems.

Esther Read's granddaughters made the cutest video about Swine Flu! It should be put on You Tube or somewhere.

Have you done a picture about Swine Flu? I did one a while back and put it on my blog, but that was about having the flu long ago. I'll have to do something about the current illness.

I think it was Geraldo Rivera who was reporting about Swine Flu last week, and he said that, everytime he does a segment on the flu, or hears a story about it, he starts feeling sick-sore throat, feverish, etc. I am that way too! My throat starts hurting every time they talk about the flu! But, in a little while, with another story, I'm cured! I'm not usually that easily influenced.

Hope that you all stay well! Go away, Swine Flu! -And allergies!

************************

I've been reminiscing by looking through old Trevalcs, the Calvert High School yearbook. That started as I was looking for old pictures to use on the groups I started for Calvert High School Trojans alumni on Yahoo and on Facebook. If you went to school in Calvert, join the groups and share your pictures. I enjoyed seeing the addition of a photo of the Calvert Cemetery, with several memories from growing up in Calvert. Remember walking past there, between the park and the cemetery, at night, after a movie at the Eloia, or a football or basketball game at the school?

I walked from the Eloia to my house, near the school, at night, or back home after visiting a friend, a few times, and I was plenty scared! I almost ran from street light to street light. I think the worst time was after watching one of those scarey movies about space, and then having to walk home in the dark. I just knew that space ships with monsters were going to appear from out of the stars and swoop down from the school to my house! I usually convinced a friend to walk at least part of the way home with me, but that didn't get me past the park and cemetery with protection.

Of course, we just had to walk through the cemetery during Halloween parties! Well, that's another story.

During the day, it was a peaceful place to walk and spend time. The iron benches through the cemetery and some of the stone benches were nice to sit and rest on, especially on a hot day.

I've already shared our experiences of giving wild flowers to people who were coming out of the cemetery after funerals in an earlier post. You can find those under Older Posts.

I also started a group for people who are interested in Calvert, and that is where Judy R. added the cemetery picture and memories. That is an open group for anyone to join on Face Book.

******************

Thanks for reading and sharing!

***

There will be no meeting of the Brazos Valley Art League tomorrow, but, instead, there will be a luncheon at the Art Center on May 12th. See their newsletter for May or the website for more information.

They are also having the Lone Start Art Guild Convention starting on Friday at the Brazos Center. More information about that, too, on the website and in the newsletter, as well as the LSAG website.

*****************

I added two links under Interesting Sites on my sidebar. One is a link to the trailer for the PBS series, "We Shall Remain" -The Cherokee.

The other is a link to the website "Der Familiename Konitzer/Conitzer. This is the very interesting website from Germany for those interested in Polish/Prussian/German genealogy and information.

**************

Join my Followers or my groups, if you haven't already. You can also subscribe to my blog, if you haven't done so already.

I appreciate your interest!

*****

My Rainbow

Top Photo: Photo of Simba on my drafting table

Bottom: Photo of my drafting table with travel set of Winsor Newton watercolors

I found a cute little test to do, but, like the slide shows, it keeps saying that blogger can't accept my html. I don't know anything about it, so I can't fix it. I wanted to put it on my blog, but can't do it. Don't know what the problem is, and the tech people don't seem to know either. Computers can be so frustrating!
I just did a cut and paste, and maybe you can go to the site and see what it tells about you. There is supposed to be a picture here-a band of colors-but it didn't come out.
Hmmm. I wonder how they knew about my colors-and me!

Your rainbow is strongly shaded violet.

(There should be a picture here!)
What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

http://spacefem.com/quizzes/rainbow/

**********

If you are in the area of Bryan/College Station tomorrow night, I hope that you will make it down to First Friday in downtown Bryan. Lots of artists, musicians, food, and entertainment and even carriage rides. You can go to the Downtown Bryan website to see what all is going on.

Thanks to Cindy Peaslee and Greta Watkins for keeping me updated on downtown activities.

**************

I actually turned the tv off today! Now that is rare for me. If I am at home, the tv is on. Well, I just turned off all the programs and went to the end of the channels where there is music. I turned on the channel with "Singers", a lot of oldies like Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford, and newer ones like Harry Connick Jr.
My intention was to paint, something kind of playful and experimental, on the order of Martha Marshall's processes while the appropriate music was playing. Well, it's sunset, and I'm still getting painting things together. I did finish the letters on the bank painting, with a toothpick (and it was too large!) and decided that I need to put out some fresh paint before I start painting. Then the cat was sick for a bit, so that required medication and clean up.
Had to look for my reference pictures on the computer, found some scrap materials to use with my painting, then spent hours trying to find where I put my hole puncher. Checked out Facebook and e-mail, and, that has been the day.
It takes me so long to move all my little "burglar alarms" that I set up each night, before I can get to my painting area. I don't have them set up for two legged burglars, but for the 4 legged characters. Cats like to get on my drafting table and look out the window. That would be okay if they wouldn't scratch on things, etc. I think they are learning! They don't like the noise when they jump on my table and cans, etc. start falling. A few shots with a water pistol helped, too.
One of these days, maybe, I will be able to leave my painting things out and the cats will go somewhere else in the house.
I know. Some would say "Get rid of the cats!" But they are family. We are down to Bitsy, age 23 and not doing well due to renal failure, and Simba, age 5 (or is he 6 now?), the king of the house. And an occasional visit from Ike, the big, black cat who came to us the night that Ike, the hurricane, moved in. He's still coming back to visit! Comes in to eat our food, drink water, and nap. Ike doesn't bother anything. It is mainly Simba now who likes to sit on my table, unless Ike is in the house. Then he is like a shadow, staying right behind Ike, not letting the visitor out of his sight. Protecting us, I guess.
I wonder if Ike has a home around here, or if he was dumped. He's a big, solid cat-and absolutely black.
Now, I wonder what I am going to put on the Thing A Day Project site for today. We're supposed to do something creative each day to put on the site. I finally got caught up last night, and thought I would have another painting to put on. But, it isn't done, and, if it were, it would still have to dry before I can scan it. I do have a drawing that I've been working on, but it isn't finished.
I have to remember that they go by Eastern time on that site, and things are supposed to be on there by midnight. I was late a couple of nights because I thought I still had time-not thinking about EST and Central time. No telling what time people in California have to have their work in by! Earlier/Later?

************

Thanks to Edie and Maurina, I now know where Dr. Parker lived in Calvert! If you don't remember, he lived by Gladys Casimir. That is coming back to me, now. I guess I never went to his house, so I didn't remember. We all agreed that he was old when we knew him. And that those steps up to the doctors and dentist's offices were scarey to kids. It surely meant that you were going to be hurt or embarrassed!

*****

Well, I've lost the light, and tomorrow is another day. I'm going to try to get into the paint again tomorrow. I do alright with sketching at night, but I sort of need some sunlight to paint, these days. Sometimes I can't tell if I am using blue or black, beige or lavender, etc., except in sunlight. I took a "drumstick" ice cream cone out of the freezer this afternoon, and thought it had a funny taste to it. Maybe a little orange extract in it? Wondered why they would change these treats that have been around forever. I thought it might be like so many things today where they are trying to change recipes to make things healthier and cheaper. I went into the kitchen with my ice cream when Chris needed an ice pack for his ankle. I was so surprised that the ice cream under the chocolate coating was---green! It turned out that the package of drumsticks has assorted flavors in it! I didn't know there was anything but vanilla! I think I had mint, and I'm really not that fond of mint. Too late. I had to go on and eat it.

That ice cream looked white, to me-and that was by the window where I paint!

**

The First Year

My Assistant, Simba

Where I Like To Work

This blog is now one year old, with my first post published on June 4, 2007. One hundred and ninety five posts later, I hope that I have brought you something that you can enjoy, relate to, appreciate the art work, or even have a few laughs.

It has been nice to get the feedback and to know that someone out there is looking at and appreciating my efforts.

I have a lot of people to thank for all their help in getting me started. I won't make an Academy Awards type of speech, though. I just want to mention a few people, without whom, I would never have been able to get started.

Jeremy has to be at the top of my list of those who helped me to get started. Without his encouragement, patience, and technical expertise, I would never have been able to do anything on a computer!

Kevin is one who deserves a great big Thank You, too, for all his encouragement and the example he set for me. Kevin appeared via the internet, just when I was scared to death about getting a shot in my eye, and having that dreaded diagnosis of Macular Degeneration. He was so patient and helpful as I went through that. It always helps to know that others have encountered something and what they went through. And, about the time that I was starting my blog, Kevin started a Google group for those who wanted to discuss things about Cannon County, Tennessee. I would have never known about things like tomato gravy and chocolate gravy, otherwise! He and Virginia were a lot of help when I started my Google Group.

Virginia has also been a big factor in my starting this blog. Her encouragement, ideas, and inspiration have been so helpful to me over this past year. I wish that I were half that creative, energetic, and talented!

Nancy, Mary, and Myrna are just three of the many artists who are so inspiring and generous in sharing what they have learned.

Barbara, with her support of everything from advice to supplies, transportation, and treats, deserves a lot of recognition for her help.

Jami, with all her energy and willingness to help, and words of encouragement, is someone else who has made this blog possible.

All my readers who have offered comments, joined my group, sent e-mails, purchased my work have all made a difference in creating this blog. Without them, sometimes we have to wonder if anyone is even looking at what is written or created.

And, of course, there are those who listened intently to my "little stories" and encouraged me to write them and share them. That includes the car salesman who, although very young, seemed very interested to hear about how things were when I taught in his hometown years ago! I was just killing time, trying to think of something to talk about. I was so surprised when he actually seemed to enjoy what I was saying, and others came over to listen.

The people on various lists who have shared ideas and offered technical support have been very important in my work during the last year.

I have to say a big thank you to all those who have provided me with material, from family to old friends, and classmates, and people who lived around me. And, to those who have sent me information and pictures, and those who jogged my memory with their own stories.
It may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to create a whole life-and a book or a blog.
Thank you to you all!

I thought that you might like to see where I like to work, these days. I have a corner of a room set up, with a northwest window, and lots of shade from a Crepe Myrtle and a big, old oak tree. Behind my chair, there is a long work table, more book shelves, a tv set, a couple of tables, another writing desk and, oh yes, a small bed! I can just roll out of bed and start to work, or fall into bed when I get tired. Works out very well.
If I have something very large to work on, I can use a wall, or spread out on the kitchen island, which is also a nice place to work, providing someone doesn't want to cook something!
The big plus is that it is all close to water, the bathroom, food and drink!


I hope that you will continue reading and sharing with others. And that, if you haven't already, you will subscribe to my blog to get updates as they are added. Of course, I would like you to let others know about my blog, too, and ask them to subscribe.

Thank you so much for your kind words, your support, your interest, and your purchases over the past year. I look forward to the next year! Hope that you do, too!

**********************

Art Fest- Downtown Bryan-Friday night.

*************************

Texas Scottish Festival

This Weekend

June 6-8

Arlington, Texas

****************************

19th World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday June 21

****************************

My First Clay Head

This is a photo of my first attempt at sculpting a life sized head from clay. I thought it came out very well, and it did win some awards when I showed it.

This was something that I just taught myself to do, and I really did enjoy it. With more study, I learned quite a bit. At the time of my first efforts, I had no access to a kiln, and didn't know such basic things as the fact that the clay needed to be hollow, dried, and fired. Instead, I used aluminum Sculpt Metal on the outside, in several layers, when the clay was thoroughly dry.

That all worked very nicely, until I was moving and the head got dropped down a flight of stairs onto a concrete sidewalk. No more sculpture. At least I had a couple of photos.

Since then, I have created more heads, and it is one of my favorite things to do. Alas, I do not have access to a kiln again, so I guess my sculpting days are ended. I do have several heads that I did, however. Sometimes, it would be nice to get my hands in some clay again. But, I don't think that I have the strength that it requires, now.

One thing that I learned is that working three dimensionally really helps to achieve that illusion when working in two dimensional techniques.

I'm having a bit of a problem again! I was trying to fill up the extra space at the end of this post, that appeared when I scrolled down to see how much space I had left! LOL! I'm still looking at it as if I'm typing on a typewriter. But, no matter how much I backspace, that empty space at the bottom just gets longer and longer, and my paragraphs are spacing too much. As I go back and backspace to pull them closer together, that bottom space gets bigger and my paragraphs space out more. There must be a logical solution to this problem! This has happened before and I finally just gave up and left the big space!

Scroll on down to see the next post about the Texas Scottish Festival! I promise, it's there, although a bit far down the page!

+

&

+

&

Nap Time

Nap Time

8.5" x 11"

pencil

A quiet afternoon, sun shining through the blinds, air conditioner humming as it cools the air. Soft music playing behind the drone of voices from an old movie, turned down low, on the tv set. Cats finding their places on the bed, ready for a nap, and resting up to play all night.

A loose fitting dress that barely touches the body.

No shoes to put added pressure on the feet.

Hair tumbling across a ruffled pillow.

Smooth sheets and a fluffy comforter to support and enfold the body.

No rush to go to school or work, to get a job done.

The eyes close as the head falls forward, then jerks up, only to fall again.

Everything can wait.

Sleep.

An afternoon of sleep.

Naptime.

One aloof cat stays out of reach, but her cold nose touches my feet. She does not like to be held or touched, but she stays close. This is her place at the foot of the bed.

A younger cat is also aloof and a bit wild. He doesn't want to be held or touched. He stays close, but just out of reach. He waits until he thinks I am asleep to curl up behind my knees.

The ruler of the house, insists on sharing my pillow. He likes to be held and loved. His place is at the head of the bed, near my shoulders.

They have their morning naps, their afternoon naps, their evening naps, and start out to sleep at bedtime. But, just wait until the wee morning hours. Then they are wide awake and into everything!

How good it is, to be able to take an afternoon nap! Like the cats, I'll be wide awake to play all night!

My great-grandfather lived to be 94. Part of his daily ritual was to go home from his store to have dinner at noon, followed by a 15 minute nap. He also had a daily walk.

And he ate well. Not diet food, but real food. A dozen eggs for breakfast, with ham, sausage, or bacon, oatmeal, biscuits, jelly, butter, coffee with real cream, the works! And he was a small framed man. Didn't do heavy work like plowing, as people like farmers did. He was a cobbler, then had a grocery store.

The nap sounds like a good idea, but, the trouble with that is that, once I finally get to sleep, I can't wake up so fast. If I wake up after just a short nap, I don't feel rested at all, but, instead, I'm jittery and tired.

I didn't like to take naps as a child, being forced to do it. Again, if I was going to sleep, I had to stay that way for a while. Listening to the hum of a fan, or the drone of airplanes, or going for a ride in a car, was a pretty sure way to get me to sleep.

But, when I could read to my children at nap time, you know who fell asleep first! Me!

Those of you who are out of school now, will probably put sleeping late or taking a nap to catch up on lost sleep, at the top of your list of things to do.

I hope that you get a good nap this weekend!

**

Please sign my Guest Book, if you haven't already.

You can receive updates when I have added to my blog by subscribing. Just add your e-mail address to the box in the sidebar, or click on the link to my group, Art-By-Cecelia

**

Thanks for reading and sharing! I do appreciate your interest, your support, and your comments.

Tuesday-Ironing Day

Tuesday

Ironing Day

8.5"x 11"

pencil

Back in my hometown, when I was growing up, Monday was wash day, all over town. I've written about that and shown a drawing of it, at my house, last week. Today I am showing the next day in the week, after all that washing was done.

Clothes were sprinkled with water, then rolled or folded over, ready to iron (without steam. We did have electric irons, though. Mama had a GE iron.). Things that didn't have to be ironed, like socks and underwear, were folded and put away.

Bertie was there to help Mama, some. Friends came over to play and we had a good time sitting in the pile of clean clothes on the kitchen floor, or crawing through cabinets, playing with the pots and pans, or just hiding. Mama didn't like for us to go in the cabinets, unless she cleared out all the cookware and let us play there. We must have dented a few pans.

I know that Mama was glad when the weather was good and we could play outside. But, sometimes, it was more fun to be in the house, where everyone else happened to be working. The grownups probably spent a lot of time shooing us out of places where we shouldn't be.

In my drawing, I've shown Bertie coming out of the dining room into the kitchen. Mama is at the wooden ironing board, ironing. I've shown three little girls playing in the clean clothes and the cabinets. The smaller one has to be my sister, the one in the cabinets must be my next door neighbor, Edie, and the one in the clothes was going to be me, but I think she looks more like another playmate, Tootsie. My pictures seem to have a life of their own. What I have in my mind is not always what comes out on the paper!

We had wooden cabinets in our small kitchen, with a built in dough board near the door. There were some shelves over the sink where Mama would put a plant, vases, and some souveneirs from trips, or wedding presents. She would put her rings on the bottom right shelf while she worked. The counter had small octagonal tiles in white, with some black trim. A glass bowl of water is shown on the counter. This is what was used to sprinkle the clothes once, then again when ironing if a wrinkle appeared or if the clothes dried before they were ironed. Some people had a sprinkler head that they placed in a Coke bottle. But a handful of water worked just as well. On the right side counter, there is the radio, where Mama would take it to listen to the soap operas after dinner. (That would be lunch, to some people.) Otherwise, the radio was kept on a small table between the living room and the dining room.

On the stove, there is a pot of homemade soup cooking, a coffee pot so Daddy could have a cup of coffee when he came in, and a smaller pan with some starch cooking, ready to use on things like shirts or pinafores. The broom is in the corner by the stove, along with a rack for a cup towel and a hook for a pot holder.

Ma, our part Blue Maltese cat, who had soooo many kittens over the years, is lounging on the linoleum floor. Her latest litter of kittens are in their favorite place, under the stove.

The window in the door is covered with dotted swiss curtains with a patterned trim. Mama was always sewing or making something to improve the house, and painting and wall papering went along with that. I remember the kitchen being yellow, light green, white, but always bright despite having only the door and window, and an overhead light to provide light.

In the space in front of the cat, there was a refrigerator with a cabinet over it. Inside the cabinet, there was the water heater. The door to the living room opened between the refrigerator and the cabinet where the little girl is peeking from.

I always wished for a fireplace, an attic that we could go into like in "Little Women", and a basement. But, our house was more of a two bedroom cottage. When it was first built, and Mama was showing the ladies around while they were there for an afternoon game of canasta, people were just delighted to see the "honeymoon cottage". I remember how impressed they were with the built in dough board. It wasn't long before we were crowded, and more modern homes were being built with so many neat things. And we longed for a bigger, more modern house. But Daddy wasn't about to move from the house that he had built and had paid for.

Today, my washing and ironing was done at the same time. Things are sorted, go in the washer, then the dryer. I hang things up right away, put things that need ironing on the ironing board. Things that are ready to hang are put away, while the ironing is sprinkled with a spray bottle. I kind of dawdle with that ironing as I put the ironing board where I can watch tv. Boy is it hard work, ironing all 4 of those shirts! Not really. It's nothing compared to the big load that my mother and Bertie did when I was young.

We learned to iron as children by doing the flat pieces, beginning with handkerchiefs and pillowcases. Some people liked to dry their handkerchiefs and scarves by flattening them out on the stove. That way, they didn't need much ironing. I still dry my scarves that way. Not on the stove, but on the shower handles. Thank goodness for tissues, so we don't have handkerchiefs to wash and iron like we once used.

As I iron today, I think, first, why didn't we buy wash and wear instead of looking for just 100 percent cotton! And, then, I think that it is nice to be able to iron shirts for someone again, after many years. And it's nice, having the time to do those little things.

And I remember how the clean clothes smelled after being washed outside and dried in the sun, and the smell of food cooking in the kitchen, the sound of the iron sizzling as Mama ironed, the odor of Berties dip of snuff, and the noises of little girls playing in our kitchen on ironing day.

Hope that, if you are ironing today, that it goes smoothly.

Look on the links on my sidebar and enjoy some of those sites. I enjoyed reading about Mary Marshall's participation in an art show over the weekend. And Esther Read had a story published in the "Corpus Christi Caller Times" about her mother. Virginia Vaughan has a lovely painting today of an old well on the farm that she is leaving, and a nice story about that place.

The Art Step in downtown Bryan was quite an event. They have a First Friday event each month there, so, if you missed this one Saturday, you have other chances to go. I sent two paintings to the auction Saturday. One was an acrylic on 16"x 20" canvas of the Art Deco series, "Deco Street", in black, white, and silver. I put it in a dark, plain wood frame and it looked really elegant. The other was of the watercolor farmhouse that I have shown you previously, and I put that in a barnwood frame with a gray mat. That one looks nice too. Goes really well with my stone fireplace! I thought I might have better luck with something smaller, but I guess that either they were not small enough, or the right person didn't see them. I still have them, in case you are interested.

My photos didn't come out very well. I'm not having much luck with the digital camera. There is a lot of yellow or orange on one side of my Deco Street painting from a lamp in the room, I guess. The frame doesn't show at all. In the farm house painting, the colors are distorted, and the whole picture is blurred. But, I'm going to put them on here anyway, so you can see what I sent to the auction.

Come On, Let's Get the Eggs!

Come On, Let's Get The Eggs 11" x 15" watercolor

I've been showing some pencil drawings and thought I would throw in one of my watercolors, just to add a bit of color and interest. This one, too, is from a memory of times past.
We just had our all school reunion for our small school last weekend, and, of course, memories were flowing. It's always so good to get together with the people we grew up with, and spent so much time with in school. Our numbers are dwindling, though, and quite a few people didn't make it this year, due to changed plans, illness, etc.
My good friend, Kathryn was there, though, and we got to spend a little time together.
I did this painting a few years ago, remembering spending time with her when we were growing up. She lived on a farm, while I lived in the small town where we went to school. Wonderful memories of being with her family and our friends out there.
She was out-going, fun, and a bit of a tomboy. I was shy, quiet, dainty, and scared of everything!
I had my daughter drive around while I took photos out of the car, before I did this painting, and tried to sketch or paint with my travel set of watercolors. We made a tour out by my friend's old homeplace, where I took pictures. Later, I did sketches, then several watercolors. The goose in front of a tree was actually in a yard down the road.
I enjoyed painting the barn, and the goose in front of the tree, especially. I also love the effect I get with Cobalt Violet. Now, I feel like I just have to use some Cobalt Violet in my paintings! The most expensive watercolor, as it turned out. I'm not sure that the Cobalt Violet is quite true in color over the computer. I liked the way it worked out, anyway.
This painting shows my memory of my friend's back yard, outside of the fenced area. There was the outhouse, with a path, the chicken yard, a couple of sheds, the barn with the henhouse on one side, where we were going to get the eggs, and a shed and fenced area for her horse on the other side. There was also a tree stump with an axe in it, which I remembered her father using to split firewood, and also to dock the tails of Cocker Spaniel puppies. Her Cocker Spaniel is in the picture, along with a couple of cats, hiding beside some flowers. My friend's father is looking out over the fields, checking the soil to see if it is ready for planting.
My friend is shown by the barn, holding a basket, and urging me to come on and get the eggs with her. I was afraid to go, especially after being warned that there might be a snake in there. They patiently explained that chicken and garter snakes were not like rattlesnakes, and would probably run from me. I never was sure about that, but, eventually, went along with my friend, as I usually did, trying to show that I wasn't such a coward. But I was terrified. And we did bring in some eggs to her mother, eventually.
In this painting, I used Winsor Newton watercolors on 300 pound Arches watercolor paper. I really like using the heavier paper, and the results I get with Winsor Newton watercolors.
I like purples. And color. Can you tell!
Hope you enjoy looking at this painting.