Friday, November 9

14 + 15 0f 100 part II



I am liking it much better now. At this point it is time to just sit and watch it for a while. It will tell me if and when it is done. Because it has gotten colder the paint is drying slowly. The surface is still slick and shinny. The paint stiffens up as the temperature drops, I like the way it feels.

Frankenstein Friday


Thursday, November 8

An inside view...

Yesterday I did paint inventory. Time to buy some new paint.
Here is a view of my pallet table. It has been with me since 1993, the year I moved to NY. The top is from an old dinner table I found on the street in GreenPoint Brooklyn.
I have been painting on boards with un stretched canvas since grad school, 100 years ago. I like the hard surface. I can get ruff and nothing moves.
In this view of the studio we can see all the paintings waiting for good homes. On my visit to NY I spent an entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I saw a cool painted globe in one of the galleries. I primed this globe and plan to paint on it. Thinking of a globel view. Paint the globe.
Here we have the 'fly in the ointment', the remains of garage stuff. The studio is still waiting to be renovated. I have no heat or cooling and no walls apart from the painting wall. I have big plans for the space. It just may take a while to get it all done. THDP is just getting rolling, hopefully when it is done, so to will be this space.

In the Studio






Here is where things were in the studio yesterday. I have been working on 2 at a time, side by side all along. I spend time in the studio every day. Some days I paint but other times I just sit and watch. As I was riveted in front of these two canvases I realized that they were working as one. Last night I painted, pulling the composition together to make a whole image. I will post that tomorrow.
No surprise that after the exciting week of birding a bird showed up in this one.

Thursday is Kick Ass Chick Day

Kate or as I like to call it: The Mona Lisa of Williamsburg was the 2nd Kick Ass Chick painting in the series.

Wednesday, November 7

up date...




He is still out there, he has moved to a spot right next to the feeders and birdbath. He has been out there for about an hour. The other birds are hiding. His hunting method seems to be hiding in plane sight then wait.

Circus cyaneus

That is a Northern Harrier sometimes called a Marsh Hawk. He is out in the yard, as I write. When I get a better lens for my camera I can get a better photo. He has been coming to the yard a few times each day to hunt for small birds. He is a big guy! When Frankenstein was younger and smaller I feared he would get swooped up. The funny thing is his call-voice is girly! Like Mike Tyson's.

Wonder Woman Wednesday

..or should I say, Super Wonder Woman Wednesday. Dream: On Time was painted in 2004.

13 0f 100

Thirteen was the first painting I did after my recent visit to NY. Recharged, ready to kick ass!

Tuesday, November 6

The Bad Bird feeder

When we bought this house we inherited 9 bird feeders and 4 birdbaths. I love birding. The yard is always full of various birds, squirrels and chipmunks. On this particular morning as Frankenstein and I were doing our daily tour of the yard I noticed, sticking out of this feeder opening, a lump of feathers.
To my horror a Tufted Titmouse, (Baeolophus bicolor), was stuck. His little head was inside the hole and his wings were jammed under the plastic bar that circles the feeder. I carefully removed the feeder from it's hanger and placed it on the near by table. The trick was getting him free without damaging its delicate body. One wing at a time, one feather at a time I freed his wings. The poor guy was so scared he just sat there, his head still inside the feeder. I was holding my breath, heart pounding as his fluttered. At last he popped out. His silvery face and black eye, freed! We made eye contact then he flew away!
If you are thinking of birding or currently are, please take into consideration this cautionary tale. If a feeder has a squirrel proof cage around it or other cage like parts, a bird can get wedge into it. Keep it simple and safe. Happy birding.

12 of 100

I hit my stride with 12! This one breaths. The paint flows. It feels more alive to me. There is hope! I didn't get in the way, it just came out. I like 12.

Monday, November 5

What is that in the backyard?







It's green! Here in Richmond we are still under drought conditions, the river is down 3'. But the rain we did get last week has had an effect.

11 of 100


A man for Monday


Bill was painted in 2000. It is one of the early NY portraits. I was thinking of Alice Neel's portrait of Andy Warhol. Mostly because I wanted him to make his hair white like Warhol's, instead of the salt and pepper shade it was at the time. I painted it as I thought it should be. Alice Neel is one of my greatest heroes, she has been a great inspiration on my work and life as an artist.