Jo Castillo Art Blog

Intermittent Postings

2008-07-06T23:21:00.002-05:00

We made it to Albuquerque. There are some personal things going on here and posting will be intermittent for a week or so. I will post whenever I get a chance.

In the meantime go look at the fireworks photos on Joanna's page and check out some of the artists that blog on my sidebar. See you soon!

Road Sketch and Photos

2008-07-05T22:47:00.003-05:00

I took this photo the other day when we went to Austin. All the dark cars had the most beautiful reflections. Hmmm.

We took off today and even on time according to Gene's schedule. We towed the pickup again this year so we don't travel very fast. We made it to Clovis, New Mexico, about 500 miles down the road. Tomorrow we go to Albuquerque. Gasoline was anywhere from $3.89 a gallon to $4.13 a gallon, higher in the little towns generally. We paid under $4.00 each time today. I'm pretty sure it will be higher in New Mexico and especially in the small towns.

This barn was somewhere near Brownwood, still in the hill country. So pretty and much greener than at home.

We came through Lubbock, or actually around Lubbock. Home of Buddy Holly. It has grown so much. You see that I remembered the camera and took this shot of the sign for Shallowater just outside Lubbock. I don't know if you can see that it says, "Shallowater Where Pride Runs Deep".

I sketched a little pretty close to Sweetwater. There were many, many mesquite trees. I sketched in the book Regina gave me with a Pilot Pen.

These wind chargers were in the same area. I'm pretty sure we see some of the same ones on the distant mesas from the other side when we go through San Angelo and Big Spring. There are thousands of these huge wind turbines.

We didn't come that way today as there is no room in the inns because of a gasoline refinery fire some time back near Big Spring. The hotels are full of workers and will be for a couple of years. The rooms are more expensive as well. We could have gone through Roswell anyway, but they are having a big get together there for the UFO and alien watchers. Ha.

We hadn't been this way for a couple of years so it was different scenery. We come through Muleshoe, Texas, that is a fascinating town. Also, close to Littlefield, the home of Waylon Jennings.

Happy Birthday Joanna and Happy Fourth of July to the rest!

2008-07-04T10:00:00.006-05:00

Happy Birthday Joanna!

Joanna, a little over a year old.

Happy Birthday to our nephews, Jerry Rawdon and Cody Castillo as well.

We talked to Joanna to say Happy Birthday a short time ago and I realized I hadn't put up a post for her birthday. It is such a special day for us as Joanna is the first born. She will be out later to have a little more celebration and help us get ready for our trip. We had her big party last Saturday as Larry couldn't be here today.

Joanna is our right hand when we are away from home. She has taken care of our house since 1989 when we went to Bolivia the last time. She went through a lot with the homeowners association where we lived in Austin. She is a caregiver and takes care of all us old folks! We love her and hope she has a super day!

Happy Fourth of July!

Hope all of you have a great day and remember how wonderful our country is and thank all the troops, policemen, firemen and others who put their lives on the line for all of us every day so we can let freedom ring.

Jennie loves to come to Bastrop for the fireworks. They have them here either before or after the fourth so that the Austin Symphonic Band can come play. This year it is on the fifth and we will be gone. So here are a few memories for Jennie. Joanna is posting some photos, too, check them out.

Help with Acrylic Painting

2008-07-01T18:22:00.003-05:00

Regular readers will know that I struggle with acrylics at times, although I have had better results lately.

I receive the newsletter from CreativeSpotlite.com and they have a new article by Lesly Finn. It is very informative and has some good tips and a demo about using acrylics. Lesly is the artist that started the ArtBlogs4U which is a great resource to find artists that blog on a regular basis. Maybe I will get to New Zealand someday to get to know Lesly in real life.

Got those paintings all together... Update on the Tree

2008-07-01T11:15:00.006-05:00

Finally, I have the twelve new paintings for my show all together on the preview show page for Peppers Gallery. Gene framed the last of them last Friday or so.

You can go see the preview of each larger image here. They look pretty cool all framed up. I will post a photo when we get them hung.

I was updating the web page and kept counting only eleven. I realized then that, Family Tree, was still sitting on my easel! Gene will frame that this afternoon or tomorrow. Whew. It is always more work than it seems. Now that I was posting, I realize there are thirteen paintings. Maybe that is the problem ... thirteen! I hadn't put "Malpais and Cacti" on my page. Arghhhh. The above photo will change on the page.

I still have to make the info/price cards and update my brochure. I plan a newsletter as well. I did already mail invitations to the local folks. If any of you are in New Mexico during my show or this summer, let me know!

You may remember that I was updating "The Tree" I finished it and it will be in the show, newly named, "Family Tree". I really like the new version. That tree was soooo large and interesting, that I just couldn't give up on it. The shadows on the family are stronger than show in this photo. It was difficult adjusting the saturation. It all looks better in real life. We will see how it does with non reflective glass against it after the framing. I used that glass on "Regina's Geraniums" and "Malpais and Cacti" as well. It seems to dull them a slight bit, but much less reflection. Glass is a problem with pastels. I have museum glass on the "Tiendita de Chile" and it is better, but that piece of glass was $50, 16 x 20. We shall see what people think of the differences.

Family Tree
Pastel on Pastelbord, 18 x 24 inches

I hope I do better this year. Two years ago I made a list and as I went down the list I was putting the small items in a briefcase. I did not put "briefcase" on the loading list for the cars and we left it behind! I had to reprint all my cards, brochures, door prize tickets, etc. Luckily Mom Frances had a printer and a Mac so I was able to use my designs without remaking those. Ah well, it is always something. If you know us, you know we always have an adventure when we do anything!

Jo's Show in Magdalena News

2008-06-30T09:42:00.004-05:00

We are packing and trying to get ready to leave for New Mexico. It is difficult to get ready but fun to go away for several months. Of course I keep up with my art and blog so you won't have many interruptions.

Hometown Sunset
Acrylic, 11 x 14 inches
will be at Peppers Art Gallery, Magdalena, New Mexico

This is the snippet from my web page:

The Old Timers Festival is the setting for Jo's fifth annual artist reception at Peppers Art Gallery, 100 E 1st., Magdalena, New Mexico, 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m., Saturday, July 12, 2007. Wine and cheese will be served. This is a great chance to meet Jo and see her new pastel and acrylic paintings.

An annual event for over 30 years, Magdalena is a busy village on this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There is a rodeo for children, another for old cowboys 50 years and older, street dance, theater, arts and crafts, barbeque, pancake breakfast, New Mexican food, Navajo fry bread, parade and much more.I

In addition to Jo's reception, she will be painting and demonstrating in pastels on Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Stop by and meet Jo and visit with Markie, Wendy (Peppers owners) and the other artists in the huge yard at Peppers. Events at Peppers are free.

You can read more about the show on "Steppin' Out New Mexico" in their article. It is also in the printed issue for June and July. You can download the complete issue if you want to know what is going on in New Mexico art wise, just go to the main page here and click on the main cover image and you will come to a page where you can download this issue and previous issues. "Steppin' Out" is a great resource for art and an opportunity to show your work, have a blog and much more. New Mexico artists take note! The folks there are super with help and give more than required. The site is a little complicated, but stock full of information and pleasure.

Wildlife painting, watercolor, realism .. wow

2008-06-30T09:27:00.002-05:00

I was checking on Google Image search for some of my paintings and put in "cactus painting". One of mine came up but another cactus pear caught my eye and I went to Rebecca Latham's blog. I scrolled down and saw photos of a powwow and then a wolf, so continued to scroll. Wait a minute ... the wolf is a watercolor painting, not a photo. Wow! Rebecca notes that the detail doesn't really show up in her photo of the painting. Amazing.

If you like wildlife paintings and realism, you don't want to miss this artist.

Now I have to get back to work to get ready for the show in Magdalena:

The Old Timers Festival is the setting for Jo's fifth annual artist reception at Peppers Art Gallery, 100 E 1st., Magdalena, New Mexico, 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m., Saturday, July 12, 2007. Wine and cheese will be served. This is a great chance to meet Jo and see her new pastel and acrylic paintings.

Sketches from the trip. Texas Exes visit.

2008-06-29T10:39:00.008-05:00

If you recall, I forgot my camera on our trip to Michigan and Kentucky. No camera means some sketching, right? I will post a couple of the ones I like best. Most were doodles in the airplane and waiting in the airport. Christy (my favorite granddaughter) and I painted in Bardstown, but I don't have a photo. (Maybe David can provide us with one? At least of the paintings.)

Out the window at O'Hare.

Christy's "Bob", her skeleton she uses for anatomy classes.

On Wednesday, when we returned, I went to the University of Texas Alumni College Days as a guest of a friend. We had a great time and attended some very interesting lectures. A couple of sketches from there.

The presidential comments do not reflect on who might win, but rather the problems facing each candidate if he wins. My notes look like the speaker picked a winner. I sketched on my note pad and then got out my sketchbook for the last session.

Another speaker and the audience. You can see they were serious talks!

The best part of the day was at the end. We were taken on a tour of the new facilities at Disch-Falk Field, my favorite ball-park as you know. We were wined, dined and taken on a tour.

This is the box just above our seats. They are for 16 people. It would be a little cramped, but warm in the cold weather and cool in the hot. :) If we could come up with 14 friends and $2000 each, we could rent one for a season. They have a group tail gate room/suite at the end . Very nice and comfy for a group. There are a couple of tables in the hallway and the light sconces are long horn cattle horns. All very Texas of course. Very nice bathrooms and accommodations.

A view of the bullpen. I like the cut out batter.

The view from inside the home team dugout!
A small part of the new training room.

The facilities are soooo nice. The players will be spoiled and will have a hard time adapting to the facilities of minor leagues and some major league teams. :) They have big screen TV, individual work/locker areas for homework, etc. Dining room for meals before games. The training area has everything, hot tub, massages, medical, etc. Just super.

Happy Belated Anniversary Blog! Better PaintingPhoto.

2008-06-26T11:44:00.006-05:00

I was just reading Jeanne Grant's Anniversary Post and realized my blog is two years old as well! Mine is a few days older than Jeanne's. :) June 15, 2006, was the day and I had posted 609 posts on June 15, 2008. Pretty amazing as I had only managed ever to get about 20 entries in any diary or journal I had ever started. I suppose it is the connection with people that keeps me interested. I love hearing from friends and new internet browsing acquaintances. We live in such a small world now that we have so many wonderful communication devices.

Image that I took and posted.

Image that Joanna took for me.

Hometown Sunset, Acrylic 9 x 12 inches
For Show in New Mexico

Again you see why I ask Joanna to take the photos of my paintings. There is an amazing difference even when I fiddle with them in my old Adobe PhotoDeluxe. Thank you Joanna. You should slip over to Joanna's Photobox blog and check out the Periwinkle Blue.

Baseball and Golf

2008-06-23T10:00:00.004-05:00

I haven't forgotton about baseball and golf. We haven't actually been golfing since we flew up here. We have been able to see a few of the College World Series baseball games and have enjoyed them. It is great that Fresno State made it to the finals. The three game play off starts tonight and features Georgia as the other team. It will be the Bulldogs against the Bulldogs. We were sad that the Longhorns or any Big 12 team did not make it, but it is still great to see the young guys do so well.

It is very sad that Tiger Woods will be out for the rest of the season. I hope he recovers completely so we can continue watching the greatest golfer ever. One of the announcers on the golf channel noted that without Tiger playing in the 8 tournaments he had scheduled, there would be about $20,000,000 up for grabs by the other players. I hope that next year Tiger will be the Player of the Year, the Comeback Player of the Year and the winner of the Fed-Ex Cup and the Grand Slam. Who knows? We will certainly miss Tiger and that makes the weekend golf just a little boring. I sure won't be going out of my way to watch. Sigh......

Painting with Sue

2008-06-23T09:35:00.004-05:00

We had a great visit with Sue in Michigan. We had time to take in a painting class at the Flint Institute of Arts. We did have a great time and I enjoyed meeting Hazel Frost, the instructor, and the other students. Thanks to Hazel for allowing me to sit in. They were working on color via color charts so I painted from a magazine photo that Sue had. I am sorry I don't know who to give credit to. I painted it just for fun and to gain a little knowledge. It was a beautiful photo and had good perspective and composition.

Practice painting with Sue
Acrylics (?) on canvas, 9 x 12 inches

I cropped the painting and that moved the fence into the center, etc., which didn't quite work as a great new composition. It still looks OK considering. And what else was I considering? We went to one of the main craft stores to get some brush cleaner and we found a rack of "Painting for Dummies" for $5 a kit. That seemed fun, put a little kit in your purse or art bag and go. I picked the "Acrylics for Dummies" so I could paint and it would dry. The kit included a set of six tiny bottles of paint, two tiny brushes, 3 cardboard surfaces, 5 x 7 inches, and instruction for one floral painting. Not too bad, huh?

The paints, however, were very watery. The coverage was not great and at the end of the three hour class, it was a little sticky. Now, three days later, it finally feels pretty dry. :) You can still see the canvas in places. Great for learning and having interchange with other artists. That is always good to get the creative juices flowing. Thank you Sue!

Road Sketches

2008-06-23T09:19:00.005-05:00

I forgot my camera on this trip as you all know. I did sketch a few things in the airport and car. Those have to be quick and much memory as the people walk away or you are going sixty mph down the highway. Take them for what they are. It is sort of fun to see what is along the road. The farm country in Indiana is so beautiful. We did not see any flood water out over the land, but every river we crossed was full to the brim. These were on Interstate 65 and 69 over a couple of days, between Louisville, Kentucky, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and Flint, Michigan.

It was great fun to see our friends and talk over old times. What could be better?

I finally had a little time at David's home to get some snapshots and post this. We are having a great time with David and family. Cole and Christy are our favorite grandson and granddaughter, you know!

Baby its cold outside....h

2008-06-19T08:24:00.004-05:00

I am not complaining about the cold, but ..... We are on the road again. We arrived in Mt. Morris, Michigan, near Flint yesterday. We stepped out of our rental about lunch time here and whoa ... about 65 degrees. We had to go to Wal-Mart and get me a long sleeved shirt. I intended to bring a windbreaker, but you know me! This morning it is about 50 degrees. Remember that we were at about 102 degrees the day before. Big change.

It is beautiful here. Green and flowers everywhere. I need to go to Wal-Mart again and get me a throw away camera asI also forgot my camera. That is so hard to believe, right? I changed my carry on and guess I left it in the other bag. So sad ... sigh.

To make up for leaving the camera behind here is a photo of the Kel Haven Trail where Gene rode is bicycle last year. (Well, uploading failed ... it appears the wireless here at the hotel is too slow to upload the photo before the connection times out. Argh.... Maybe it will upload later.)

Photos added, 6/21/08 Amazing. Bike trail in Michigan

We flew this time, so no biking or golfing. We have plenty to do. I am going with Sue to her oil painting class tonight. I haven't painted with oils in a year or so, this may be an adventure.

Off to enjoy the nice cool day.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T03:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Father's Day to Gene! Also to David, our son, he is a father, too. And... other fathers out there as well.

I wrote about my father last year and the day after golfing with Larry. Gene will be cooking brisket today and Joanna, Jennie and Larry will be here for celebrating the day with Gene. David will be cooking at his home in Kentucky and will call, I am sure.

Gene loves to read and this would be his perfect day. This photo was taken in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, a few years ago. We were waiting to hear Angus Finnan play and sing his folk music.

This was on the same trip. Gene working on his journal and having a little wine on the ferry from Digby, NS, to St. Johns, NB.

Gene on his bicycle in British Columbia.

Gene getting ready to ride his bicycle in New Mexico.

Gene and David, they do look alike!

P.S. Check out our grand-dogs on Joanna's post for today on her Photobox.

Figure Painting and Sculpture Classes

2008-06-14T09:15:00.003-05:00

Some of you have read about my friend, Kelly Borsheim, here on my blog and hers. She is an amazing person, traveling and living in Italy at the moment, improving her art and learning. She will be back home in Cedar Creek, Texas, and teaching this summer at her studio and in Austin, Texas.

Stargazer, Kelly Borsheim
Colorado Yule Marble
copyright Kelly Borsheim

If you have an inkling to try sculpture or take your art to a higher level check out Kelly's classes. They are in late July and early August.

Hunting .. tape dispenser, Pastel painting change

2008-06-12T18:34:00.007-05:00

Scavenger Hunt 88 is rolling right along. I'm slow starting. You can see the dates on my sketches, so a couple of days work.

My number 1 is tape dispenser. 10 minutes, Micron 005 in my NY sketchbook. You have heard about that before, but new readers can check it out here. No tape in this dispenser, I haven't found any here in Bastrop. I can probably order some.

Number 2, scissors. My kitchen scissors with black handles. Number 4, beauty product. Some old fashioned lipstick. New ones are skinny and long in two containers ... one for color and one with moisture. I came back to use this space on the page after I did number 3. These took 15 and 10 minutes.

Number 3, bookend (numbered wrong) where was my mind? On TV probably. About 10 minutes. These bookends were a gift from Gene's sister. They have sand paintings on them.

Number 5, bag of popcorn. 10 minutes.

The Tree
18 x 24 inches, Pastel on Pastelbord.

I will also mention that I have been reworking this painting. I'm going back to my original idea on "The Tree". We shall see what you think. It should be done tomorrow. I have never been happy with changing the background, the tree is not in Taos. I also put the mom and boys back in. Nothing like changing your mind.

Scavenger Hunting Switch

2008-06-10T14:38:00.003-05:00

Interesting word, switch. Did you think I was giving up on the Hunts?

For Hunt 89 which ends today I sketched #4, switch. Micron 005, about 12 minutes. Gene liked the item, too, so he went hunting and found this switch in his workshop. At least it is different. It is a little more square than oblong, but other than that, not bad, eh?

If you are tired of coming up with ideas for sketching, check out the Scavenger Hunts on wetcanvas.com. Every 9 days there are 26 new items to sketch from life. Different artists make the lists so there is always something new and challenging. You can be involved as much as you like in the threads. You don't have to post or do any certain number, just sketch. But if you want a little feedback and camaraderie, come on down!

Jo's Mosaic Meme

2008-06-09T23:44:00.003-05:00

I saw Leslie's mosaic meme and had to try one.

Here is what to do if you would like to create your own mosaic:
• Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
• Using only the first page, pick an image.
• Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. (I made my own, easier for me!)

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Leslie put her answers. I put mine in order, let's see if you think my photos answer the questions. For number 10 there was no photo of Gene on flickr. :(

Let me know if you do one.

Colored Pencil - San Miguel

2008-06-09T16:16:00.004-05:00

I finished the colored pencil painting/drawing. I did it on green pastelbord and it seems a tad dark, only in comparison to what I had in my mind. Maybe white would work better for this type landscape. It took about twice as long to do as a pastel painting and I put in quite a bit of detail. I don't know if detail is good or bad. This is the Catholic church in Socorro, New Mexico, near our hometown. It is very old, 1598, and so interesting. The walls are five feet thick. You can read the history on this website.

San Miguel
8 x 10 inches, Colored Pencil on Pastelbord
Finished with Fixativ Lascaux to be framed without glass.

I did not get the work in progress (WIP) posted. Too much going on yesterday. We have had a few weeks of spending. I guess our stimulus check was meant to be spent, plus much, much more.

First the faucet in the kitchen had to be replaced. Then the compressor on the air conditioner went out. (Ouch!) Last week the garbage disposer had to be replaced and Saturday we went shopping for a new refrigerator. Our ice cream was soft!! Yesterday, Joanna and Larry came out and they helped Gene take out the old fridge. Down a narrow hall and out the front down a flight of stairs. We keep soooo much stuff in the hall. A hall tree, trunk, bookshelf with tons of knick-knacks on that and paintings, photographs, and clocks on the wall. That all had to be moved. Gene did most of that.

At any rate, in between we had to eat and watch the Super Regional baseball games and golf. I made homemade flour tortillas, beans, New Mexico red chile, enchilada casserole and rice with meat. Favorites of the kiddos. Ah, we were also baby sitting the grand-dogs. Jennie was away and came back last night and spent the night here before going home.

The new refrigerator was delivered this afternoon, so we are slowly getting the house back together. The men that delivered the fridge were sure they couldn't get it up the stairs, but tried and succeeded. Yippee! We will now have firm ice cream and ice cubes. This last refrigerator did not have an ice maker, the first time since before ice makers. :) We have made cubes in ice trays for about five years. Back to being lazy! The kitchen looks different, too. The old fridge was black and had panels on the front to match the cabinets. This is a regular white one so it is brighter in the corner now!

Cosmos in Colored Pencil

2008-06-07T15:34:00.003-05:00

Colored pencil, to persist or not?

Colored pencil pieces move along very slow in normal use. The artist needs to layer and layer with a light touch to begin. On paper the artist can mark the paper by pressing too hard and leave an indentation. For some artists this layering is attune to coloring and is very relaxing and soothing. Colored pencil can be erased but the paper is easily damaged. Colored pencil artists get fine detail and beautiful colors. Colored pencil paintings/drawings are usually matted and framed under glass.

You can determine from this that I have not been eager to do colored pencil. Leslie and Regina both do beautiful work with the pencils and have encouraged me to try. I have not been pleased with my attempts at colored pencil. It may be that I never had good paper or pencils. For me it is labor intensive. With a pastel stick or brush in oils or acrylics I can put down a line and there it is. You can leave it except to blend or add a different color. I am not a patient person. :)

I keep thinking it would be great medium for traveling and I usually have a fistful of pencils with me. I have been reading Nicole Caulfied's blog. She uses Pastelbord for her surface and then sprays/varnishes her work so that it doesn't have to be framed under glass. What a great idea! It is faster to cover the surface as well and you can add highlights easily. Maggie Stiefvater also uses a similar technique in painting.

Mom's Cosmos
Colored Pencil, 5 x 7 inches, Pastelbord

I did these cosmos from a photo taken a few years ago at Gene's mom's house. I have always liked Cosmos and have tried painting them, but they always look heavy. I find it interesting that they have different numbers of petals on different flowers. I could never tell, maybe they are supposed to have eight and some have fallen off. At any rate, I like to watch them in the breeze.

I liked the speed of doing this piece, it only took me a couple of hours to complete. It can be spray varnished and framed with no glass. I am ready to try a landscape, now. What do you think about it?? Yes or no??

Barbara's Birthday

2008-06-06T08:43:00.006-05:00

It is a special day today. My sister, Barbara, has a birthday. Happy Birthday!

She was my designated guardian most of the time as our Mom worked out of the house. Barbara is seven years older. She had the task of braiding my hair, getting me to eat breakfast and do my chores. The three things I really didn't like! I'm sure there were more. We shared a room .. she is neat, I am messy. She had to take me with her when she went to movies, etc. There was always some fussing going on.

In our "older" life we have grown closer. We have not lived very near so in these recent times we haven't been together much. She is a great sister. She and Paul, her husband that recently died, raised three children. They were married 50+ years. Barbara was a school teacher, Home Economics. She is very busy working with the Catholic church in her hometown in New Mexico and also with the adult education program for New Mexico State University there.

I wish her the best and wish I could be there to rub it in about how OLD she is. :)

This photo is on Easter Sunday in Magdalena some years ago. You can check last year's post here and see another old photo.

A little publicity in New Mexico

2008-06-05T21:38:00.006-05:00

I bought an ad in the Steppin' Out New Mexico for my show in my hometown of Magdalena, New Mexico. Steppin' Out also published my news release. Fun to have an article and show in my home town. You can see the article here and download a PDF issue of the publication here. In addition, I have an on-line gallery there. This is a wonderful art link for New Mexico. The publication is printed every two months and put in welcome centers and art galleries, hotels, etc., around the state of New Mexico. If you are traveling there, be sure and check it out. That way, you won't miss anything!

Desert Cactuses
Acrylic 16 x 20
This painting will be in the show in Magdalena.

A little more hunting...

2008-06-05T20:31:00.004-05:00

Last night I sketched a little for Scavenger Hunt 89 on wetcanvas.com. Did you notice I didn't post any for Hunt 88? Well, this is it. It was numbered incorrectly.

Number 1, corkscrew. I found this electric one of Gene's. One of his gadgets that he loves. About 18 minutes in my regular sketchbook (almost finished, by the way) with a Micron 005 pen.

Number 2, communication device. An intercom that still works. 10 minutes. Number 3, pail. 10 minutes. This is a red, white and blue one that Jennie gave me. It usually has a plat sitting in it, but I have managed to kill all the plants here. Even though they are on the same page, the pail is about 12 inches tall and the intercom is 5 inches square. Separate sketches.....

Susan's Painting Dream and some about mine...

2008-06-04T11:37:00.005-05:00

You will find a wonderful article on Susan Carlin's blog today. She is doing so well in her new studio/gallery and that is so great. Susan always inspires me. I also want to thank her for making me take stock again of what I want and get out of painting and my art. I tend to do what she talks about and focus on what others are accomplishing instead of my dreams.

Some time ago we were talking and I told her I envied her. Envy is not exactly the right word. I just would love to be in that spot with a gallery and studio, who wouldn't? But that is not my dream at the moment and here is why:

We are retired, and I would not want to be tied to a gallery/studio with regular hours. That is a full time job!
I love painting, sketching and making art, but I also love family, traveling, golf, baseball, etc.
In this moment in time, I am very happy with our life .. just as it is.

So, my dream at the moment is to be able to paint when I want to, and do the other things we enjoy. We are able to travel and spend time in New Mexico and other places. We won't be able to do that in the future .. age will get to us, you know.

I will leave the gallery/studio dream with Susan and wish her the best. I, too, am living my dream. I hope you are all doing the same.

We golfed some this morning and now I'm off to paint.........

James Gurney Fans

2008-06-03T21:49:00.003-05:00

I received this e-mail and thought that Leslie and some other James Gurney fans might be interested:

Hey Jo,

I remember seeing a post you wrote not too long ago linking to James Gurney's blog. I actually got a chance to interview Gurney at length about a unique form of art he's been working on lately. The article I wrote about him is published over here.

Anyway, I thought this was something you and your readers might find interesting.

Take care,
Simon

This looks like an interesting and varied blog. I will watch Simon for a while. :)