Art for the sake of creating
Jo Castillo and I painted together at McKinney Roughs near Bastrop on Monday. We both forgot to take pictures of our paintings in progress, so I am posting mine here and linking to Jo’s post.
We had a lot of fun and I got quite a sunburn. If we feel like hiking next time, we will probably see even better places to paint. But some days it seems like I “have it” and some days I don’t… not so much this day.
3/30/08 - Nice little town. Rain. Diana’s new rule: no towns under 80,000 population. We agree.
Jo and I had a great time today - the weather was beautiful, opened all the windows in the studio, there was no pressure, just good Starbucks coffee - we painted some geraniums I bought this morning, and gabbed and listened to music. A fine day.
I never really noticed this small tree in my front yard over the last almost four years, but while waiting for some company the other day, I noticed what beautiful lines it has.
These are the result of an exercise I did several years ago when we lived in North Carolina. I drew this in regular No. 2 pencil first, then used a light table to transfer to different surfaces. The one I liked the least was the watercolor, but it was the one that sold.
Colored Pencil Watercolor Pastel
I didn’t feel great yesterday, so I sat in my comfy chair and did this - just a fun exercise with no point to it…
Here are some photos of my show at Kerbey Lane. My friend Diana told me about this venue and it is a great place to show artwork. Nice managers, and open 24 hours a day. So that makes for a long (Feb. 1 - 29th) show! I have 24 original paintings / drawings, 1 print and 6 photos (4 by Larry and 2 by me). And 18 small (2.5″ x 3″) Texas wildflowers pastels.
A pencil sketch of a photo I took on Tuesday, Jan. 29, while riding with my friend Mary on the way home from seeing the Riverbend Gallery in Marble Falls.
I love to think about the birds gathering before sunset: in large groups and small; on rooftops, tree branches, lamp posts, telephone lines… changes in position, switching from one group to another, mass fly-aways and returns, sometimes a lone bird all on his own, an outcast. Is it all simply gossip?
As they say in “The Music Man” - ‘pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little, cheep, cheep, cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more…’ what a clever little song.
Finished today and framed with a medium blue mat and dark wood frame. Pastel was started in early November in the hill country near Johnson City.
Art is what you look for - often unconsciously - and want it to be: uplifting, calming, challenging, energizing or humorous... your needs and appreciation are as unique and individual as the art you choose. Don't let anyone else define art - find what strikes the chord within you.
