Remind me that I Have The Power

I Have the Power!

I made homemade biscuits last night to go with a fresh kale and bean soup. Good way to ring in the Fall weather. Just a tad cooler here and the poplars are juuuust beginning to turn that beautiful golden yellow. I took this picture from my backporch in mid November last year. It won't be long.


I'm licking honey from my chin as I type. Finishing off the next to the last biscuit. Hey, I can multitask with the best of them!
Multitasking with a husband who is suddenly, after a lifetime, always home, is another thing. YES, LET THE WHINING BEGIN! AGAIN!
You should know by now, this is how I problem solve. Whine....process....regroup....start NEW!
I LOVE this man I call JOe. But as another fellow artist once told me of her experience trying to create with a husband in the house...."the air just feels different. He doesn't even have to be in the same room."
I'm gettin' there! It gets easier and better everyday. Susan is right. It takes time. And I've got time.

Other News: "Art After Dark" was great fun. Here I am waiting to be fed. The City of Locust Grove provided wine and shopkeepers provided the goodies.

Great turn out!
Especially nice to get person to person feedback and see what people gravitated to.

People love the Big Biddies and this makes me happy.

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Tomorrow I'm off to St. Marys. Fall gardening and housework, but I'll be taking the paints and brushes. I have a few orders to fill and a few new ideas to try. I'm looking forward to it.

I've got to go get that last biscuit before Joe does. I'll catch up with you soon. Some fresh apple cider would be good with that biscuit. Good Grief! My body must be preparing for hibernation.
I'm hungry.
Love and all good things,
Ronnie
aka Joe's stove operator

Summer aka BLOG KILLER!

My new favorite t-shirt
"I live in my own world, but it's OK... they like me here."

Hey Lovely Bloggers!
It has been 42 days since my last blog post! This was certainly not intentional, but Summer grabbed me with the tenacity of a gator on a terrier!
A quick refresher: Joe has retired. Life as I have known it for decades is gone, vanished, kaput.
We have no trouble filling up our days, but now, every day seems like a weekend. If asked what day it is, Joe and I both glaze over... "Saturday?"
It has been fun, but I have sorely missed my art. There have been so many moments when I have been stopped in my tracks by pure inspiration, images conjured that I KNEW were destined for solid form. Dozens of ideas have simply floated away... stolen away by a cluttered mind and too much activity.
Where do lost ideas go!? I don't know, but I'm on a mission to find them!
I keep telling myself, "You need to create a notebook necklace". When inspiration hits, paper and pencil are RIGHT THERE! Scribble it down quick. Grab it while ya got it.
Today, I find myself blissfully alone. WEEEEEEEEEEE! As I type, Joe is headed for a race in Virginia (VIR for you race fans). I begged off with a kiss and a wave-goodbye from the driveway.

Here's Joe, happy as a clam, in the pits with APR Motorsports

Wasting no time, I headed off to the nearby village of Locust Grove to meet with Brenda, the owner of Old South Ceramics. She will host me as "her artist" at a local art event called "Art After Dark". I have until Oct 9th to get it together, interrupted only by jury duty on the 5th. Wish me luck that it's not a long drawn out horrible trial. I just don't have time for justice these days!

Locust Grove, Georgia
site of Art After Dark, October 10th

It's good to be back. I'll be posting pictures of two more Hawaiian artists I met during our August trip and of course all the goings on around here! See you then.
Is there a chill in the air? Are the leaves beginning to fall where you live?
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

There's Art in Them There Islands!

Huge painting by Brigitte D'Anniabale, Kaua'i artist
That's a piece of copper across the top!


We are home! It was a great trip and I took lots of pictures. Hawaii is as beautiful as I remember, IF YOU KNOW WHERE to GO!
H-I and H-2 (Hawaii's interstate highways??!!HA!) are NOT the place to go.
It wasn't in 1993 and it certainly isn't now. So, we hit our old haunts and tried our best to stay off the very busy Oahu highways.

This post is about Hawaiian art!
After all, this is an ART BLOG. ; )
If you want to see our other pics (Joe in the old C-130 he once flew and pictures of Waikiki beach surfers and the site of our house that is now washed into the sea) go to my Facebook page (over there in the right column) and peruse the "Return to Hawaii" photo album.

Now, on to the art!
I fell in love with Hawaii artist Brigitte D'Anniabale.
Find her here at http://abc.eznettools.net/taboragallery/Brigitte.html
Here's another example of her work...
One dimension just doesn't do her work justice. She nails and glues stuff all over!


I found Brigitte's art one cool evening while walking with JOe, doing a little window shopping in Honolulu. I spotted this huge painting in a gallery window!


I was smitten!
Joe knew it was all over once I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
From the first gallery, I found my way to two more galleries in Waikiki (I was kind enough to leave Joe snorkeling during these expeditions) where Brigitte has work displayed.
Brigette works with salvaged architectural pieces from old sugar plantation buildings...tin, copper, vintage moldings, fabric, pieces of wood with chipping paint. It gives her work texture and depth, but also a REAL tactile bit of Hawaiian history.
I was so sad to see SUGAR disappearing in Hawaii. In the 90's, we lived a few miles from vast sugar cane fields and the sugar mill in old Waipahu. Not there now. But that's another story.

Next post! Two more Hawaii artists!
See you then,
Ronnie (who is very glad to be home in her nest again.)

*And a little plug for a friend...For a really good time visit PJ at PJHornberger.com

No ka oi

Happy Monday!
Another painting complete. I'm really pleased with this one. JUST BEE. It's in my Etsy shop . But I'll be away for a weeks vacation. Back on August 12th.
In other news, My Swamp Hibiscus are blooming! These flowers are the size of salad plates!
They remind me of a place I lived a long time ago, where it never snowed, always summer...
Tuesday, Joe and I are taking a trip. We'll be up at the crack of dawn.
We're leaving the grass,
the weeds,
and the pile of mulch,
and all those blank canvases at home.
This trip was quite unexpected, but something we've wanted to do for years.
When half price airfare popped up, it became a NO BRAINER! We are packed and ready to go!
Where?


In the early nineties we were stationed in Barbers Point, Hawaii. We're going back tomorrow.
I guess we'll see how things have changed in 16 years. We lived in a Navy neighborhood on the beach, at the entrance to Pearl Harbor. We sat in our backyard and watched as the navy ships and submarines sailed into the harbor with Diamondhead and the Ko'olau Mountains as the backdrop. Amazingly beautiful. I loved every day of it.
Upon doing a Googlemap satellite search just now, curious to see the rooftop of the house we lived in, I find it's still there!
5375 Edgewater Drive Ewa Beach, HI. where it's always Summer.
I'll take lots of pictures.
We'll be back at home this time next week!
For easy listening Hawaiian radio KINE 105 click HERE!
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

Honey, Spiders and Chicks! Oh my!

I'm back at it this week. Joe is running errands and picking up some of the new Skecher's walking shoes for me. I'm sitting WAY too much! House is quiet. Started painting this JUST BEE thing. Will show you the results soon.
This was pretty spectacular. A big iron sculpture at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham. We went to watch APR www.goapr.com/race/ race last Saturday. Click the pic and you'll see the baby spiders ready to attack the army of Porsches!
Andrew has a VW TDI cup race in Chicago this weekend. I sewed on this big patch which sewed up the zipper on one side. Decided this wouldn't work too well. Wish him luck! Race #5!
I painted this for the APR team last week! It was fun to do and I even added a screw! A bit of Checkered flag stuff on the side you can't see here.
Got the living room painted too. What a chore. Like moving. But it's done and looks GREAT!
Amazingly enough, I got this done while they were here. It's in the Etsy shop. JOe likes this one.
Thanks for all the great advice and sweet comments for me this week. I was tearing my hair out for a while! Have a great weekend y'all! I plan to.
Love,
Ronnie

THIS is an art blog???

An Art Blog.
You've seen them...a piece of art or two posted each day, a bit of talk about art history and how to market your work.

Lately, saying this is an Art Blog is a stretch. My art is getting all entwined with my life. Or lost in it.
See the picture above? I took this months ago for another purpose, but it seemed to work. Paint brushes all clean and idle, unused. That's laundry piled on the kitchen table. An illustration of what my life has become. Wax lips, some candy cigarettes. A bottle of X (seemed like a good idea at the time).

This is my husband, Joe. He's trying to enjoy a piece of cake at a friend's house, but he is also looking at me, while I take the picture, knowing it may end up here on
THE ART BLOG.
Being an artist can be detrimental to your heart, mind, soul, pocketbook, your flower beds...
your rugs, your toilets, your relationships (see Joe above), the oil filter in your car...(add more HERE if you like).
It's a matter of balance. I used to have it. It left. Where and how does the art fit in without creating problems in other parts of life? Not quite there yet. Obviously! That's the task at hand.
One of my blog friends, Sandy Mastroni said to ask for Help. She's right. Sometimes I forget.
Have a good beginning to a great week loved ones,
Ronnie - living life in a small town in Georgia, USA

Goings On for the 4th and a Friend's Retirement

It was a good 4th of July. Family gathered at my 82 year old mom's house. She loves to party! Then she likes everybody to leave so she can get a good night's sleep with her little dog Rocket.
This is my mom and a son and his son! Looks like a game of rock paper scissors.
Water was certainly the theme. A lot of water logged kids as well as adults.
Little guy says enough is enough. NO paparazzi please!
More water logging.
Light is getting low and the older sons are enjoying the lake and Jones Grape sodas interspersed with a few adult beverages.
Andi and Ana decided to bring a new tent for its inaugural. Pitched it in our backyard 10 feet from the lake and went kayaking first thing the next morning. Brilliantly absurd idea!!!
Shifting gears to the week prior, Joe and I traveled to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida for an old friend's retirement. This is their quarters on base where they threw a great party the night before the official retirement ceremony. If you want to see pictures of that go to my facebook page and look for JETS!
Here's the happy (they don't know what's about to hit 'em!) retiring military couple.
Lots of good comfort food....
and Nancy's famous Bourbon slushies! Holy moly YUM! Look at the smile on this girl's face!
And here's their motto to live by. Surprised!? I'm not. Whoo Hoo indeed!
After the festivities Joe and I kicked back at a little cottage on the base near the Pensacola lighthouse.
A bit of history. You'll have to click the pic to read the fine print.
One last look at the white sand beach and then it was time to return home. Boy am I ready to be home. Ten days for me to get some painting done before we have to go again.
I hope you're enjoying the summer!
Love and hugs,
Ronnie - tortured wife of retired JOe

12 Hours There and 12 Hours Back!

And we're off. At the crack of noon! The plan is to make it to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, two hours south of the Mid Ohio race course.
THIS is for Liz Gunby of JumbleSaleRabbits blogspot in Scotland. She loves VW vans. Joe was speeding by and I was saying, "OH, oh! Where's the camera!" This is the portion I got. The back was equally perfect! Vanagon!
Arriving in Cincinnati and passing over the Ohio River, the border between Ohio and Kentucky.
Are we there yet? We made it to the airbase, had a good night's sleep, then headed to the racetrack the next morning. Andrew was already there with the VW TDI Cup race team.
This is JOe and Drew looking over track diagrams and having lunch in the fabulous huge VW tent which included catering and classroom for drivers and flats screens everywhere. They had waffles with VW on them for breakfast.
A Pirelli poster using Andrew in his car, #32! "Pirelli grips like no other."
Prerace! All the fresh faced and scrubbed TDI Cup drivers doing the celeb thing and signing autographs. That's Andrew signing for a fan.
Andrew (not him in this pic) was also here to work with APR motorsports. He crewed for them in between the VW stuff. He was dead on his feet by the time Sunday night rolled around. This is Erin in black with the little red apron. She makes sure APR drivers and crew are well fed and cared for. APR is known for it's hospitality. I think the drivers want to be on the team just for the food!

Joe took this of me and Andrew just before the race. I stole those pants off of a Revolutionary War soldier. What was I thinking! Blahhh.
Andrew suiting up. It's really buzzing in the VW tech tent. Camera crews for the documentary, race fans and family. Are you bored yet. Yeah, I know. This is an art blog, but I'll get to that.
The picture below is of Andrew careening back onto the track after bouncing off into the grass in this WICKED curve. A lot of drivers lost it on this curve, one smashing into the wall. CRAZY! I love this picture of the blonde lady. Look at her reaction.
The BIG picture after that is of Andrew's car making this same turn after rear ending a car in front of him. Imagine a lot of loud car noise here!

Alrighty then. Are you still here? Now we're back at APR where Erin and her assistant Hippy Mark have done their magic once again. Andrew has lost the VW race and has now switched his hat from TDI Cup to APR Motorsports.
These are two of the APR drivers, Mike Sweeney and Dion Von Molke suiting up for the the Koni Challenge race. Chow down boys, the race is coming up! Learn more about APR (Audi Porsche Racing) here www.goapr.com/race/
The race was near the end when I took this picture. The two APR cars are in first and second place! It was a wild race. Our friend Randy Pobst was right behind them racing for another team. This is torture for me to watch. Three laps from the end APR front runner, Ian Bass (the afore mentioned Erin's son) loses power on his car. Randy takes it to second place!
Woo hoo! I love racing. It's not over til it's over!
Here they are on the podium. APR guys in red and Randy (with his hand up) in black. All great guys.
This is the rowdy APR team after their win. They are truly a family. That's Andrew in blue. They couldn't peel the TDI cup driver suit off of him! He's having the time of his life.
Meanwhile, the race is over and we're on the road for home. This is where we stayed the first night.
JUST Kidding! That's a bomb shelter behind the Commanding Officer's house, Quarters One, at the Air Force Base. We stayed another night at this beautiful historic base. The Wright brothers made their first flight including a flight and "turn" here. Interested in more about this, including historic photos, follow this link:
http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Wright-Patterson_AFB.htm
On the road again. Rocky Tennessee here. About now you're wondering,"What about the longest yard sale, Ronnie?" Well, it was too far off the beaten track for this trip, but we did stop at the Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Kentucky. So, here's the ART PART! Finally....
Once they were gourds! This rooster was about 4 feet tall!
Extraordinary woodwork. $800 plus for the rocker. Click the pic for a close look at the old bearded men carved on the back. Beautiful work.
Felted hats and bags. This art center is located in a thriving artist community. I MUST return!
The whole downtown is art galleries and working studios and a college. Check out this link to learn more.... Beria, Kentucky
Beautiful wooden hats and bowls.
The end! An Amish couple returning from church on a Sunday morning. I'm glad to be home.
Have a great week, friends.
Love and all good things,
Ronnie

ROAD TRIP!

Joe will be honking the horn soon! We're headed to Lexington, Ohio for Andrew's 4th race. Also hope to catch parts of the longest yard sale! It stretches from Ohio to Alabama. See ya when we return. I'm taking the camera!
If you'd like to have your name or business stuck on Andrew's car, he still needs sponsorships for the remaining 6 races!
Later Gators,
Ronnie

Bliss Bikes in Progress

Whew!
Boy it was tough getting this done. A whole lot of life getting in between me and it!
If you remember my last post you'll see my original design. I made a teeny tiny sketch and then enlarged it on my scanner, added the lettering, and then transferred it to the canvas (18x24).
I slathered a good cover of Raw Umber allllll over it. Edges too.
Design has been transferred and all I've done here is fill in the spaces with flat color.
Filled in everything and added some detail on the blue lady and added a bit of lighter brown to the corner to experiment a bit.
Threw some clouds on the lady, a few bike spoke spin lines, and added more of the lighter gold/brown here and there and some star thingies.
A closer look. If you click on the pic, it'll put your eye out it's so big! And I've painted out the star thingies cause I didn't like 'em.
FINE! as they say at the end of a French movie, which has nothing at all to do with this painting, but it's my blog and I just felt like saying it. This picture is yellow and fuzzy, cause my light was crappy, but I'll take another all Bright and Clear tomorrow.
This painting is in my Etsy shop, but if it just hangs out there it's headed to Naked Art USA in Birmingham, Alabama the first week in August.
Love and all good stuff,
Ronnie - in a small town in Georgia
PS If you're a newbie, scroll down a couple of inches and you'll see my design before it jumped on the canvas.

Balancing Act!

Things are humming along better than expected. At least I got this new thing started!
I had planned to finish "Bliss Bikes" yesterday, but Joe drug me off for a long walk around the lake. I whined while putting on my shoes and whined while plopping my old floppy straw hat on my head, but once I got going realized I was in dire need of the exercise. Joe said if only I'd listened to him alllllll these years just think how different things would be. Yeah. Right.
LATER, I settled in the BB workshop and mixed the most BE-autiful blue, using these colors, for the lady in "bliss bikes".
I'll show you a progression (as usual) when it's all done. Should finish it up tonight.
ALSO, I'll be putting these little books I did in the Etsy shop when I get some good pics. Reminds me, I'll be taking mom to have a sonogram of her heart this afternoon, but everything should be fine. She's a tough little bird.
Other drama...the house did get a new roof last week. This is a shot of a very handsome (looked like Zorro) Mexican man who popped up to the second floor to find me sitting at the computer downloading photos while sipping tea and wearing my pajamas. I smiled at him, grabbed my camera, pointed, shot, but he DUCKED!
Here's the roof in progress. eight guys used pitchforks and snow shovels to get the old roof off. An awful racket from the inside! That's my workshop, the window on the top left behind the leaves. The new roof looks great! Next up, living room paint. I'll see you tomorrow with my finished painting.
Have a great day everybody,
Ronnie - aka JOe's stove operator

This IS an art blog!

With Joe's retirement came a whole new "to do" list:
Get the annual physical, apply for long term care insurance, do repairs on the house so we can put it on the market next Spring. So, I went for the physical and doc says, "Looks like your shoulder's still messed up. Time for a trip to the bone and joint man."
I haven't been able to lift my right arm above my head for way too long. I suspect it happened here at the farmhouse. The old windows had to come out and then...
I carried and heaved them in here. Then there was the painting and scraping...

Yep, that's me, on the ladder....
Here too, pulling up three layers of flooring to get to the wood. But alas, good news came today. After steroid shots and several weeks of physical therapy, I'm good to GO!
Yep, this is an art blog and it's back to the drawing board.
Joe has roofers scheduled next week and the living room to be repainted shortly after. I guess he'll be handling that. He's retired now!
YeeeeHaHHAHAHAHsnortHaHAAA! I'll keep you posted. It's a laugh a minute around here.
LOve you all,
Ronnie - struggling to stay an artist in a small town in Georgia

Joe is retiring next week. Wednesday to be exact. My life will never be the same.
I used to look at people my age when I was in my twenties and think, "Well, their heading for the dirt nap." Now I'm there. I don't feel like I thought I would. I feel like I'm stuck at around 33. Then I walk by a shop window, see my reflection and shock myself.
" Who the HELL is THAT!?" Or when I head back UP the hill I just came down and I'm gently reminded by my heart and lungs. Sigh.
Joe will have a lot of time on his hands. Like he has never had before. He has lived an amazing life and I can't imagine what this transition must feel like to him. He asked me today as we were looking around the yard, "What will I tell people I do when they ask?" Good question. He'll be working on that. Perhaps he'll spend more time collecting rocks. Joe is called the Rock Man around here. He loves rocks! He'll see a rock on the side of the road and we'll have to stop to collect it. See these? In the picture above? Yep, you guessed it. He seems connected to them like he used to be a rock. Except the pebbles. He got these at Home Depot and scattered them amongst his rock relatives.
It was a glorious morning. Look at the way the sun's light shines through the leaves of this wild violet. It spang from amongst Joe's rocks. It's quite at home here. I can't wait for it to bloom.
Have a great week.
Love,
Ronnie

A Good Memorial Day

Monday is Memorial Day in America. It's a time for family gatherings and backyard cookouts. A time to visit a military cemetery and perhaps leave a token of thanks and gratitude to a fallen soldier, sailor or airman. Joe and I will travel to St. Marys where on Monday a wreath will be placed on the St. Marys river.

I grew up the daughter of a US Army aviator. My dad was a member of the Army Air Corp, a veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War.
I cut my teeth while watching young soldiers, paratroopers in training, jump from the mammoth jump towers at Fort Benning. I adored military parades and the music of John Philip Sousa.
I also loved planes, helicopters, anything that flew. And my father was a pilot. I mean PILOT! When he smiled, I swear little stars flashed from his snowy white smile. He was my personal hero.

When I was nine years old my father took me flying over farmer's fields. Dad was attending flight school at Fort Dix, NJ at the time. Illegal as hell, he had my mother bring my older sister and me to a grassy field where he landed an Army L-19 Birddog. Picture a light weight, army- brown, highwing, two-seater aircraft, it's wings painted with the star and stripes.

It was a beautiful day. As the three of us stood in the tall grass of the field, Mom pointed toward the sky. We watched as a tiny plane grew larger, then landed. My hair whipped against my face from the rush of the propeller, then with all the trust in the world for our handsome young father, my sister and I climbed aboard.

I had flown once before on a long trip across the breadth of America and up to the Aleutian Islands and then across the endless Pacific to the island of Japan. It was 1952, the airliner was not a jet, but a propeller driven plane! But today was different. It was filled with spontaneous spirit and that touch of danger that my dad embodied.

As Dad motioned to us, and with Mom's help, we jumped into the single seat behind our dad, sharing the harness intended for a backseat observer. Within minutes, Dad opened the throttle and we spun around to take off. The plane felt as light as a balloon under us. With each bounce across the grass it seemed to want to leap into the air!

I think Dad took that little plane through every maneuver he'd learned and knowing my dad, probably more. We dove and climbed and rolled and did gigantic loops in the air that made our stomachs float into our chests and I heard myself yelling a squeeky little girl Whoaaaaaaaa! in unison with my sister. We looked at each other in wide grinned joy and we both knew we were the luckiest girls in the whole wide world.

Have a good Memorial Day folks.
Here's to my dad and all the other veterans who have passed on. Thanks. Thanks an awful lot.
Love,
Ronnie

A Parallel Universe!

We had a great time at Hatch Market!

The Scoop Magazine/Hatch Market team worked hard tying up loose ends after months of planning this first time event. I imagine this would be a tough thing to do the first year.
Things were a bit hectic as we set up. I didn't get the spot I imagined, which was a 10x10 spot covered by a tent they would provide. Once we got there I realized that the space I was given was not going to work. A six foot table connected to a long line of other tables covered by a HUGE tent. Sadly, no place to hang my art.

It looked like this.

So, Joe and I found a spot under a tree and next to a stretch of fence and were given the okay to set up there. We hoped it didn't rain (no tent) which lucky for us it didn't. Staff did offer to go buy a tent, but it could be an hour or so til they did.
A few things seemed to fall through the cracks, such as SIGNAGE! None on the surrounding streets to attract impulsive, looking for something to do, weekenders or for people intentionally looking for us. I believe that oversight kept the crowd a bit thinner than we'd expected. You live and learn.
BUT, I was very much humbled by all the creative people and true Indie stuff!

Click the pic and you might see something.

One of these days I'll remember to take great close ups for you!

The best part was meeting people like this. Jessica of ButterBeanBabies and Jodi of JodieMO
First craft show for them. What a dynamite job they did!

Here's Joe, my dear husband/pack mule, chatting with a customer.
This is not his thing but he hung in there to the end!

This is Anne Elser. Hey, did you notice! They put her in front of the Air Conditioner!

She makes THE most beautiful handmade journals, one of which I bought for Joe.
His birthday was Sunday.

These two talented ladies are best friends. Joyajewelry and Linwood Avenue. They too were rerouted, but lucked out with this great space in the garden under a vine covered arbor.

So She Sews and her very sweet significant other. I love her recycled creations. Check her out at SoSheSews.etsy.com

I met so many other great artists and crafters,
but no time to run around with the camera.

Bede Sisters Kay and Lori Shumpert make beautiful market bags and I had to have one!
E! La La! makes luscious soaps which Joe and I bought for Mother's Day gifts.
And I met Lolly of Lolly felt like it! Enjoyed talking to her lovely mom too.
It was great seeing all of you!
Great first try Melanie and Jessica! A good learning experience for all.
Love and hugs,
Ronnie

I busted outta here!

The Dogwood Festival, held in beautiful Piedmont Park is the oldest and best arts festival in Atlanta. I first visited 30 years ago pulling my young sons in a wagon.
My sister called and said I needed to join her for the day, that I could probably use the inspiration. So, I did!
A bit of Midtown through the trees. Piedmont Park is like Atlanta's Central Park. About a 45 minute drive from my house on a really good traffic day.
Sheep Incognito! The booth on the right. What a hoot. Cute work and sells brilliantly! Boy, that lady is happy to have her picture taken.
There was good food here, but this was the most visually interesting. It was the forks that got me!

Brilliant artist here. My favorite of the show. And I forgot to get her card! Her husband takes all the photography of her work in preparation for making prints of her originals. He said she paints everyday. Click the pic for a close up!
This guy paints on black roofing paper. A long skinny 10" x 46" is about $4oo!!!
Perfect weather and a great artist break! I wish you could have been here!
I'm back to work now and humming along pretty well.
Switching gears, some of you are asking about the owl chicks. This is the last picture I took of the little one. He was posing for me, but his eyes are closed. If you're interested in some amazing professional pics of these owlets. Go here... JCKnoll.com and click the owls. He's been watching them since they hatched.
Have a great week, folks!
Ronnie

Serious Hair on Fire Mode!!!

Okay, today is the day that I begin in earnest to prepare for the Indie Arts Fair called HatchMarket.
I'm about two months behind, and if there were trophies for procrastination and quadruple tasking with disastrous results, I'd have a full shelf.
So, suffice it to say I need praying and good vibes sent my way. I'll probably head to Walgreens today for a stash of Valerian and maybe some Celestial Seasons Calm the Crazy Person Tea.
Yeah, that's a plan.
Sleeping last night was an Olympic sport. Imagine a sea bass out of water.
Yesterday was spent pushing the reset button on the youngest son.
Lord have mercy! Does parenting ever end!!!

It was determined yesterday that he'll begin the 2009 race season as a V W TDI Cup race car driver. This is the first and only Green (Diesel) racing series. Green? Auto Racing? Auto Racing! Green! Humans will try anything. First race is held at the beautiful Virginia Internation Raceway. Paul Newman called VIR heaven on earth. Wish the boy luck.
And his mother and father too.
I'm off now to chain myself to the art production room. I will check in later with the results.
Love and hugs,
Ronnie

Who Hooed?!

See those two little bumps in the middle of the tree?
Two owl chicks! Waaaay up in a Live Oak tree. Nesting in the resurrection ferns.

This one is chowing down on leftovers left by mom the night before. I know! But that's what owls do.

Way up there. The tree is on a corner next to the elementary school on the main drag in St. Marys. I took these pictures the first week of April when I was down to do the Spring cleaning.
Younger one on the left, still quite downy. Older chick on the right. A man told me they can hatch several weeks apart. Explains why one is so much bigger. This is a good one to zoom/click on. You can see big one's yellow eye and the little one is napping leaning on his sib'.
Little one's face. Big one's bum. Looking for more chow.
I wish I had better camera skills. I walked here several times and was always surrounded by Owl Chick Fans! Tripods. Long lenses. Lots of chatter and pointing.

They never peeped that I could hear. One guy told me the mom owl (a great horned owl) came around only at dusk with a nice juicy meal for her chicks. He said he'd seen the bigger chick fly once, but not very well.
If I'd had the sense to take a shot of the scene below, you'd see lots of folks with their hands held above their eyes and pointing. Four of five tripods with cameras and traffic stopping to look.

I came back as it was getting dark, but didn't see their mom.

Look like two teddy bears.
Joe and I are going back today to stay for the Easter weekend. I'll bet they'll be flying by then.
Have a great weekend, folks!
Ronnie

Weekend Art Creation and an Arts Clayton Gallery Visit

Arts Clayton Gallery made a Call For Art! This is Courtney. She's busy hanging art for the upcoming show - Champion Spirit!
I couldn't resist contributing, so I stayed home to create a picture before heading off to Saint Marys.
I grabbed a 24" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas .
Then, spent a few hours planning my design, choosing colors and creating letters/text, putting it all on a big piece of vellum to use as my pattern.
People ask why I make a pattern. Answer: I can recreate the painting so much easier next time.
Two strips of blue tape keep sharp edges between color blocks of burnt umber and yellow.Then randomly brushed on some white and a creamy khaki color. Burnt umber is nearly gone!
A wash of white on the top portion and burnt umber on the lower half. Also glued a small rectangle of fiberboard to the white part for depth. Then, randomly added burnt umber and red blobs. Some scratching with an exacto to give it that old abused look.
Ripped off the tape and added the black! Scraped on some red and white with the palette knife.
Letters are painted on! Also cut a star from heavy watercolor paper, painted and glued it on....
A bit more final fiddling, adding some aging and shading here and there and it's DONE! I had a great time doing this one!
Once the paint dried I threw it in the back of the car and sped off to the gallery.
Karen (here) and Courtney are preparing for the new show opening next week. A lot of new art waiting to be displayed....
A printmaking class next week. I hope I'll be back in time.
Brick walls make art look so much fancier!
Does this couple look familiar?
I could look at this one for hours. Click the pic for amazing details!
Handcarved angels with tin wings by Richard...
Courtney still hanging pictures!
Have a great week, folks.
Spring cleaning awaits!
Ronnie

What DO you DO?!

The blueberries are blooming. Isn't that just swell.?
And here I am needing to blow off a bit of STEAM! I thought I would be relieved when the season arrived. Instead, I'm feeling like the rope in a game of tug-a-war! I'm running up against what most artists experience. Maintaining your priorities and proper balance in your life with that old nag playing in your head that says, "Making Art isn't all that important! What you need to do is clean up that garden! Your screened porch could use a good hosing! And those windows! Ohhh (shiver)!"
I discussed this dilemma with my youngest son this morning as he stopped by to fix the computer for me.
Using the huge, log-sized branch that has fallen from the ancient oak tree in the front of his house as an example, I began...
"Drew, does that log, that's been laying in the front yard of the farmhouse, nag at you when you drive up? (Andrew lives in the old farmhouse I'm renovating.) Because it sure bugs Me!"

Basically, he said it wasn't high on his priority list. He knew exactly where it was and if he needed some handy firewood he didn't have to go all the way to the woodpile to get it. He explained it was a time saver leaving it where it fell and his neighbor was not bothered by it either.
His top priority was his livelihood (which happens to also be his passion) and those other things, well, they just weren't.

I've been making some form of art my whole life, a back burner activity that I promised myself I would someday drag to that big front burner.
So, that's exactly what I decided to do in Summer 2008. I began painting once again and offered my work to a beautiful local gallery. Next, I created the Etsy shop and this blog.
As a result, I have been encouraged by the support of the gallery, my family, Etsy buyers and all you wonderful bloggers.

With every piece of art I reveal on the blog, you all are right there with your encouragement and humor and appreciation. This means so much to me and I thank you all so much!

Arranged by Arts Clayton, one of my painting is now displayed at the new National Archives building in Georgia! Scoop magazine featured my work in their March/April edition. I've been chosen for a juried art show planned for May. I am thrilled and stunned by all this. I feel like I'm finally making art a priority.

I'm leaving on Wednesday for St. Marys to pressure wash the little yellow house for Spring, lay new mulch in the flower beds, wash windows and plant annual flowers. I enjoy this kind of thing, especially in St. Marys. I have four days to finish, be back home, then ready to start again in McDonough where I have left outdoor chores far too long.
I'm feeling a bit like a one man band! In my mind, I see myself holding art supplies in one hand and in the other a hoe, a rake or maybe a broom and my head is spinning like Linda Blair's in the Exorcist.

With Spring, all the things that were the primary focus in "My Previous Life" are rearing their eager little heads, "Pick me! Pick Me!"
This has me worried and scared that my art will be relegated to that simmering place at the back of the stove.
Could I leave a log laying in the front yard for a month? No.
Could I leave a partial pile of mulch at the end of the driveway all Winter? Yes, because I have.
Perhaps I've already begun to find balance!
It's a glorious day outside and the yard looks like hell. The Gallery has made a "call for art" to be delivered this Saturday.
I'm goin' for it!!!
As they say in Georgia, "That mulch pile ain't goin no where! It'll be there when you get back!"

Have a joyous Spring, loved ones.
Ronnie- also known as Joe's stove operator.

ps...
Two artists I know in bloggerland had very good weekends.
Folk artist Mystele
and
Author Dave Ebright
Check it out! It'll make you smile!