Going Fishing

Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into, the mind.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge


After the local art show was cancelled I became very discouraged. I love "doing" art ~ I don't love "marketing" art. I suppose that's true of all artists, though. Anyway, my good friend Lynn encouraged me to keep at it. Lynn's positive, cheerful outlook on life is a gift she generously shares with everyone she meets. So, Lynn, if you're reading this, thanks for the kind words.

I started this small painting last week. I am particularly interested these days in getting the background of my paintings correct. The right mixture of darks and lights are not only key to making the figure pop out but in making him look three dimensional. I've blocked in where I want the shadows to be but now need to spend some time blending them in with the highlights in the background.

The Purple Vase

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge


Last year the Art Club in my development sponsored an art show. Forty exhibitors, myself included, participated. It was a lovely day and the show was very well attended. I have been looking forward to this year's second annual show for months. Unfortunately, it was just cancelled. Only 15 people were willing to put their work on display. Is everybody down in the dumps? I guess I'll just need to work harder to find places to show my art ~ or should I just stop for awhile? Anyway, I'm at least going to finish up a few pieces and try not to be too discouraged.

This little painting is a smaller rendition of a larger one I had in the show last year. Again, I'm experimenting with a looser style. The background and vase are done. The flowers, of course, will never be finished.

Flowering Branch 4

The drop of rain maketh a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

Hugh Latimer


I've had a hard time working on anything else since I started this small painting. I was very anxious to see if the original plan of locking in the drawing with the gesso overcoat would work. Actually if I had the patience to follow the drawing with a very small brush and very small strokes it would probably have been possible to get a much closer resemblance to the source material since the underdrawing did hold up rather well. But since the drawing was a copy of someone else's view of the flower it wasn't my nature to follow their exact plan. The whole idea of art is to interpret what one sees even if one is looking at another artist's work. Of course, this painting is not done yet. That's where perseverance comes in. This will probably sit for awhile now but at some point I'll finish it.

A Bouquet 2

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

Dorothy Frances Gurney


There's really not much to say about this painting as I am still undecided on this style. I've never done anything this loose before. While I was working on this I listened endlessly to one of my favorite pieces of music. It's called Jerusalem Ridge and is performed by a magnificent fiddle player by the name of Mark O'Connor. The music really affected how I worked. If you can find it, you'll love it too!

The Purple Hat

It's not what I do, but the way I do it. It's not what I say, but the way I say it.

Mae West


I posted this hat when it was a black and white drawing back in September. Every once in a while I get the urge to work with colored pencils and these hat drawings are the perfect thing. There's still more to be done on the hat and then I'll go back in and do a little more molding on the face. Isn't she a pip?

Flowering Branch 3

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.

Iris Murdoch


I have now started to put the highlights and shadows into the flower even though I haven't decided what color it's actually going to be. The source I'm working from is an intricate black and white line drawing. Originally I had thought the flower would be white but am now leaning toward red. At this point, though, there's still a lot of work getting in the detail. The original under drawing is now completely covered so it's a matter of painting from the source. If I do decide to make it a different color it will be through applying a series of glaces. Time to put this one aside for awhile.

Flowering Branch 2

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

Charles Kingsley


Of course, the ticket here is to find something to be enthusiastic about. And nothing fires my enthusiasm to paint more than going to an art show. This past week we went to a magnificent Fine Arts Fair in Palm Beach. On display were works from all around the world ~ both traditional and contemporary. What a treat!

I've put the background and leaves in on this little painting but am a little concerned as the drawing seems to have faded. Perhaps I didn't make it dark enough but I was concerned about covering the pencil lines since the flower is going to be white. We'll see.