Robert

Robert

Oil on black canvas, 10x10
sold

When I posted the first stage of "Double Four Time" on Facebook, many folks suggested that I do some cowscapes on black. I've done some of these large, and while people delighted in them, it was hard to sell them. Maybe the smaller pieces will sell more easily? It's worth a try - and it was great fun to paint Robert here!

I've managed to bring home two techniques I discovered on my Big Skies painting trip . One is to not hold the knife with my typical death-grip. I remind myself to hold the knife loosely, and it helps the paint glide on, with interesting not-straight edges.

The second discovery that shows up in this painting is that it's great to use the mixed/unmixed gobs of left-over paint that, in the past, I'd just wiped from my knife. Now, I pile it up in a corner of the palette, and use it as is - randomly, chaotically mixed colors like the ones at the top of Robert's head.

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OK, of course we all know what they MEANT - "Truck Drives Off Bridge." But I had to laugh at this dog-bites-man kind of headline. "Truck Drives Over Bridge," really? 

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Dog of the Day

I'm making Lulu the Dog of the Day because if I don't, I might murder her. She just destroyed my spare glasses. 

I was having sleeping trouble last night, and moved to the couch to see if I could sleep there. I watched TV for a while, then took off my glasses to turn over and catch some Zs. I was barely awake. 

This morning, Lulu jumped up on the couch and stole my glasses from the table, where I'd stashed them. Yes, it was my fault for leaving them there, but damn, this is the second pair in as many months. I'm contemplating writing a children's book, "Twenty-Nine Pounds of Trouble." 

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A Final Thought

"Art is made by ordinary people. Creatures having only virtues can hardly be imagined making art. It's difficult to picture the Virgin Mary painting landscapes. Or Batman throwing pots. The flawless creature wouldn't need to make art."

- "Art & Fear / Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking," 

by David Bayles and Ted Orland