When Pet Photos Go Bad
Bean as Voldemort.
Ghost Dog
Street Art
Inspiration strikes everywhere. Anytime. That’s why I always try to carry my camera around. Because you KNOW the one time I leave it home I miss the PERFECT shot.
Unfortunately that happens more often than I care to admit. But I’m getting better.
I live in a picturesque old gold mining town. Lots of interesting textures and buildings to photograph. But as I said up above, inspiration can come any time, anywhere. Including the sidewalk in front of a strip mall.
I look at this stuff and get so excited. Makes me want to run down to the studio and paint. The paintings will likely look nothing like the photos because that’s not what this is about. They’re for inspiration…. Color. Texture. Design. Proportion. Or all of the above. Layers and layers of oils and wax building up to the final piece.
Mystery. Depth.
That’s what makes it so exciting. That’s what makes it worth stopping traffic on the sidewalk while I whip out my camera and take pictures of the cracks.
Bambi
This fella showed up on my doorstep the other day. Well, practically. He was in the driveway, posing. The photos were taken through the dining room window. And the screen. So if they’re a little fuzzy, well, that’s just the way it is.
Never was much for washing windows.
Look at him. Bold as you please. Absolutely no fear. Captain of the football team. Mr. I’m-So-Cool. This morning he sauntered alongside the truck as I was adjusting my seat belt. Sauntered like he hadn’t a care in the world. Practically brushing up against the side of the truck. I’m surprised his antlers didn’t knock the mirror askew. Seriously, I could’ve reached out and touched him…if I was stupid.
Because this is the time of the year bucks go bad. I’ve seen them going at it like something from Animal Planet. I’ve had to seek refuge among the horses as lusty deer boys duked it out between the barn and the house. Crazy bonkers absolutely insane. Snorting. Huffing. Banging heads. Going after each other like a couple Marines in a barfight insane.
So I keep my distance. Admire them from afar. Don’t want to be labeled with the code my vet uses when dogs and deer mingle. She calls it GBB, Gored by Bambi.
Doing Good
The inventory of finished work in an art studio can be overwhelming, especially if you’re a prolific artist. If it’s less than my best work I’ll often recycle it, paint or collage over old canvases. Give them new life. Or I’ll throw on some gesso and donate the used canvases to an art program like the one where I teach. Trust me, we appreciate donations of canvases, used or not. As long as they’re in decent condition they’re fine for student work. And you don’t even need to gesso it, we’ll do that for you.
If it’s something I don’t want my name on and the materials can’t be recycled, then I’ll simply chuck it.
But there are times you don’t want to do that. Maybe you have a series of images that, for one reason or another, just haven’t sold. Or a stack of prints that have been sitting there. There’s nothing wrong with them but they’re taking up valuable real estate, space you could use for something else. Something new.
Because it’s time to move on.
You could hold a studio clearance sale but there’s a valid argument against that. A drastic reduction of prices reduces the perceived value of your work within the community. If someone bought a painting for full price, whatever your price may be, and saw you selling similar work for less, maybe considerably less, later on, do you think they’ll be so quick to pay your full price again?
I don’t think so.
Unless… you turn it into a good thing. Puts a different spin on it entirely. My friend LeeAnn Brook did that last weekend. She opened her studio for a special sale, “From the Heart” Small Works Charity Studio Sale. She reduced prices on selected work by 30-50%. And then she donated 100% of the sale of those works to Women of Worth, a local charity that helps women escape domestic violence. I’ll say it again, 100%.
It was a win-win situation. In a few hours she raised over $1,200 dollars. Money that will stay in the community helping women and children who desperately need it. People who purchased art got a great deal and a sense that they were contributing to a good cause, especially as checks were written directly to Women of Worth.
LeeAnn reduced her inventory without damaging the value of her work. Even better, she got the satisfaction of knowing what she did would have a positive impact on the lives of others.
She did good, yes indeed she did.
Nesting Instinct
I collect bird nests. Ones that have fallen to the ground and are of no use to their former tenants. I usually find them in the fall, after a storm with a lot of wind. Just lying there in the dirt or a pile of leaves, waiting for me to take it home.
Some have remnants of eggs. Pieces of shell.
One had the eggs themselves. This one was found in the spring. Poorly constructed. Barely held together. I watched it for a couple of days but no one came to claim it. I hope Mr. & Mrs. Bird built a new one and tried again.
Most of the nests around here are heavy on the horse hair.
A good swish of the tail too close to a tree…or even a good rub results in building material.
Long strands from manes and tails are woven with twigs and whatever else is handy.
Sometimes they’re made with the soft fuzzy stuff from spring shedding. Little bit of blue baling twine shredded and incorporated into the decor. Not very elegant but I’m sure it’s warm.
And then there’s my own creation. Copper wire. Polyclay eggs. Needs a TV and a fridge before I’ll be moving in.