#1271 Night watch. Mixed media on solid pine panel, 14×24″. $250.
This is the last of the current batch of cloud-shaped paintings Theoretically the shape is great for a kids room, but not necessarily the poem written in it, if you want your child to ever sleep:
Night Watch
Stars between clouds
a night to stay up and watch
until the sun rises.
Sometimes it gets quiet at art fairs. There is often a bit of a lull around lunch time. If I’m sitting at the back of the booth at the desk, I’ll often use the time to work on my bucket list item of more Shakesperean sonnets than Shakespeare. Flagstaff was productive and I was able to write a sonnet each of the three days. I sometimes have to search around for inspiration, Saturday’s inspiration was the nest of sparrows within tweeting distance.
Sparrows
The sparrow has more color than you’d think
(but painters know burnt umber, wine, ecru)
and though they seem to flit off in a wink
the observer sees the little things they do.
Sometimes they’ll dust in patches of soft sand
and often in a puddle from the rain
with wriggling bodies, wings aflutter, and
the knowledge that they’ll soon feel fresh again.
The well-trained ear can spot each different call –
the black-throat’s glockenspiel and house’s cheep
the white-crowned sparrow’s sweet melodious trill
and common to them all, the young chick’s tweet.
So if you ever thought sparrows were plain
Take another look and listen, think again!
I’m still working on that bucket list of writing more Shakespearean sonnets than ‘The Bard’ himself, and sometimes a quieter hour at an art fair can be productive. Will had the opportunity to write about sparrow, but didn’t, though I don’t think he would ever have seen some of those mentioned, they just weren’t available there!
(but painters know burnt umber, wine, ecru)
and though they seem to flit off in a wink
the observer sees the little things they do.
Sometimes they’ll dust in patches of soft sand
and often in a puddle from the rain
with wriggling bodies, wings aflutter, and
the knowledge that they’ll soon feel fresh again.
The well-trained ear can spot each different call –
the black-throat’s glockenspiel and house’s cheep
the white-crowned sparrow’s sweet melodious trill
and common to them all, the young chick’s tweet.
So if you ever thought sparrows were plain,
Take another look and listen, think again!
Thought I was going to sell this one over the weekend at Flagstaff, but it didn’t happen. Anyway, happy 4th of July everyone, even if you’re not somewhere that’s celebrating Independence Day. When I started creating this painting it wasn’t especially intended to be a 4th-of-July painting, but after I got the stars down, it spoke to me that this is what it wanted to be. And like the fact that the shape resembles the triangularly folded flag. The poem on it is:
The fourth of July
stars bursting against the night
and raining color.
#1270 “4th”. Mixed Media Painting on solid pine panel, 15×15″. $150.
Here’s a link to my monthly newsletter. I’ve been waiting to put this subject out there for a while, as you’ll see if you follow the links……..
Shakshi nominated me for the Liebster Award, so after a bit of thinking and writing, it’s time for me to post it forward.
First of all I need to thank Sakshi for nominating me for this award. We have only been following each other for a little while as she is a new blogger, but I like what I read so far.
Rules for this award
•Acknowledge the blog who nominated you for this award.
•Answer 11 questions the blogger gave you
•Give 11 random facts about yourself
•Nominate 11 blogs
•Give 11 questions for them to answer
Questions that Shakshi asked me ~
1. Why did you start blogging?
To get more of an online presence for my paintings and poetry. (“Too seek out new life and new civilizations”…….if you don’t understand that, don’t worry.)
2. Which one mistake would you love to delete from your past if you were given a choice?
I once collaborated with a female coworker to give dating advice to a male coworker. The three of us were good office friends and hung out together a lot. After we were no longer working together, the guy asked me for a date. I liked him a lot and accepted. On the date however, his personality changed dramatically and I was stunned. A couple days later I contacted the other friend – and discovered he had taken her on essentially the same date, to the same place, wearing much the same clothes – the following night – and had behaved the same weird way. We wrote him a letter advising him to just be the guy who we hung out with at the office if he wanted to have a second date with any* other woman. We added a couple other truths, but too brutally. I wish we could go back and edit that letter. We did it because we cared about him, and we didn’t tell any untruths, we just did it too meanly.
3. What is the best thing about you?
I make a good friend. (This is more my bf’s observation.)
4. Who is the best person you met on WordPress ?
Tough one as I feel I have made a bunch of good friends – but the one that has to top the list is Murray Foote. He had his girlfriend came to visit – but we didn’t coordinate too well before he booked the flight and they were arriving when I was at a show. I just had to tell them the key’s under the mat and I’ll see you when I get home around midnight on Sunday. We had a great time together the next 2 days.
5. Given a choice- 1)Facebook 2) WordPress ….which one will you choose?
Wordpress because I’ve made friends there and there are many other WordPress co-bloggers I’d be interesting in meeting if life permits. FB is mostly my existing friends, but I love to keep up with them that way.
6. Would you like to give any suggestions to improve my blog?
You’re really new at this Shakti, so just keep going and if I ever notice anything consistent, I might think to mention it.
7. If you were allowed to demand any one thing, what would be that?
That the state of California, the US Federal Govt, the Mexican Govt and all our local bodies work (and by that I mean act, not study) together for the restoration of the Salton Sea.
8. Any question you would like to ask me?
I can’t find where you name is written other than as one word – did I divide it up correctly?
9. If you were sponsored a tour which place you would love to visit?
Russian Steppes.
10. A habit of you which you hate the most?
When I’m mostly complete with a task that involves doing the same action on different objects (e.g. editing a bunch of photos) – when I’m part way through, I have to count how many items are left.
11. What kind of person you would love to be with – 1) the one who is fake but is nice to you…2) a person who is real but sometimes rude to you?
The second one. I guess that explains my answers on the second and third questions also!
11 Random facts about me
1. I’m 80% right handed and 40% left handed. Yes, that’s 20% ambidextrous.
2. I’m a birdaholic.
3. I’m the best person to borrow $20 or less from because after a month or so, I’ll forget about it. I’m the worst person to loan $20 or less to for the same reason.
4. I can’t stand opera.
5. The most surreal experience of my life (so far) is feeling my father’s last heartbeat.
6. I’m a lousy cook, can’t follow a recipe.
7. I have moderate prosopagnosia.
8. I love wide open spaces.
9. I have synesthesia.
10.My favorite color is purple.
NOMINATION TIME (I have to say cutting it down to 11 was tough).
1. Murray Foote
2. Greg Long – Greole
3. Urmo Parts
4. Pooja G – life’s fine whine
5. A Quiver of Quotes
6. Rhi – autism and expectations
7. Charlie O’Shields – DoodleWash
8. Tom – the tompostpile
9. Alozade – paintdigi
10. Archecotech – Life in Russia
11. New England Nomad
11 Questions for you each to answer
Q.1 What is the weirdest experience of your life?
Q.2 If you could have a chance to live anywhere on Earth, where would it be?
Q.3 If you could choose how old to live to, what would that age be?
Q.4 If you were to be executed, what would be your last meal?
Q.5 Who have you met that you felt you’d known forever, but they only had that moment in your life?
Q.6 Whose blog do you most look forward to reading and why?
Q.7 Any suggestions to improve my blog?
Q.8 If you had to start over at 18 and follow a different career, what would it be?
Q.9 If aliens landed in your back yard, would you go with them?
Q.10 What is one physical characteristic about yourself you’d like to change?
Q.11 What kind of weather do you like best?
… can have a lot of good poetry fall out of the end of it. This is from a pen for my sign ups for newsletter at art fairs. Either that or I was bored for long enough to write!
Juxtapositions
The drip of time
the pressure of starlight
the push of gravity
the heat of a planet’s spin
the brightness of shadows
the silence of beauty
the beauty of silence
the lightness of dancing
The speed of moonlight
the kiss of water
the depth of sunshine
the weight of music
The pull of love
the pain of staying
the anguish of asking
the fracture of reply.
