8.5 on the Chick-O-Meter

Snowdrop(s)

Visitation

Luke: Patron Saint of Painters. gouache illustration for Bas Bleu Bookseller

a winged ox 

from Ezekiel's mystic apocalypse

to sunlit studio

resplendent in wing and wisdom

centuries of time traversed

bringer of vision 

sure hands

show it if you tell it

eternal friend

you never fail

***************************************

I painted Koby for V's anniversary present. (It turns out we have only been married 18 years.) I had a left over piece of 24 x 24 red oak from the table V made for the studio, and used it for the substrate. I used the photo I took of Koby on the last snow day as my guide and think it is pretty close. In a way, the painting is more Koby-like than the photo, possibly because I tried to compensate for the foreshortening that makes her nose disproportionately large

Originally I had a background with some surface decoration that I painted back over muting it down to some "noise". I had planned to do some kind of raindrop pattern but then I saw a woodpecker outside and decided to paint a ring of living things around her. It ended up being too bright and too much, so I decided to sand it down. That looked cool like she was painted on some old sign or something. But the sanding took off some of the background color, so when I patched it up, it didnt match because I had changed the character of the surface with the sanding.

Note the homage to Frida Kahlo with the dead bird necklace

On Friday I went back in and painted the ring of life again and changed some of the elements, making it a bit more symmetrical than what you see above. I will need to then add some deeper golden color behind it to give it dimension, and then sand it down again, but with a lighter hand. Then I might over paint the ring with the yellow background color in sheer washes to take it down further. If that doesnt work I will accept that this idea failed (or I failed the idea is a better way to say it) and start again - but the dog herself stays as is. I hope to finish tomorrow.

Late WInter Wonderland

Dog in an epic landscape

Driving to Chickory this week I thought I was going to wreck I was so distracted by the flickering light created by the long tree shadows stretching across the road. The shadows were spaced so evenly that it blasted the corner of my eye with a steady hypnotic pattern. The flickering was bright red because it picked up the blood in my eyelid and reminded my of a shock the monkey style horror video. I understand why this kind of thing triggers epileptic seizures! I like winter because you can see how the land lays but the light is cold and desaturated. Im ready to move into spring now, though I have loved this weird snowy winter.

Damn, Kitty. Sorry.

I took Trout over to Big Sky yesterday as a special treat for just her, without Koby. And she was horrible. There was a pair of Canadian Geese in the pond. Trout ran full bore and launched herself into the pond and followed them wherever they swam in the pond, paddling her heart out. I thought she would surely tire and sink. She ignored my calls to stop and the honking those geese put out was extremely loud and distressing. Later, she found some poor hapless cat to terrorize. When the kitty went up a tree that was growing out of a rock, Trout spend at least 20 minutes trying to climb up and get her, sometimes landing awkwardly and flopping into the rock so hard I could hear her "ooof" of impact. I left her and traveled along a ridge line to the Tennesee side and did not see her again until almost an hour when I was back at the pond on the way home.

Late afternoon sun warms a path of grasses

There were little patches of snow and ice on the north sides of the mountain

I love all the dried seed heads I encounter on my walk

I worked on my "folk art" and managed to get a decent rooster painting

I took the truck out for a little ride after my walk to visit some friends horses

Today I will work on a largish painting for V featuring "his dog" Kobayashi Maru. I plan to use this photograph as my guide. I have a very clear vision of how it should look in my mind's eye. The hard part of course, is getting my hands to execute it. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Haiku Monday *revised*

pond at forest edge
surface tension mirrored
essential life

or

pond at forest edge
essential life mirrored
in surface tension

***Master Basho's Ghost informed me that I failed to get a 5-7-5 format. Here is a new entry:

Thunder sand and spray
moon pulls foam edges into
azure horizon


** Haiku Thursday is a weekly multi-participant game that anyone can play. Visit the Haiku Host to find the topic for the week, then post your haiku on your blog, and let the Haiku Host know that you are up. The Badge of Great Honor will be awarded and the winner may display that badge on his/her blog.

Guinea Hen

Guinea Hen. Oil Pastel on Paper 22x30"