Is it autumn yet?

It’s only September 7, but I’m ready for cooler weather.    I do not really enjoy the summer.   It’s too hot for me.  And mosquitoes and other bugs love to bite me.   It always seems like other people are having fun.   I just watched James Darren throw Sandra Dee in the California surf.   They looked like they were having fun.

I haven’t been to the beach once this summer.   And if I’m in the sun too long I get a rash.  I am the life of the party in the summer.   And I really do like the beach.  In the Caribbean.

We haven’t really had a bad summer.   But I look forward to the cool fall air, the leaves changing, the smell of fireplaces.   I do not look forward to the days growing shorter.   Leave to go to work in the dark, come home in the dark.

This is still a work in progress.   I need to define the snow on the trees and the leaves, etc.    I’ll see how it looks after it dries fully.   I hope I don’t ruin it.   I didn’t realize how hard it was to paint snow.

Labor Day, 2008

I don’t have a painting to post just yet.   But it’s September 1st and I’m interested in the months coming up to election day.   I saw this thanks to Judy and thought I’d share it with you.   It cracks me up.

Mary’s Tulips

I went to class thinking I would do a completely different painting of these tulips. My friend Mary took a beautiful picture of red tulips looking up to a gorgeous blue sky which I used as a reference for this painting. But something happened along the way and the painting changed.

Maybe I was cranky cause the trains are still screwed up. Never pay attention to the posters in the subway that tell you that track work will only take a few weekends. It really never ends. Like construction on the BQE. But I digress. I waited an unbelievably long time for each train, some of the lines weren’t running. And it was hot, humid and rainy out.

So the sunny tulips in the reference photo got a little angrier and so did the sky. That’s the way it goes.

I’ve always liked tulips and have been fascinated with the tulip mania that occurred in the Netherlands in the 1600’s. Had I lived during that time (maybe I have? I’ve always had an affinity to the Netherlands during that time) I would have sold everything for one tulip bulb at the height of the craze only to find the market crash 6 days later.

The unframed size of the painting (image) is approx 20″ x 12″.

Box o’ berries - finished

The berries are done. The subway sucked today. I am in a foul mood. Most days I really enjoy painting. Today I felt like I didn’t even have opposable thumbs.

Box O’ Berries

The husband does not like berries. Berries of any kind. Actually, he will say he doesn’t like “erries” to make sure cherries are included in the whole category. Oranges, yum. Apples, yum. Berries of any kind and it’s the “gas face” . You know, that face that people make when they smell gas. His brother Jimmy will always act surprised when some sort of berry is served at a meal and the husband doesn’t want any part of it. Jimmy will then say something like “YOU DON’T LIKE [INSERT NAME OF BERRY?]!!!!sounding completely shocked, like he’s never heard this before. And when told “no” Jim will then launch into a laundry list of every berry he can possible think of at that time. What about raspberries? Blueberries? Boysenberries? Blackberries? It goes on and on. And we are always amused. What a simple bunch we are.

So…speaking of berries, here’s a box of berries that I’m working on. They are strawberries from the farmer’s market in Union Square. My friend Judy took a beautiful photo of them which I used as reference. I still have to complete the tops of the berries with green and firm up some of the shadows. Next week it should be done.

Pick me, pick me!

Well, in fact they did.

I was very excited to learn today that my water color “Hot Noodles” was selected to be in a show at the Salmagundi Art Club located at 47 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan.

Now I have to get it framed! The original size is 22 3/8″ x 15″. The framed size cannot exceed 40″ x 30″ so I think I’m ok!

Here’s the info, stop by if you can.

CITY WORKERS ART EXHIBITION 2008
Monday, from July 21st to Saturday, August 2nd. Open to artists who work for the people of New York City.

I’ve included some info below about the history of the club and what’s going on there now. If you have a chance, please stop by and see the show. I have no idea yet what other stuff will be exhibited, but it will all be by artists who work for the people of New York City!!!!

http://www.salmagundi.org/

http://www.salmagundi.org/history.htm

Sue’s Spider Mums

I ended up liking this painting. It started out once again with me thinking oh, this is so going in the garbage. But like a phoenix, it rose from the ashes and now I’m happy with it. (What a drama queen!!!) The husband does not like it. Oh well, he can paint his own.

Sue from New Hampshire came to visit one day and brought me these lovely flowers. She took the subway all by herself from 96th street to meet me for lunch and then had to get back to the Javit’s Center to board a bus to go home. I was very proud of her. The subway can be scary if you’re not used to it. We went to lunch at a new place on the avenue. It was good, but I found out later it’s a vegan restaurant…so THAT’S what it means when the word “chicken” is in quotes.

This painting is my 2nd attempt at painting spider mums. If you recall, my first attempt, which was done in one of my first watercolor classes, was different because all the flowers were facing away from me.

Rejection.

This time, I made sure the flowers pointed towards me. The table perspective is off, but I don’t mind. And the vase is a little lopsided, but so am I.

I also painted the plate on which the vase sits many years ago at a paint your own pottery place. I LOVE those paint your own pottery places.

First day of summer, 2008

It’s the first day of summer and already I’m too hot. I don’t do well in the heat. Unless of course I’m at a beach on a tropical isle holding a drink with an umbrella in it. But walking around the city in the heat and humidity is not for me. A friend recently said that she waits all year for this weather. I wait all year for this weather to go away.

The woman with the hat is finished. SHE looks like she likes the summer. She would probably request a table outside in one of those trendy restaurants in my neighborhood that now have seating on the sidewalk. Ugh! I would so prefer being inside in the a/c.

Today is also my sister’s birthday. And its a BIG BIRTHDAY!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I’ve always said (and I’ll say it again just in case someone hasn’t heard it) that she is such an overachiever she had to have her birthday on the longest day of the year. Well, if anyone deserves a birthday on the longest day of the year it’s her. I am an underachiever and my birthday is at the end of December. The days are shorter and colder and I’m ready for bed by 9:30 pm, so it actually works out well.

A quick topic change…the wordpress blogosphere got quieter yesterday for a little while. That’s because 4 of us “wordpress” people were all together for a visit. Bonnie was up from St. Croix visiting with Judy, Mary, and me which allowed us a reason (even though we didn’t need one) to visit, eat, drink and laugh and laugh. We were only missing one person and our little gathering would have been complete. It was fun.

Now I have to go finish watching a show about how a super volcano possibly caused the plague during the dark ages.  Fascinating stuff.

Woman with hat

A study of a woman with a hat. I’m not sure where it’s going or if I like it. And of course the teacher helped me draw the figure. I made a good start, but as always needed help with the facial structure.   I really need drawing lessons.   Work just gets in the way of everything!

On another note, I finished the HOT NOODLES painting and took it home.  It might not look that different from my other post of her, but I worked on it ever so slightly in a few areas and then STOPPED.

Titanium, baby!!!

A few of you, (very few) have wondered where I’ve been the past few weeks. Well, my husband had a total hip replacement at the very young age of 46. It was done at the Hospital for Special Surgery (formerly known as the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled. I am not making that up). It is an amazing hospital and the husband is doing phenominally well! As you can see in the x-ray above, he has a brand-new titanium alloy hip which should bring up his trade-in value nicely.

I have to say, as far as hospitals go, HSS is one helluva place. I have never been in a nicer, cleaner hospital where the nurses actually come IMMEDIATELY when you call. A volunteer came on hubby’s 2nd day and brought him a beautiful rose in a bud vase and on his discharge day they brought him a carnation with breakfast.  This can’t be a NYC hospital!!!!!

When I was in the hospital in the fall for surgery, I went from ICU to I DON’T C U. (That line was blatantly stolen from a friend.)

I finally got a chance to go back to painting class and will be posting another in-progress painting soon.