Liz and Charlie gave me Roman Numeral Birthday Cake Candles for my birthday. (There was no cake attached…clearly an oversight on their part. )
The tag line on the box was “party like it’s MCMXCIX”!
What is it about Roman Numerals that makes everything look a little classier? You’ve built a building and want to put in a corner-stone? Sure, you can put 1988 carved right there in the stone. Or you can have it say MCMLXXXVIII. Really, which looks better?
Liz and Charlie used to live on the other side of our brick wall. Then they bought a house and moved around the corner. Their new address is 92. One night, as I walked around the corner to meet Charlie for the nightly dog walk, I noticed his new garbage cans were on the sidewalk for the next morning’s pickup. He had labeled them with XCII. Did Charlie think that on his new block he won’t get the noisy white NYC Dept. of Sanitation trucks to pick up his trash, but instead men on Roman chariots wearing helmets with a big red mohawk would be picking up his trash? His new block was way fancier than the old one!
I have already woken up on the wrong side of 2010. It started with my computer going berserk on New Year’s Day and went down from there.
The above painting is a work in progress watercolor of a road in a field. We’ll see where this road takes me.
46 comments
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January 4, 2010 at 2:44 am
Kung
Would you make sure Roman gladiators pick up my garbage also?
January 4, 2010 at 4:06 am
Carol King
I’ll send them right over.
January 4, 2010 at 2:48 am
jimmyboi2
I love Roman Numerals! I once did a project in Sixth Grade Math based on Roman numerals. I unscrolled a plastic roller-shade, onto which I had imprinted Roman Numerals. The unscrolling was a great success!
I like this painting-in-progress– it is VERY moody. I am looking forward to seeing how it progresses. There is something sinister about that sky…
HAPPY MMX !!
January 4, 2010 at 4:07 am
Carol King
Did you wear a toga?
January 4, 2010 at 3:21 am
cruthlarson
isn’t The Road in a world of 64 shades of ash? Is this your way of colorizing ash? It is a sinister (jimmyboi2), ominous sky. Overall the vision mesmerizing, evocative. I’m interested in seeing how go your travels down this road…
Here’s to an adventurous 2010 (but I tend to say “XX-X”, though I might write “MMX”)
January 4, 2010 at 4:09 am
Carol King
That a different road. That’s the one after an apocalypse. But excellent memory about the 64 shades of ash.
January 4, 2010 at 4:51 am
lesliepaints
I like the colors in this painting, Carol, and I think it’s going to take you toward that orange sky in the background 🙂 That’s me trying to be funny. As far as the cake goes….they just probably were told you were dieting or read it on your blog. Here in Fort Wayne we have these humongous barrels they supply us with. WE HAVE TO USE THEM. We have restrictions as to how much weight we can put in it. For the life of me, I would have no way of weighing it. It would need one of those scales like they weigh large animals on.
January 4, 2010 at 4:59 am
Carol King
LOL! Yes Leslie, you are correct as to where this road will take me. “on the road again…..”
January 4, 2010 at 6:53 am
CathyG
Oh, that would make garbage day so much more exciting if chariots came.
I really love this painting Carol – hope you don’t do too much else to it – and may your 2010 improve from here on (as you saw, mine didn’t have a great start yesterday either!)
January 4, 2010 at 9:34 am
The Husband
Hopefully the road in the watercolor takes you to a new and better attitude for 2010.
January 5, 2010 at 4:12 pm
carolking
here’s to my better attitude in 2010!
January 4, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Carol King
Cathy, I hope I don’t do too much more to it too. But I will probably paint it right into the ground. Maybe in 2010 I will learn that Less is More.
January 5, 2010 at 4:14 pm
carolking
Cathy, I hope I don’t do too much more to it too. But I will probably paint it right into the ground. Maybe in 2010 I will learn that Less is More.
January 4, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Beth Parker
I love this painting, Carol! The yellow glow of the sky under those storm clouds is awesome! I hope 2010 improves for you soon!
January 4, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Carol King
A minor improvement so far. Keep your fingers crossed that it continues to improve. Many thanks for your comments.
January 4, 2010 at 6:40 pm
asmalltowndad
I’ll pass on the roman gladiators picking up anything at my house, but if you want to send a few Roman goddesses over to do some house cleaning, that would be just fine!
XLVII on the XIIth, can you add th after roman numerals?
Your painting looks like the road to success as an artist to me.
January 4, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Carol King
47th on the 12th? Is that you? If so happy birthday. If not, then I don’t know what you mean.
thank you for your kind words about my painting.
January 5, 2010 at 6:25 pm
asmalltowndad
47 that’s me, and thank you.
January 5, 2010 at 12:31 am
kseverny
i see a lot of potential in this one.
Looking forward to the end result
January 5, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Carol King
Kokot, I see potential too. Now I just have to exploit the potential without ruining the image. But it’s all a learning experience, right?
January 5, 2010 at 10:11 pm
kseverny
right
January 5, 2010 at 1:20 am
Cathyann Burgess
so surreal…can’t wait to see where you stop.
January 5, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Carol King
I’m sure at some point I will stop, look at it and say damn, I should have stopped earlier.
January 5, 2010 at 5:09 am
napabelle
I love it as it is !!! Wonderful intense colors !
January 5, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Carol King
Thanks Isabelle, I like the colors too. I don’t normally use that many intense colors, so this has been particularly fun for me.
January 5, 2010 at 10:00 am
2a24
I like the colors of your painting,Carol.
Makes me feel happy 🙂
Have a great time!!!
January 5, 2010 at 2:50 pm
June Malone
Hey I didn’t know you spoke Latin!
This is fantastic just as it is. Strong, simple composition, great colours and I do like a wide horizon. It looks like the opening image to a serious novel and makes me wonder who lives in the distant town, what went on there…etc.
January 7, 2010 at 2:22 am
Carol King
June, thanks for your comments. I wonder if there’s a writer with a very serious novel that needs a cover image???? I keep thinking there’s been an explosion at the end of that road!
January 5, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Carol King
Alina, these colors make me feel happy too! Thanks for stopping by.
January 5, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Bonnie Luria
Love the strength of colors and that line into the horizon.
Sky that looks like Kansas before a twister.
Where did I read that paintings are never done, just abandoned.
Guess that’s how we know when to stop.
PS- if not for the song by Prince, I wouldn’t have known what the date on the candles was. I’ve forgotten how to count in Roman.
I don’t even know how to refer to the new decade!
Hmmmm, I feel a blog post coming on…..
January 5, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Carol King
The Sisters of Anger banged those Roman Numerals into us in Catholic School. But now they have an app for phones that will translate any arabic number into roman numerals and vice versa. Just saw your blog post. LOVE your new conch blower.
January 5, 2010 at 7:29 pm
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[…] as Carol has mused over, we could still be using Roman […]
January 5, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Sonya Chasey
I like this just as it is – a good rhythmn of horizontals & diagonals with a spontaneous flow. I like the rich colours too.
January 6, 2010 at 4:04 am
Carol King
I like the rich colors too. the trick will be to finish it up and still keep the colors rich.
January 6, 2010 at 12:35 am
Alex Zonis
Your posts make me laugh! 😀 😀 😀 Thank you!
I like your painting in progress. The sky especially, very dramatic. Let see where it will bring us when finished. Good work so far.
January 6, 2010 at 4:05 am
Carol King
Hi Alex, So nice of you to stop by. Thanks for your comments.
January 6, 2010 at 2:31 am
Donald Mills
A lovely painting. Very well done.
My birth certificate was done in Roman Numerals but that’s more about my age than any claim to sophistication or class.
I was very interested in this notion of the NYC sanitation department dressing as ancient Romans. If I recall correctly, (and no, I wasn’t actually there at the time) Rome wasn’t well known for door front garbage pick-up. People tended to just heave the stuff out of windows and hope for the best.
Still, Romans on chariots picking up the trash would be damned entertaining sight and far superior to the motley assortment of beer-bellied, cigar chomping clods who currently stop by.
All the best Mrs. King!
January 6, 2010 at 4:09 am
Carol King
Dear Mr. Mills,
So nice of you to stop by.
You recall correctly about the Romans trash-tossing habits, however, one of Mayor Bloomberg’s (stolen) 3rd term promises was to change the NYC Dept. of Sanitation’s uniforms to Roman Centurian Garb. I can’t wait until they gallop down my street. And I agree it will be an improvement on who currently picks up my trash.
I’ll keep you posted. If it works out, Sanitation Departments from Orlando to Ottawa may make the same changes in their uniforms. (Unless of course the change is to togas, but that may only work in the southern climes.)
January 7, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Francis Jong
I can see the road now, i think they are going to be fantastic. Very nice touch on the sky and City skyline..i see the sky start to tell some stories. Hope to see the progress. Happy driving.
Sorry, not too fancy about roman numerical, i kinda confuse with them since school time. I stick to modern numeric anytime.
January 9, 2010 at 12:49 am
lesliepaints
The suspense is killing me! I’m trying to decide what you are going to do with this!
January 10, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Carol King
Unfortunately Leslie, You and I will have to wait a little while longer. I left this painting at class and couldn’t go this weekend cause I’m sick, sick, sick. Fever, bronchial infection. Cough. YUCK.
January 9, 2010 at 3:08 am
jingle
wow, amazing art, why I did not know you earlier?
Thank you for sharing the wisdom, music, FUNNY side of life with us.
January 10, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Stephen
Hey Carol – this is so strong. Your work is so unhindered. Stephen
January 10, 2010 at 10:09 pm
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