mostly, they are biographies, short on images and large on opinion, speculation, and not necessarily fact or truth. when i get interested in a subject, i like to get a lot of different versions.  i’ve read quite a bit on both Amelia Earhart and Johnny Cash in the past couple of years & you certainly get a wider view of the subject from different authors- strangers, wives, children, the subject themselves. the most recent book on O’Keeffe i purchased this summer at the library book fair for a meager dollar or two, i have yet to read. but i am still not sure what has intrigued me about her over the years. i am moderately interested in her art.

this book is special though, because (despite availability of inexpensive full-color books at the forefront tables of large book chains) i only own one other picture book of a singular artist’s work.

the exhibition book, from the National Gallery of Art is from 1988 and contains 120 full color plates- what a gift. i’m holding off on looking at some of the images. i’ve seen an exhibit of many of O’Keeffe’s brighter watercolors, some years ago with my sister, in DC i think. i am drawn to these more vibrant images and their opposites, the charcoal images, particularly the bracelet with the eagle claw… and though the obvious connection, do not want to look at her bones right now.

selected letters at the back add dimension to the myth… one of the last letters thanks again a friend for being there when she had to put her beloved dog to sleep.

“We drove out into the White Hills- dug a hole under a small sized cedar bush and put my beautiful dog into it and covered him with earth and many rocks. I like to think that probably he goes running and leaping through the White Hills alone in the night.”

the new ben folds/nick hornby collaboration brings me down, man. music/lyrics- former/latter. the music is peppy enough (for BF) but the sentiment is a total downer, “Sure we all have soulmates but we walk past them every day.”

incidentally, i just totally got into Thomas Mapfumo last week. i have that sort of “where has he been all my life!?” feeling about TM and his music. the track that stopped me in my tracks is Marudzi Nemarudzi, off his Rise Up album. i mentioned my new “discovery” to a friend, who replied matter-of-factly that TM used to play often when we worked at the old HOB in Cambridge. and it never registered with me. despite the copious ways that i couldn’t have missed it. that i was quite possibly in attendance for a show that went in one ear and never registered.  that also is a total bummer. but what can you do? something right in front of you and you are completely oblivious- only to catch on later.

i know it’s this same concept that ben folds and nick hornby are exploring, except that in their scenario, the characters never catch on. the song concludes that maybe this undefined longing is what brings us music and writing- “Maybe that’s how books get written/Maybe that’s why songs get sung”- that these near misses, the closest sensations grasped, but never fully experienced, generate creativity…

from the utterly gorgeous August arrived the stormy ocean, winding in leaves and branches, blankets, sweaters and tea. so goes the painting, from one moment of clarity to muddy mixtures plagued by cliche. quicky quick on the sea&sky to get the landscape done with– some areas improved via secondary method of loosening up , others certainly suffered for it. in hindsight & in future, it would probably behoove me, once getting stuck and branching out on my own from the actual landscape to return to it.  certainly some of the authenticity was lost for generic inaccuracies.

nonetheless, A.M.= up and at ‘em again. (as pointed out by b) indeed, i had more success with my bones; a reply to my supposition that there is something to be said for working in subject matter that naturally inspires you, that comes naturally to you and that this is what viewers respond to.

reinvigorated, retrieved old bone canvas from basement. unsuccessful parts cliche& generic= stencil-like, bones. (not to mention seeing old bad painting underneath) now! i have bones , why not go in and rework those parts from life?

like absurd weather of March in the 8th month, a struggle to start painting after success of re-stretching entire canvas and removing bubble. drum-tight now!

whistle while we work: Bone Machine- duh. particularly, A Little Rain never hurts & lines from Black Wingsssseem appropriate for this piece, just re-started:

When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach
And horses and the fence posts
In the midnight look like bones

i can’t wait to get back to it during daylight, it was timely that the dinner hour came around because i needed some of the intense colors i put down to dry a bit so i can go over them and keep them as base colors (the yellow in the sky/orange in the ocean/maroon and grey in the background land masses). all the same, i painted over most of the painting and feel several areas are finished or close to done.
i spent considerable time doing some critical “looking” at my painting from weds and paintings that i admire. i could almost grasp what seemed to be lacking in mine, though verbal explanations are still a bit misty. it took a few hours of messing about for me to be able to intuitively comprehend and actually “get” some what i suspected to be lacking into coherent action. i was basically wandering about making a mess of things for hours until it suddenly began working. i put down a saturated orangey,brown beige at the bottom, & mixing in a peachy orange in to the lime green marsh grass? still not really sure how that came about- but things really started to gell after that.

The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.

What went wrong
scene composition too far away to see well?>”zoomed in” again
didn’t get to finish water/grass after wiping away
overall palette too bland/tonal- lost values trying to refine, lost cool background, vibrant foreground, sky and water values and it’s too muddy. maybe also needs complementary colors/or temperature to make it pleasing- darkest value stands out, lost other deeper values that would accurately balance composition
bush on left rendered generic, having trouble with real form of bushes
painted too long:
light/tide changes too much for my ability/speed
lost the subconscious plan- after painting ground, doing rough sketch, blocking in basic areas- how to refine??
started mixing lazy colors as palette got filled up (violet for a shadow area rather than the greeny orange value)
got distracted by text msg

What went well
set up properly/comfortably, spent time looking for a composition, and spent lots of time color mixing rather than jumping right into painting
made a good sketch, very loose, just marking out a few areas, did not get too detailed
initial color blocking pretty accurate
initial color mixing pretty accurate
put down darkest value first
painting exercises have helepd
blocked in areas in painterly way, not drawing w/ paint
getting better rendering in paint (buildings etc)
not afraid to wipe away mistakes
enjoyed painting at location

do you have a fascination for old stuff? i’ll probably never get around to using these photo coloring tubes (assuming they aren’t dried out already). but i’ll keep them just in case and because the packaging and compartments of tools is so beautiful of itself.

Naukabout Fest celebrated its 3rd year last weekend with some gorgeous weather, music and people. still trying to get the hang of these pens i bought & but here’s a view of the main stage. images i am making with these pens are muddy, but if you look close there are some interesting marks.

i said partway through the day that it’s a different experience listening to live music out of doors. the elements coalesce, strumming guitars and drums, trees and sky- even dancing feels more primal. look around you and see friends you’ve met from all variety of ways also experiencing the same… it’s difficult to capture the various threads of the web, the pieces of our lives that tie us all together.