More people pix from the AW

 

Abstracted Photos

 I wish I had a desire to paint. It weighs heavy on me like a guilt. In my studio however, I do have some artwork hanging. Pieces that may be here on this blog. A woman came in last week and wanted to discuss them as one would with a child. What were you thinking when you did this? Tell me about . . .  She ended up saying they are “mysterious.” That was a lovely remark! I was flattered. Today I was at Greenfield Lake and since it is a picturesque place had my camera. Of course everyone has a camera nowadays, so I need to stop saying that. I put the images on the computer when I got home and looked to find abstracted patterns in them. Here are a couple.  Both from the murky lake water  

Outside

In a beautiful backyard garden today. What a lovely painting Todd (in red shirt) did. 

Tangerines

 The tangerines I had were so pretty that I wanted to preserve them.

Even though my iPhone doesn’t do closeups well, and even though the composition isn’t good, and even though the editing wasn’t great, I am still posting.

Another 12x12

Every once in a while I paint something I like. I even put it on instagram. 

Photo Painted!

 I took this pic of my grand goats a couple of years ago, and two artists painted it! Some like reference photos. This is the one that Anne painted. I needed to show it. 

Birds of dissimilar feathers

 I was looking at this picture I took a few years ago and thought it might have a story.

People at Work today

 Decided to stop trying to paint and take some pix - changed to BW. 

Voila!

The New Place

It was eight months after I closed the gallery and said goodbye to art in Wilmington, that I went humbly back to the ArtWorks. "Can I come home?" I am so happy I did. Until last month, I shared a space with a woman I knew from before, but then she moved out. Originally the outer walls were a faux painting style that may have looked good ten years ago, but badly needed a makeover. So I first painted it a meh green that I was never satisfied with. Eight months later and having it all mine now gave me the impetus to paint over it. Again. I chose a bold color called goldenrod, and I love it. It says me. Here are the walls, front and side. 

What do we see here?

 

Whaddya think? It seems so me.

 

I think I like this one.

 

Still at it after all

 I said I was moving along, that art was in the rear view mirror, but that lasted only six months. Thankfully Jim welcomed me back in April. Home. Overall, I don’t like to paint, but once in a while, it is fun to push paint around and see what comes out. Mostly I like having some place to go. I’m sharing a space with a traditional painter, Jo. My space is the back of a 12x15 makeshift room. For my first 4th Friday back, I wanted something, anything of mine on the back wall, under the bright spotlights there. Here is the 36x48 I ended up with. 

Bye bye

Shortly after I moved here in 2013, I got pulled into the art community. It took me on a path that led to the ownership and management of the gallery. This gallery where I am sitting now and looking out the big windows onto the park, the green space that is used for walking and picnicking as well as events. It was a gift, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity. If I were a better businesswoman, I could have put more into it, but who’s to know if it would have been more successful. But my style has been just fine with me. After all, I have lived long enough to have learned a few things, like to avoid pie in the sky ideas and big debt. The rent has been covered all this time by some investors somewhere, but the contract ends the last of August. There’s no way I could pay that very high expense, so goodbye gallery. I am looking forward to the whole art thing being in the rear view mirror. A chapter in my life soon closing. 

Note to self

This has been a beautiful, calm December day with temps in the seventies, and a bright sunny blue sky. It is a “work day” for me, so I have been by the river, able to enjoy the great outdoors as long as I can keep an eye on the gallery. There are a few others walking around, and even the often more aloof “transplants” have greeted me with some comment on the lovely day. 

For the past few week a cold has gotten me down a bit. All colds are different and this particular one was all sinus and nasal with a side of listlessness. I didn’t like that. But today! Thanks goodness for today!  My sense of wonder has returned. And it made me realize that is my essence. Not that I need to go on and on about myself, but today I appreciate my sense of wonder. If I didn’t have a sense of who our great God is, I may not have it. But I am amazed at the world and all it contains and seeing how things come together - the rivers and oceans, soil and sand, the creatures who live around it all, the life giving sun and the way it causes the colors of the earth to change from 93 million miles away. Even the fine voice of the singer I am listening to. Infinitely fascinating, and I hope to continue to see my world like that. 

a moment in tonight's sunset

 

Coming to port ILM

 I love it when I catch one of these big container ships coming or going. This one was going, and I learned by looking up the name of the ship, that it is on its way to Savannah. 

Migrating monarchs stop to refuel

What’s up today?

Fall is here, and it is lovely! 

The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday. I have changed the hours from 12-6 to 11-5, but I will probably stay til 6 for a while. Those are my EST and shorter days hours.

I have gone down to the river three times so far on this perfect day. It is spectacular only at sunset, but the rest of the time, there is something else to wonder at, and I am filled with gratitude to be present in nature. I was here last October, so witnessing the cycle of nature is a wonder in itself. 

The pizza place next door opened on Saturday. I am happy for the owners as it took forever. I think I will try it next week. 

It seems that fewer and fewer people come to the gallery. Since talking with strangers is on the top of things I love to do, I wish more people would come in. Also I love making a sale. 

Each Wednesday, it feels like going back to work after a vacation, and I lack motivation. By Saturday I have more a sense of duty and ownership and keep busier at gallery stuff. Today, being Wednesday, besides going to the river and taking pictures, I did a one hour webinar about something new with the company that hosts my website. Then I learned some new things on YouTube, made some reasonable plans, enjoyed my tuna sandwich, brownies and lemonade, read aloud and recorded some things on voice memo, and eventually it became time to close up shop, which is now. Only three more days this week!

A Hard Week

The sale of art in the gallery can leave an empty spot. New art arrives. Old art leaves. Walls become stale to a frequent visitor. These are just some of the reasons to rehang and reorganize the inventory approximately every three months. 

In the past I have paid someone to help, but this time I decided to do it myself. Trying to save a buck! It is really a complicated thing. It involves connecting the various art pieces in some way - angles, color, subject, frame or no frame, size, and then there is the light, natural and from above. What will the artists think?

Getting on the step stool to hammer in a nail way above my head and lifting a heavy painting and hanging it level aren’t easy for me to do. So I did a lot of singing and praying this week as I worked, and inch by inch, it is complete except for the final clean up. 

I did get a sense of accomplishment. And it looks pretty.