New Idea

I thought I was ready to give up painting for awhile, but as I was cleaning up the studio (sort of) I thought of something I wanted to try. It was inspired by an article I read in "Drawing" magazine about a guy who used tattoo ink on transparent paper. It said he painted on both sides of the paper. Well, having no tattoo ink and no transparent paper, I had to improvise. After some time rummaging around, I hit apon the idea of paainting on glass. I used gouache, since I have no other paint, and actually it turned out to be the perfect medium. It's opaque, but you can also wipe it off. I used the image I had painted for the feminine mystique show at the gallery and never showed. The painting was much more transparent than I anticipated, though, especially when held up in natural daylight. It looked mostly like a bunch of drips. Then I thought to put it up against a piece of paper and then put another piece of glass over it. Voila! I love it. The first picture shows it over white paper, the second over red paper, and the third over gold (my favorite). The red one looks a lot better than the photo......much less colorful.

So now I have a new toy, especially after I remove all those paintings at the show from their frames so I can use the glass...........

Finally, the Show

I didn't get any pictures of the reception, but this was taken right after Thom and I hung our show. Later I'll have some that show the party.........We were very happy with the way everything looked, and the opening was well-attended. There are some great comments about it on facebook, which couldn't help but warm our hearts.The show was called "He Saw, She Saw,"which was Thom's idea. David made tags for each work labeled "He Saw" on Thom's and "She Saw" on mine. It was a touch that delighted me quite disproportionately, and I spent more time looking at the cards than the artwork, chuckling anew at each one.

I know there was some buying going on, but I don't know what or how much sold. Thom's photos were pretty popular, I think, and some of my small stuff went, too. I was having a good time socializing, which is quite unlike me in most circumstances. Yet there I was, smiling and chatting and hugging.........It was wonderful to see the whole thing put together. The photos and paintings complimented one another in a way I couldn't have anticipated. Thom and I both felt that the paintings enhanced the photos, and the photos enhanced the paintings. The twenty-four hours before and after the show were spent in self-congratulatory satisfaction. Multiple toasts were drunk to our own success. We loved it.

Spring at 1st Light Farm

First Light Farm

My most recent new endeavor is volunteering at First Light Farm. It's a horse rescue organization quite nearby where I can help take care of and rehabilitate horses that have been saved from slaughter, abandonment, or abuse. Once they have been brought back to health and happiness, they are placed for adoption. The criteria for adoption is fairly rigorous to make sure each one spends the rest of his or her life loved and cared for.

These pictures are of a few of the horses living at the shelter now. The one with the saddle is being adopted by the woman handling her. My project is Fern, the first picture. She was saved from the kill pen after a career as a race horse. I have been grooming her and leading her around, petting her and giving her carrots, to make her comfortable with people. I also feed, water, and clean up. I'm donating my services for a raffle, too, to raise money by selling tickets on a portrait of the winner's horse.

I feel as if a wonderful piece of my life that I thought was gone forever has been restored.