Today I visited Celebrate Agriculture With The Arts in Madera. (that’s a long ways away from Three Rivers!!) This is the show in which my ice cream cone called Worth It won a second place ribbon in the category of Dairy. Art shows and judging are a mysterious process. I found my piece and wondered where the rest of the Dairy entries were. Turns out mine is THE ONLY PIECE in the category!! And, I got second place! Is that not the most embarrassing thing in the artworld? Nope, 3rd or none would be the most embarrassing. Sheesh! I asked the director of the gallery, and she said that the judge simply said, “I think this piece should be larger”. The director interpreted that to mean that I hadn’t done enough work to deserve a first! Before I could get huffy (what? me huffy??), she told me that the judge went home and died. He judged the show and died! Knowing this, I wasn’t too puzzled by the fact that I got third in Farm Equipment and Machinery when there was a Very Very Beautiful piece hanging above mine that got nothing! Poor old guy, he was tired. So, here is something new to look at. The only judging it will receive will be whether or not someone chooses to part with cash to buy it. That’s the real test!
8×10 – oil on wrapped canvas – $80
How splitting wood is like drawing with pencils
Sports are not for me – in fact, I’ve been known to say that I have only two sports: walking and splitting wood. I love to split wood! That is the axe my dear husband gave me for my birthday, and this weekend I was thrilled to get to try it.
As I was splitting wood, it occurred to me that there are many parallels between splitting wood with an axe and drawing with a pencil. Look at these:
1. Neither require electricity.
2. Both require a sharp edge – blade or point.
3. For best results, start with the large and move to the small.
4. They both make wood bits – shavings from the sharpener or splinters from the axe.
5. Lots of strokes are required for results.
6. One has to start with good stuff to get decent results – great scenes make great drawings, and good clean-grained wood makes good shaped pieces.
7. Both require paying close attention to what one is doing, unless one doesn’t mind wasting time and energy.
8. The terms “hard” and “soft” are always being flung around, both with wood and with pencils.
9. Cedar makes the best pencils and also the best-splitting wood.
I’m sure there are more parallels; can you think of any?
Honeymoon Cabin II
I have drawn this cabin in graphite multiple times, and it remains interesting to me! It is a cute little place, right on the stream, with a great view of Vandever in the background. (That is the peak on the right/west side of Farewell Gap that my studly husband climbs almost every summer while I sit on the porch with the 2way radio and my knitting!). Now I have painted the cabin twice, and probably will continue painting it from various photos taken at different times in the seasons and times of the day. Eventually I hope to paint it standing on location.
sold
P.S. Now it is 2024, and this is the first post I ever put up on my blog. I’ve painted this cabin more times than I can remember, blogged 5 days a week since April 2008, and am about to delete all my old posts because no one cares and they are slowing down my website.