This…
… is in bloom in my yard in January. They are called “paperwhites” and are very fragrant.
That…
… was completely blocking everything in the driveway one day. My neighbor is an outstanding tree service guy, and it was time to do some serious tree trimming on our property. (Not going to plug his business for him because he doesn’t have a website and doesn’t want jobs outside of the area.) I didn’t watch him and his crew do their interesting and skilled work because I was doing a year’s worth of bookkeeping in preparation for taxes. Ugh. That again. (year after year after year after . . .)
Something Else
What is this? Gessobord is a smooth surface on which to do very detailed oil paintings.
After my week in Monterey, I wasn’t convinced that plein air painting is for me. (Still not convinced.) However, I was convinced that I love the beach (this is not news), that I really love mixing these colors, and that I want to do some very detailed paintings of the waves. This means studio paintings from photos, because you may have noticed that those waves will NOT hold still.
First, a thin layer to cover the surface and establish where things will go. Just the opportunity to use non-mountain, non-citrus colors thrills my little heart.
The second layer gets even more thrilling. (I didn’t show you the beginning layer of these two.)
After these dry, I will add even more detail, then sign them. After they dry yet again, I’ll scan them so you can appreciate them more.
Finally, you can see them in person when I have my next solo show, coming in August*. The paintings always look better in person.
*Hold your camels; I’ll let you know more about it when the time is right.
3 Comments
Oh, I’m not complaining about the cost, just stating a fact. We have had tree limbs (some quite large) fall in a windstorm. Fortunately, so far they have not caused any injury, but there’s always that possibility, so we keep them trimmed back. Fortunately, we have a wonderful tree service company that has maintained our large trees here. He does a great job and we are grateful to have found him!
I can smell those “paperwhites” just from looking at the photo! Mmmmmmm!
We, too, are doing a lot of tree trimming in our community. I forget the exact number, but it’s well over 100 trees to maintain at a cost. A great cost. A huge cost!
Sharon, not trimming those trees also has a huge cost. The reason that tree trimmers have to charge those astronomical rates are that their equipment costs a fortune to buy and maintain, and the insurance is unthinkably high. It takes tremendous skill to look carefully at each tree and decide exactly what needs to be cut and exactly how to reach it and exactly how to drop the pieces with minimal damage. If it didn’t break one’s neck to look up so long, it would be interesting enough to just stand and stare.