Back to the easel??...

There are so, so many things to do when you buy a house. I feel like my brain is swimming with possibilities. I have not had the time to even think about painting over the last five weeks, and now suddenly it is back to it and wow, I feel kind of brain dead! It has caught me off guard, to be honest, and I feel like I want to do nothing......like I need a vacation after all that has transpired since March from looking for and buying the house, all the roadblocks with the purchase, packing, moving and unpacking. What I thought would be a jumping back to the easel Monday has been more like a looking at the easel, walking around it, pondering unfinished paintings and a kind of "lostness" over it all.

This past Friday was First Friday in Fredericksburg so Craig and I headed out to go to openings and visit local galleries. A lot of people were out and about and I did get to see a few local artist friends, but I was surprised that it did not motivate and inspire me to paint as these events normally do. So, I guess I will go with it for now.

To my horror Sunday, I saw the nesting robin sitting on bare wood under my deck. I found the nest on the ground with three little blue eggs laying around it. It was either the high winds or a predator, like a crow or squirrel. One was broken, so I put the other two back in and secured the nest back in place with picture wire and waited. She returned in about fifteen minutes and sat on them. Robins are really particular, so I was skeptical that the pair would stay tending the nest. Yesterday, while looking from above the deck through the boards and saw only one egg in the nest, so one was taken. I haven't seen the robins since, so it has been abandoned. Today, I am going to climb up and get the other egg out. I plan on putting a nesting shelf under there for next year.

I leave you with Patte Ormsby's work. I saw one of Patte's pieces ot the FCCA opening this past Friday and was riveted.

Back in the Saddle

Every box is unpacked, the studio is up and in order and several hours have been spent working on a neglected yard. After a five week break from the easel, I will be back to it on Monday. I wake up every morning amazed that this is my house. It was a long and bumpy road for sure, but here we are finally. We back up to a forest and creek that dumps into the Rappahannock River. There was a ground hog in the yard this morning, robins have built a nest under my deck and I discovered a beautiful eastern box turtle living in the wild rose bush. My kind of place.
Thanks for hanging in there with me....I look forward to catching up with everyone......



The studio:

Atlanta

While we were in Atlanta last week, we went to see the Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius exhibit at the High Museum. The exhibit focuses on the artist as student, sculptor and mentor. Most of the pieces are sketches and studies, most of which I have seen in books. I was really struck by the delicate nature of Leonardo's marks. These are among the most beautiful sketches I have ever seen.
In the High courtyard is a re-creation of the 26 foot high Sforza horse made from sketches for the statue honoring the Duke of Milan. Though he worked on sketches and plans for over 17 years, the statue was never realized in Leonardo's day beyond a 26 foot clay model. The model was destroyed by french soldiers who used it for target practice.






I moved to Altanta in 1987 to go to the Atlanta College of Art, which is now part of Savannah College of Art and Design. I am amazed at how much that area between 15th and 17th on Peachtree has changed. Where the ACA dorm was, there is now a parking garage and another wing of the High. So, it is a bittersweet to walk around that block. The High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center along with the Alliance Theater and the ASO which all reside on the same block.




The building at One Atlantic Center was just being completed when I moved to Atlanta in 1987. A reproduction on Rodin's "The Shade" is in the foreground and was inside the Woodruff Arts Center (which is housed ACA) back when I attended.



Shot of the city from the walkway between two wings of the High.