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Monday, February 7, 2011

It's a Jungle Out There



I said it years ago--way before Randy Newman wrote the theme song for Monk. I said it way back when Saks Fifth Avenue was on Lothrup in the new center area in Detroit where I bought my jungle pith helmet. The sun hat said what I thought. The painting, with its dense foliage, says what I think about the world outside my house too. The woods is a barrier--but an attractive one. Not quite a jungle, but not a garden either. It's wild.


It was wild in the world this week--a jungle: The situation in Egypt, (sorry about your trip Barbara)--the horrible winter weather over the US--the devastating cyclone that hit Queensland were the hot topics at our house. Bad news abounds out there. Good news is rarely reported. To keep spirits up, I stay away from newspapers and news forecasts. They're slanted. They're sensationalized. Bad news sells better than good. I don't stick my head into the sand to avoid reality,I just like it fair and balanced. I read the news magazines for a straighter scoop.

The scoop on my Four Seasons series, now that Summer Woods is as good as it's going to get,is I'm doing Get Acquainted sketches in prep for the next one. Just two this last week Fall and Winter, I wanted to finish Summer--plus with the weather beings so horrible, it was cool painting Summer while winter was raging on the other side of the window. There's balance for you.

My Get Acquainted sketches are not necessarily what the paintings will look like. Doing them, I'm familiarizing myself with strategic points and planes. I'll use my photographs when I start the actual paintings. That way, I'll still be approaching the subject fresh.
Meanwhile I'm still searching for the right photos--ones that fit the dab/dot style.





Of these Get Acquainteds, I like Winter the best--but as a kick off for a larger canvas. The Fall thumbnail would suit the series best. The Four Seasons series is being done on 20 by 20s--too small for wide sweeps of color.

So, how do you like to get the news? TV? Newspapers? News magazines? Has the news turned you off of getting the news? Am I the only one who thinks the media and their quest is the reason a lot of folks think its a jungle out there, not just Monk?

10 comments:

  1. Beautiful work, and good commentary about the state of the current news (if you can still call it that when ratings seem to push and pull the content so much). Looking forward to the finished series.

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  2. Me too RH. Thank you. It's very odd with network news professionals: They play up (bad) news for ratings and yet are offended when we question their credibility. TV's the worst.

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  3. Hi, L.W., and thank you for your visit! You are right, our woods are pretty different, but how much powerful are your paintings! I like them very much: I'm glad to know you, and be able to follow your artistic path! Hear you soon, Cristina

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  4. Christina, I'm so glad you came! I admired the peacefulness in your work and was struck how different mine is from yours. We can learn something from each other. Thank you for your praise and for following.

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  5. Newspaper, internet, radio, not tv, we don't have tv. Makes for much less hysteria.

    Lovely sketches.

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  6. Smart Jean. The machine, like this one, is addictive and induces non-productivity--not to mention, in the bedroom has an adverse effect on our sex lives(LOL).

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  7. Hi Linda. I always read your blogs and usually saw "Whew" at the end. Your beautiful jungle painting might be a self-portrait of your jam-packed life--always busy; up early taking photos, cooking, traveling, shopping, new phone, painting, drawing.

    That's an amazing slide show on your sidebar.

    I watch Charlie Rose late at night and read NYTimes and Washington Post on the internet--I filter by headline.

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  8. I've been filtering for years Hallie.Filtering started when I was just gathering up the newspaper in the morning that Honey had strewn around. (He doesn't anymore). Before I took it out to the trash, I read the comics, then the "womens section", then the headlines. If something grabbed me I read the article.
    I prefer the newspaper over the computer though. The newspaper doesn't give me a stiff neck.

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  9. Me again. I don't saw "Whew" at the end of your blog--I SAY "Whew."

    I prefer real newspapers, too; we only have locals in my area.

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  10. I knew it was me. I knew it was you. I would think most artists prefer real paper--whether it's for printing the news or sketching in charcoal.

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