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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

On With The Show


First impressions are the best.  This 8 x 10" acrylic is my first impression of the bog off the  little meadow behind my house.

With this little painting of a bog , I gave up obsessing over the bog of my blog. My savvy computer son said my loss of images was my fault.  A very trusting me bought a  custom domain from Blogger and then let it expire. I suppose the expiration  and my resolve back to the Blogspot domain broke the image reference?  The break happened on page two,  on April 13th, 2011. (I wonder if that was a Friday)? Though I have no recollection of any charge card inquiry emails from Blogger who previously automatically charged the yearly fee to my account, the good news is: all  images previous to that date are intact and I have restored my profile photo simply by removing the previous one in the profile folder and downloading the photo again. Nothin' to it.

ON WITH THE SHOW:  Over the weekend I visited  all the fine art supply stores around the city and failed to find a mahlstick, which I desperately need to get intimate with my portraits. I concluded Sunday I would have to construct my own. Yesterday, I discovered the perfect stand-in in the garage: a snow removal/ice scrapper. I removed the brush, washed the stick and fittings and tried it out. It is going to work just fine held firmly against a solid board on the easel behind the portrait. I had been using a long stretched canvas to expand  the upright work space. To use the scraper as a mahlstick, I needed a solid backboard. I just happen to have some Masonite lying around , which slid into place nicely. The bulldog that I am, I will not quit looking for the real thing , of course.


18 comments:

  1. I adore this! I haven't painted/sketched much lately as quite a while back (a year ago?) I decided to work with photography and practice my composition as that might make me a better painter and be able to paint from my own images. The photos lead to poetry... ha. I am planning on blending the three together. My "main" blog now is http://margaretbednar365.blogspot.com (if you are interested).

    This painting inspires me so so much and I long to just get out there and respond to the beauty outside. Perhaps you will see a post later today with some art work of mine... :)

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  2. April 13, 2011 was a Wednesday... hey things happen for a reason- the fact it expired, u learned something about owning a domain...At least u learned that owning one isn't all that, right? so, u lost some photos on a blog... not the end is it? More and better things to do and think about... btw, love the painting!.

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  3. You do miss having a brush in your hand after doing it daily for a long period of time. Photography is very important Margaret in portraiture. Some professional equipment is needed like spots and keys and reflector devices. The reference photo was taken by someone else and then cropped and photoshopped. Getting a sense of depth out of it plus relearning oils has been challenging in addition to having blog problems. Finally doing this little painting was a nice afternoon.

    I'll come on by. I wondered what happened to you, but you did tend to lean towards photography and poetry.

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  4. Thanks Chris. I loved getting back to it.

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  5. Love the abstract interpretation of the meadow, your colors are fabulous!' Kalei's Best Friend' is right...losing some photos is not the end even if it IS a nuisance, and I am sure you will find a way to restore everything again. With this computer genius of your son ( like my son! ) should not be too difficult. xx

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  6. Your "first impression" is wonderful. I can't imagine actually visiting stores for art supplies--I order everything from the internet. For me, the closest art supply place is about 70 miles. Once a year I attend an art expo and look at all the new stuff (usually requires spending one night in a hotel since I'm not an early-start person).

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  7. That scraper will work just fine, I am sure. You have a real talent for spontaneous brushwork AND precision brushwork too. I like that about you! The portrait is looking GREAT

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  8. I've relaxed about losing the photos Jane, for the truth is I haven't really. All of them are in my files and I could reinsert them if I wanted to spend more time on this. All the original art is also in my actual domain, my house. After all that, it was nice though getting back to scribbling. I intend to do that again today.

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  9. Although I've got this new thing about getting showered and dressed as soon as my foot hits the floor, I'm not an up and out person either. I need time for my coffee and doing this--moseying. I mostly buy on line too, but I can spend a couple of hours in Michael's (a craft shop with art supplies--they are having a second canvas free with purchase of one sale) and double that amount in Green's. I like to investigate and touch.I also compare the prices. Online stuff is not the cheapest on everything.

    It was fun getting back to painting even if just fooling around with an initial impression. The funny thing about that little acrylic painting and shopping art supplies is I'm nearly depleted of acrylics, yet I was out buying oils. I'm down to a very limited palette for my acrylic work.

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  10. The scraper worked great Celeste. It's a little heavy, but it's wide enough and the extension is deep enough where no part of it touches the canvas. I'm still looking for an arty one, but I'm in no rush. I have a feeling I will construct one that fits to the backboard and swings up when you need it and back down and away when you don't. A construction plan is whirling around in my head. Thank you. You are very kind. I have miles to go to reach your skill and only half your steam.

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  11. Okay, Let's see how embedded works. I like the ability to reply directly under the comments. I'm just trying out the new and improved features of Blogger--or maybe this was an old feature I missed?

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    1. Well Linda, this might be a better formate. It eliminates a lot of scrolling. I'll keep it.

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  12. At least you found out what happened. Didn't know you can get a domain from blogger...

    Beautiful first impression - looks like a beautiful day.

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    1. It was, but alas, came and went. Back into the forties. Yes, they do offer the option of a custom domain. I am staying away from such for the time being.

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  13. lots of freedom in bog impression..glad your back painting linda .. sorry for your trouble re photos and blog ...looks like you've done a good job at improvising with the mahlstick.

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    1. Thanks Jane. I thought I'd been lost in Blogworld long enough. My stubborness was at fault; I'm glad I've settled down. At breakfast I thought of a better mahlstick, something lighter weight and more manageable--but in a pinch an ice scraper does work. Odd these things are only available online in our neck of the woods.

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  14. You're so talented Linda. And I agree, there is only one first impression... and it's priceless.

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    1. Thank you Agnes. You're right about first impressions, being first they are everlasting. My front hall is painted Chinese red. From there after, everyone thinks my house is so colorful when actually it's off white and gray/beige--taupe--the greatest color for pumps. Red give my place its punch.

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