Sunday's Post Secret

There are pawn shops, ya know.

Citizen Cope

Listening to Citizen Cope drift down the stairs. Haley's upstairs listening. Diamonds they fade....I'm telling you...these feelings won't go away, they be knocking me sideways..

Have been working on the Wilmington skyline painting and it's really frustrating the hell out of me. I've been going over and over the same spots, refining, layering...mainly because I can't "get happy" with it. I don't want to post a pic right now because I'm just so.....ehhhh. It'll get there, just definitely not an instant gratification kind of painting. I'm staring at it right now, giving it the stink eye. The sky is bothering me, and there's a particular building that just looks like a booze flask to me right now.

Mercury is in retrograde. When this happens, I just want to go live in a cave, because it wreaks havoc with my life. Is that how to spell wreak?

In progress

Not complete, and have quite a bit of line straightening to do. Maybe another four hours for this one, but getting there.

Elin

Was reading Elin Wood's interview about her life over the past year. I feel really bad for her and the kids and was surprised to read that she has lost some of her hair in the days preceding her divorce. Thought that was interesting, because the same thing happened to me, just a quarter-sized bald spot after my engagement ended, and I was told it was stress-related. Up till that point, I had thought the whole idea of hair falling out was just an old wive's tale. Too bad it doesn't seem to have happened to Tiger, though having an appendage fall off would probably be a better malady for him to suffer.

Hazy morning

I had high hopes for this being at least a partial beach day today. Not looking very likely.

I totally get this Post Secret, having taken Ambien one time (first and last.) That stuff is crazy-dangerous. You're lucky if shaving your legs is the only thing you do that you don't remember. And it stays in your system for longer than you'd think.

Dewey last night. Not so much fun. Lots of tremendously drunk people. What amazes me is the Bottle and Cork. The dance area is covered in crushed beer cans, and the liquid (beer....and probably lots of other bodily fluids) on the floor is deep enough, that if you have long pants on, the nasty stuff gets on the bottom of your pants and seeps up like a sponge. I unfortunately work white pants. MisTAKE! Not sure why people there just feel it's okay to just drop your beer can (no bottles there, thank God) on the floor and then just dance on them. My niece told me to stop being old. Yeah, I guess that's it.

The other half of tomorrow's concert. Beautiful.

Metropolitan Magazine

I'm just getting around to posting this. A nice little "shout-out" from Metropolitan Magazine, July 2010 edition.

Peace

A peaceful couple of days, post-outdoor show. Things are winding down. Traffic is still heavy, and will be for a few more weeks, but then we'll return to "normal". Volleyball pre-season has started for Haley and she is beyond sore, due to bleacher runs, lunges, sit-ups, etc. Poor thing can barely take a breath. Dusty is working up a storm and brainstorming ideas for creating shark lures as a business. I am painting, painting, painting and trying to relax at night. Working on a painting of the Wilmington skyline and a house commission. Photos are in progress, early stages.

Ray Lamontagne and David Gray

Concert this Friday night at 7:30. Can't wait.

Clothing, art, cool breezes

Today's Post Secret fave. This particular pattern reminds me of some also-ugly plaid, button down shirts I wore in the 70's. Ew.

The Rehoboth Art League Outdoor Show had two beautiful weekends. The show had a new layout, great musical entertainers, free face painting (theatrical type...no little balloons and hearts here...) freshly squeezed lemonade, catering by Nourish, and of course - fabulous art. Putting on this show is definitely a (big) uphill battle for numerous reasons, but our very tiny staff and many wonderful volunteers pulled it off. We've been working for about 19 days straight now and are all really kind of tired and probably a little punchy as well.

Crop Dusting???

Crop dusting at 6:20 a.m. on a SUNDAY MORNING??? REALLY???? Sussex County, WTF? You can't crop dust on a Wednesday morning at 6:20? Where's Snoopy when you need him?

Santorini

This is a "finished" (I think) commission for a friend.

Update on peeves.

So, we're in the heat of vacation time. Have I mentioned how much I hate those striped bike-monstrosity things that people rent and ride around town? I understand the novelty, and I'm sure the people who are riding them are having a grand ol' time. However, they are huge. Rehoboth streets are narrow, and there are no bike lines or shoulders on many of the roads. This means that these bikes ride down the center of the road, with the 4-6 people on them peddling madly....or not. Sometimes they just keep on pokin' along, as if they have no idea that there are cars behind them, fighting off the urge to do something similar to what the airline employee just did yesterday. (I love that guy, by the way. Who hasn't had the urge or the nerve to do what he did?) My favorite fantasy regarding these cutesy bikes is a large bazooka-like weapon that comes out of the hood and disintegrates the bike (without hurting any of our beloved tourists, of course.) What's even worse is trying to run down the narrow end of the boardwalk with one of these things taking up the width of the boardwalk. I just love that one.

Eternal Sunshine

Today's PS is a photo from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of my favorite movies. It's pretty unique, and pretty multi-layered. One of the movies that leaves you thinking about it for a long time afterward. I know many people think it's just weird and don't get it at all.

Day two of the RAL Outdoor Show. A great day yesterday, both in sales and in weather. Hope to see you there!

Comments

Here are some random comments I heard today. Some directed toward me, some not, some said by me. (We're getting ready for the Outdoor Show at work, can ya tell?)

- You are going to Hell.
- Don't ever wear your hair like that again. It was cute at first, but now I'm sick of looking at it.
- I'm going to kick you until you're dead.
- I'm going to cut you and then kick you until you're dead.
- GodDAMN (about 50,000 times)
- I hate this show.
- I hope it's hot and sweaty and miserable in your booth.
- I have to do all the work.

I laughed so hard a couple of times that I was downright hysterical. Good for the soul.

Complete

Here's the finished commission. I kept the background simple, so the action in the front didn't have to compete. The pic is from a lifeguard competition where they have to grab a stick out of the sand before someone else does. Great action shot.

Distance, change and moving forward

Seems like living life takes up so much time that we don't always see that change is happening, and out of that change comes personal growth. What feels right and comfortable at one point in your life is sometimes lost and replaced by nothing initially...and then something eventually. (That may be one that has to be re-read a couple of times to follow.) Sometimes we fight the change when it's happening, we resist, then go through the stages of grief, just like we do when someone dies. Eventually we get to acceptance and find what it is that has replaced what was lost or maybe we just realize we're standing in a new place.

As hard as it is to go through change and loss, life has an amazing way of regenerating and renewing our hope and faith and trust. Some people call it "letting go and letting God", others say it's "living in the moment". Whatever it is, it's something you can bank on. The hard part is remembering that when you're in the middle of the process, yeah?

I'm very grateful for the changes that have come about in my life over the past two years. There were some real doozies that knocked me for a loop, but were complimented by so much good. A cosmic buffer. I've learned so much and know that there is so much more to learn. I'm a willing student.