Sunday Secrets
1 week ago
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Long, but great.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/tue-march-29-2011-miguel-nicolelis?xrs=synd_facebook
I could spend days with Jon Stewart. He cracks me up.
I could spend days with Jon Stewart. He cracks me up.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
From the Funny or Die website
Saw a guy with a sign that said, "God Loves You."
Sure, but sometimes it's too hard, too often, from behind and not in a good way.
Sure, but sometimes it's too hard, too often, from behind and not in a good way.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Refining and not starting something new.
Still playing around with Planet X, till I get it to where I want it. I put a figure in the top left window, which I kind of like, because she looks kind of ghostly. She's probably not done yet, but then again, neither is the rest of the painting. But it's close. And after seeing how the figure looked, I realize that now I have to tone down the right-side window, so it doesn't compete. Probably will either gray down the curtains significantly, or black the window out entirely. Still playing with the planet x letter as well, and a few other things. But close!
I've been working on another one that I thought was destined for the trash. BUT, after a little Edward Hopper motivation, I decided to try adding a figure. And not just a shadowy, ghostlike figure, but a full-sized figure in front of the place, in an interesting "key searching" position. It's going to save the painting, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I love you Edward Hopper. You da man.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Planet X in progress.
Interesting book
I saw this book at the museum store at the Whitney. Obviously, the cover is eye-catching. And "nearby" is misspelled. The inside of the book was filled with what seemed to be african-american erotica. I would have liked to take the time to figure out what it was all about, but it wasn't the kind of book you want to study in public. And the selling price was $50, so it wasn't coming home with me either. But....quite a cover, huh?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wisconsin
Regarding politics and world affairs - doesn't it get exhausting? Everybody is fighting, hating, judging, being hypocritical, insisting they are right, everyone else is wrong. UGH. It's enough to make anyone crawl into a tight little ball of denial. I'm not even commenting on Wisconsin, labor unions, Japan, oil spills, the cuts to NPR, the attacks on Libya, the performance of Obama.....just not doing it. I'm shutting my mouth and trying to stay peaceful.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Super effin' full moon
So anyway, beautiful moon. Bella Luna. Amazing. But full moons do weird things to people, and SUPER full moons really do a number on things. Tina and I went to NY yesterday for a quick overnight trip to see the Hopper exhibit at the Whitney, and experienced the longest run of errors I've experienced since the 2009 Hatteras trip. That was decidedly, much worse, but this has cozied up to an easy second.
I booked everything, which I'm ashamed to admit, considering how everything turned out.
We didn't catch the train in Wilmington until 4:56 - well, that was when we were supposed to catch it, but the train was 90 minutes late. That doesn't sound all that bad, but when you're sitting there, watching that stupid electronic board change from ON TIME to 15 MINUTES LATE to 18 MINUTES LATE to....well, you get the idea. They kept updating the "late" time in 3-5 minute increments. It quickly became something between a game and a cruel game of torture to glance up at the board. When it finally said BOARDING, we went up to the platform, and stood there. The train was nowhere in sight, so not sure if it was boarding in a parallel universe or what. After about another 10 minutes, it arrived, chugging along slowly like it was embarassed.
And then the fun began.
When we got to Penn Station, we were going to get on the subway. Now, I have to back up a bit to embarassingly admit that I have never been to the Whitney before. However, I assumed it was in Manhattan or the general area, where most of the museums are. Somehow in my (screwed up) research online, I was directed to BROOKLYN. Don't ask me how, or why....but that's what happened. So what do I do? And this is where it really gets weird. I found a hotel (in Brooklyn) that claimed to be .2 miles from the Whitney. Uh huh, yes, that's what it said. Knowing what I know now, boy do I feel stupid. Here's how the next couple hours went:
Penn Station. Find the six train. Oh, you have to get on the Times Square line and then go to Grand Central. Trying to get on the Times Square train, Tina can't get on in time. Door closes, I'm on, she's not. Off we go, with my face against the glass saying, TINA!
Uh. Ok, so. No phone service in the subway. Do I wait at Times Square or go on? She knows where we are headed. No texting, no ability to call. I go on. Go to the bus terminal as directed by a lovely subway person, and take the shuttle to Grand Central. God, I can't even type all this, it was so convoluted. Another subway person directs me to go back the way I came, away from the bus terminal - meanwhile Tina gets through on my phone and is pissed off that I didn't "stay still" and wait for her. While we're arguing, we lose signal again. Fast forward probably another 40 minutes, a lot of bad words, increasing hunger, sore feet and general anger at myself for a botched up itinerary and we both decide to hail a cab and meet at the hotel. In Brooklyn. A $20 cab ride, across town. And when I say we both decided - we were in separate cabs because we never did find each other.
Holiday Inn Express, Brooklyn. Check in. BASEMENT room. Basement?? I turned on a light switch and a small light by the door came on. Went to a lamp to turn it on, nothing. At this moment I looked up at the window and realized I was looking up at the sidewalk and remembered Laverne and Shirley's apartment. Went to another lamp....nothing. So I looked up under the lamp shade. No lightbulbs. Went back to the first lamp and looked under. No light bulbs. Went to big lamp #3 and looked before I tried the switch. No lightbulbs. Tina arrives, makes a comment about the basement and I tell her about the bulbs. I try to call the front desk, but can't see the directions on the phone well enough (because it's so friggin' dark) to know what to dial. We go back to the front desk.
"There are no light bulbs in our room."
Blank stare
"No really, there are NO light bulbs in any of the lamps. Do you have another room?"
"Um....no, I don't think so."
"Well, the maintenance guy just told us there's a room on the 7th floor."
"No."
"No?"
"uh uh."
"Okay."
"All I have is a smoking room."
Tina and I look at each other, like of COURSE all he has is a smoking room.
"That's fine, we'll take it."
It's now 10 p.m.
As we go to the room, we walk down a hallway that absolutely reeks of smoke and we say bad things. Then we hear the couple in the next room - the man is yelling "GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING MONEY!"
Oh Lord.
Fortunately the room is not really smoky smelling. We are starving by this point - no dinner as of yet, and are directed a block and a half away to a restaurant/BAR.
This is fine - nothing to see here.
Back to the hotel, getting ready for bed. Exhausted. Room next door is having some kind of party. Lots of door slamming, lots of loud talking, laughing, music, tv, you name it. Why do hotel doors make so much noise when they close? And how many people went in and out of this cursed room between midnight and 4 a.m.?? At some point between 2:30 and 4:00 a.m., we hear music that sounds like someone is standing in our doorway. And it's not going anywhere. I got up and went to the door, opened it (duh....in Brooklyn, in the middle of the night....opening it to the room next door where the lovely man was yelling those choice words earlier.) But instead of a scary man, I see a pretty unsavory woman sliding down the wall, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, playing music on her cell phone. I must have looked pretty pissed when I threw the door open, because she immediately said, "sorry....I'll cut it off." She meant the music, I was thinking of cutting off her head or any other body part at that moment.
The fun continued. Tina yelled "TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!" when they decided to watch a decidedly not-mellow movie (sounded like horror, with a great deal of screaming) at somewhere in the 3 a.m. area. No response. Call the front desk. No answer. Really, no answer. We were both very grateful when the heater would click on. The white noise would actually drown them out. I fell asleep around 3:30, Tina was not so lucky.
We slept till 9. Got up, went to the front desk. Told manager we had a bad night. He said he would offer us 50% off if we were back in the area again. My response, "I'm not coming back here." Can we get breakfast? "Oh sorry, breakfast ended at ten." Of COURSE it did.
"Can you tell us how to get to the Whitney?"
"The what?"
"The Whitney. Museum."
"That's in Manhattan."
"It's what?"
"Manhattan."
"It's not .2 miles from here as it says online?"
"Nope, probably a 20 minute cab ride."
Okay, so it's getting comical.
"How about if I pay for your cab ride to make up for your bad night?"
"Fantastic, we're going to go get a bagel and be back."
To the bagel shop, take the bagels back to Hotel Hell. Unwrap muffin in cab. Muffin could double as a door stop. Hard as a rock, completely inedible.
Of course it is.
From here on out, all good. (Not counting the cab ride, which is always a death defying feat in NYC.) Mr. Hopper broke the curse, and the exhibit was achingly beautiful. I only wish I could go back alone...all alone in the museum and spend hours and hours just studying and staring.
Ok, that's enough. Exhausting just to relive it. Night!
I booked everything, which I'm ashamed to admit, considering how everything turned out.
We didn't catch the train in Wilmington until 4:56 - well, that was when we were supposed to catch it, but the train was 90 minutes late. That doesn't sound all that bad, but when you're sitting there, watching that stupid electronic board change from ON TIME to 15 MINUTES LATE to 18 MINUTES LATE to....well, you get the idea. They kept updating the "late" time in 3-5 minute increments. It quickly became something between a game and a cruel game of torture to glance up at the board. When it finally said BOARDING, we went up to the platform, and stood there. The train was nowhere in sight, so not sure if it was boarding in a parallel universe or what. After about another 10 minutes, it arrived, chugging along slowly like it was embarassed.
And then the fun began.
When we got to Penn Station, we were going to get on the subway. Now, I have to back up a bit to embarassingly admit that I have never been to the Whitney before. However, I assumed it was in Manhattan or the general area, where most of the museums are. Somehow in my (screwed up) research online, I was directed to BROOKLYN. Don't ask me how, or why....but that's what happened. So what do I do? And this is where it really gets weird. I found a hotel (in Brooklyn) that claimed to be .2 miles from the Whitney. Uh huh, yes, that's what it said. Knowing what I know now, boy do I feel stupid. Here's how the next couple hours went:
Penn Station. Find the six train. Oh, you have to get on the Times Square line and then go to Grand Central. Trying to get on the Times Square train, Tina can't get on in time. Door closes, I'm on, she's not. Off we go, with my face against the glass saying, TINA!
Uh. Ok, so. No phone service in the subway. Do I wait at Times Square or go on? She knows where we are headed. No texting, no ability to call. I go on. Go to the bus terminal as directed by a lovely subway person, and take the shuttle to Grand Central. God, I can't even type all this, it was so convoluted. Another subway person directs me to go back the way I came, away from the bus terminal - meanwhile Tina gets through on my phone and is pissed off that I didn't "stay still" and wait for her. While we're arguing, we lose signal again. Fast forward probably another 40 minutes, a lot of bad words, increasing hunger, sore feet and general anger at myself for a botched up itinerary and we both decide to hail a cab and meet at the hotel. In Brooklyn. A $20 cab ride, across town. And when I say we both decided - we were in separate cabs because we never did find each other.
Holiday Inn Express, Brooklyn. Check in. BASEMENT room. Basement?? I turned on a light switch and a small light by the door came on. Went to a lamp to turn it on, nothing. At this moment I looked up at the window and realized I was looking up at the sidewalk and remembered Laverne and Shirley's apartment. Went to another lamp....nothing. So I looked up under the lamp shade. No lightbulbs. Went back to the first lamp and looked under. No light bulbs. Went to big lamp #3 and looked before I tried the switch. No lightbulbs. Tina arrives, makes a comment about the basement and I tell her about the bulbs. I try to call the front desk, but can't see the directions on the phone well enough (because it's so friggin' dark) to know what to dial. We go back to the front desk.
"There are no light bulbs in our room."
Blank stare
"No really, there are NO light bulbs in any of the lamps. Do you have another room?"
"Um....no, I don't think so."
"Well, the maintenance guy just told us there's a room on the 7th floor."
"No."
"No?"
"uh uh."
"Okay."
"All I have is a smoking room."
Tina and I look at each other, like of COURSE all he has is a smoking room.
"That's fine, we'll take it."
It's now 10 p.m.
As we go to the room, we walk down a hallway that absolutely reeks of smoke and we say bad things. Then we hear the couple in the next room - the man is yelling "GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKING MONEY!"
Oh Lord.
Fortunately the room is not really smoky smelling. We are starving by this point - no dinner as of yet, and are directed a block and a half away to a restaurant/BAR.
This is fine - nothing to see here.
Back to the hotel, getting ready for bed. Exhausted. Room next door is having some kind of party. Lots of door slamming, lots of loud talking, laughing, music, tv, you name it. Why do hotel doors make so much noise when they close? And how many people went in and out of this cursed room between midnight and 4 a.m.?? At some point between 2:30 and 4:00 a.m., we hear music that sounds like someone is standing in our doorway. And it's not going anywhere. I got up and went to the door, opened it (duh....in Brooklyn, in the middle of the night....opening it to the room next door where the lovely man was yelling those choice words earlier.) But instead of a scary man, I see a pretty unsavory woman sliding down the wall, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, playing music on her cell phone. I must have looked pretty pissed when I threw the door open, because she immediately said, "sorry....I'll cut it off." She meant the music, I was thinking of cutting off her head or any other body part at that moment.
The fun continued. Tina yelled "TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!" when they decided to watch a decidedly not-mellow movie (sounded like horror, with a great deal of screaming) at somewhere in the 3 a.m. area. No response. Call the front desk. No answer. Really, no answer. We were both very grateful when the heater would click on. The white noise would actually drown them out. I fell asleep around 3:30, Tina was not so lucky.
We slept till 9. Got up, went to the front desk. Told manager we had a bad night. He said he would offer us 50% off if we were back in the area again. My response, "I'm not coming back here." Can we get breakfast? "Oh sorry, breakfast ended at ten." Of COURSE it did.
"Can you tell us how to get to the Whitney?"
"The what?"
"The Whitney. Museum."
"That's in Manhattan."
"It's what?"
"Manhattan."
"It's not .2 miles from here as it says online?"
"Nope, probably a 20 minute cab ride."
Okay, so it's getting comical.
"How about if I pay for your cab ride to make up for your bad night?"
"Fantastic, we're going to go get a bagel and be back."
To the bagel shop, take the bagels back to Hotel Hell. Unwrap muffin in cab. Muffin could double as a door stop. Hard as a rock, completely inedible.
Of course it is.
From here on out, all good. (Not counting the cab ride, which is always a death defying feat in NYC.) Mr. Hopper broke the curse, and the exhibit was achingly beautiful. I only wish I could go back alone...all alone in the museum and spend hours and hours just studying and staring.
Ok, that's enough. Exhausting just to relive it. Night!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Sweet Sixteen
Ann Coulter and other things that mess up a perfectly perfect day.
So, I COULD embed a video of Ann Coulter (not usually what I call her) on here, because otherwise if I just type what she said, you probably won't believe me. But I just can't bring myself to do it. I did post a video of her a few years ago, and it really bothered me. The blog felt polluted.
She was on Faux News the other night, saying that some research says that RADIATION IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOU. She spewed off a lot of scientist's names and research, but even O'Reilly was like, "come ON." She makes my head hurt. I think she's the devil in disguise. And I think she probably eats her mates, if she has any.
So, deep breath here.
New York tomorrow! Spending the night on Madison Avenue and then going to the Hopper show at the Whitney on Sunday. Ain't that nice? Yes, yes it is.
She was on Faux News the other night, saying that some research says that RADIATION IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOU. She spewed off a lot of scientist's names and research, but even O'Reilly was like, "come ON." She makes my head hurt. I think she's the devil in disguise. And I think she probably eats her mates, if she has any.
So, deep breath here.
New York tomorrow! Spending the night on Madison Avenue and then going to the Hopper show at the Whitney on Sunday. Ain't that nice? Yes, yes it is.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
WEATHER!
Got another featured artist request - for the (smaller) Cadbury show in June. Whut??
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
They say it's your birthday
Happy 16th birthday to my beautiful daughter. Seems like yesterday (4 years ago) Dustin was turning 16 and learning to drive. Now he's gone off to college, and I know Haley will be gone soon too. That's kind of a hard concept to grasp.
Painting is moving right along. There's a couple that are bugging me, but I've decided to just sit them aside and keep moving forward. I can always go back and tweak here and there on the problem ones. Sometimes the more time spent NOT messing with them makes the solution much clearer.
Spring is rapidly on its way - 5 more days. Flower stems are popping up everywhere, and the daffodils at the art league are almost ready to bloom. I saw some forsythia getting started too. Spring is such a hopeful time and such a great relief to the long, depressing days of winter. I'm so looking forward to putting all the sweaters, boots and blankets away for a while and paring down.
Painting is moving right along. There's a couple that are bugging me, but I've decided to just sit them aside and keep moving forward. I can always go back and tweak here and there on the problem ones. Sometimes the more time spent NOT messing with them makes the solution much clearer.
Spring is rapidly on its way - 5 more days. Flower stems are popping up everywhere, and the daffodils at the art league are almost ready to bloom. I saw some forsythia getting started too. Spring is such a hopeful time and such a great relief to the long, depressing days of winter. I'm so looking forward to putting all the sweaters, boots and blankets away for a while and paring down.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Complete
This one doesn't have a name yet - have to remember what street it's on. All palette knife.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Way too early
A Saturday morning that begins at 5:30 a.m. What?? Noooo. Oh, yes. Good things about it - birds singing, the sun is already up, and coffee. And music. And knowing I have a million things to do so I may as well just get up, quit whining and get them done.
So here I go.
So here I go.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Summer Update
I have just been asked to be the Featured Artist for the St. Peter's Art Show in July.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Better put 'em in quotations.
Take all of your wasted honor
Every little past frustration
Take all your so called problems
Better put 'em in quotations
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to saaaay...
Walking like a one man army
Fighting with the shadows in your head
Living out the same old moment
Knowing you'd be better off instead
If you could only
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to saaay...
Have no fear
For giving in
Have no fear
For giving over
You better know that in the end
It's better to say too much
Then never to say what you need to say again
Even if your hands are shaking
And your faith is broken
Even as the eyes are closing
Do it with a heart wide open... wide...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Rainy Sunday
I have a long run to do today and it's raining. And windy. Which means the rain will be like little needles in the face while running. Always so very pleasant. So I'll leave the long run as a possibility today rather than a definite. After all my "real" training doesn't start till the 14th, so I feel that I can be a slacker to some degree, right? Right.
Need to get some painting done today. I currently have five or six in progress that I'm fussing over. But they are all equally wet, and I need to have them dry to do what I need to do. So, I'll start two more and have 8 in progress. :)
Need to get some painting done today. I currently have five or six in progress that I'm fussing over. But they are all equally wet, and I need to have them dry to do what I need to do. So, I'll start two more and have 8 in progress. :)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Show Schedule
So, here's some good news - I have a solo show coming up on August 6 at the Peninsula Gallery! Very excited about this opportunity, and will be very busy painting for the next few months. My plan is to complete two paintings a week in order to have 30-35 new pieces by July. A huge endeavor, but I'm up for the challenge. The Peninsula Gallery is just over the drawbridge in Lewes as you head east toward Lewes Beach. More info to come as it gets closer.
And there's another opportunity, this time with my friend Stacy Caldwell, who had the wonderful dog portrait show in Lancaster this past fall. She has invited me to show with her in December - see this link - Show at the Candy Factory in Lancaster, PA
I really loved that little town, and am looking forward to going back. There's also a great hotel I want to check out - I think it's called the Lancaster Arts Hotel. Looks like a fun road trip in December, when the town will be all decorated again.
Other shows in 2011 - St. Peter's, the first Saturday in July, Second Street Lewes, the RAL Outdoor Show, 3rd weekend in August.
And there's another opportunity, this time with my friend Stacy Caldwell, who had the wonderful dog portrait show in Lancaster this past fall. She has invited me to show with her in December - see this link - Show at the Candy Factory in Lancaster, PA
I really loved that little town, and am looking forward to going back. There's also a great hotel I want to check out - I think it's called the Lancaster Arts Hotel. Looks like a fun road trip in December, when the town will be all decorated again.
Other shows in 2011 - St. Peter's, the first Saturday in July, Second Street Lewes, the RAL Outdoor Show, 3rd weekend in August.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Cadmium Crazy
You know how people think artists are weird/crazy/eccentric, et al....one of the theories from way back is that many artists went "nuts" from exposure to cadmium in their paints. Even today, it's recommended not to leave cadmium based paints on your skin for any amount of time. And then when you throw in the turpentine, and various other probably-not-so-good things we use in the studio, it's no wonder we get a little nutty. Last night after painting for hours, I came upstairs and washed my hands, which were covered in paint. When I looked at my face, I realized that it was pretty well decorated also. I had to laugh, because I looked pretty ridiculous. I am not aware of the paint getting on my face, because time spent painting is like spending time in a time warp. And what was really weird is that I've been struggling with a terrible cough. I don't think I coughed once when I was painting. Although when I got into bed....oh yes...then I coughed till 2 a.m. I wanted to cut off my own head. If I could sleep standing up, I would. So I'm guessing that at about 2 p.m. today, I'm going to be fighting to keep my head off my desk and probably consuming massive amounts of caffeine. I have so much cold medicine in me right now that my liver is probably in shock.
The ABC's of the Monument Avenue 10k | Richmond.com
The ABC's of the Monument Avenue 10k Richmond.com
This is a race I'm doing in April. I'm amazed at how large it is for a 10k!
This is a race I'm doing in April. I'm amazed at how large it is for a 10k!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
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