Archive for April, 2010
Making a New Apartment Feel Like Home
Several months ago, I found a job in a new city and drove all the way across the country. Settling in a new apartment is always an exciting experience; the white walls present a blank canvas that can be decorated any way I like. Spending time in such a barren, sterile environment drives me crazy, which is why I immediately went online in search of some oil paintings.
My favorite kind of art transports me to a different era or at least a different physical location. If I can’t take the time to travel to distant lands myself, I can at least take a momentary journey of the mind by living vicariously through an impressionist painting. Furniture and other home decorating essentials can wait a while – the first order of business is to dress up the walls.
The Drive to Maryland
On Friday, I had lunch with my sister and her family in Venice, FL, and later spent the night at the home of my brother and his wife in Spring Hill, a little town north of Tampa. I had thought that driving the long distance to Maryland on the weekend would be a good idea because there would be no construction workers and few semi trucks on the roads then.
The theory was OK, but the fact was different. In both Florida and Georgia, for a period of 40 miles each, the traffic was so heavy that we could only go 20 mph or less! All the snowbirds in Florida had decided this was the time to go North! When I finally reached South Carolina, it was 7 PM and I was ready to call it a day. That left me 600 miles to go on Sunday in order to reach home! After all that, I have to rest a while before I do any landscape painting!
The Paint Out at Snow Hill
Next week I will definitely make up for the lack of landscape painting this week. Next week is a Paint Out at Snow Hill, MD, a little town not far from Salisbury on the Eastern Shore.
If you are not familiar with a Paint Out, it works something like this: The sponsoring gallery sends out notices to nearby galleries and artists on its list as to the date of the Paint Out. The artists apply and pay the requested fees. Sometimes the artists must be juried in to the show, sometimes not, like this one.
On the appointed date, in this case Friday, April 16, artists check in at the gallery and pick up a packet of helpful information. They are free to paint Friday and Saturday at the designated locations or within the designated area. The paintings need to be framed and hung by Sunday noon. In this case there will be voting for Artists” Choice Award and the show and sale is always open to the public. The gallery has previously advertised the show so, hopefully, there will be a large attendance. The gallery takes a percentage of each sale and sometimes makes a good bit. Needless to say, artists are always happy to sell their works, so this is a win-win situation.
Going Home to Illinois
It’s going to be difficult to do any landscape painting this week. My friend goes home tomorrow and I will leave on Friday. We packed up her paintings yesterday and took them to the shipping company today. Of course, we also had to set her up with frequent flyer miles and print out her boarding passes.
On the way home, we stopped at the bank, but at 4:10 PM it was closed. I had noticed an unauthorized deduction from my account on Friday, and emailed the bank immediately – all after the bank had closed. The bank called this afternoon and said a that a hold had been put on my account, so it is safe. I had forgotten about it earlier today, unfortunately, so will go there first thing tomorrow – after I get my friend to the airport at 5 AM for her 6:30 AM departure and a nap!
The Perspective of a Friend
A friend came over for the afternoon today. I hadn’t seen her for a while and always enjoy her visits. She has been a very creative person for many years, and I was delighted to see her again
She looked at my landscape paintings and gave me many ideas for promoting them. Several people have said that because the paintings are bright and whimsical, children would love them. In addition, she pointed out specific ones and said they would fit nicely in the office of a children’s dentist, or a bed and breakfast, or a ladies powder room. Some would fit in a mountain lodge, or a cottage by the sea. I don’t often think about who might use the paintings, or where a good place might be to hang them, so it was wonderful to have a new perspective on my paintings.
The House on Old Burnt Store Road
My neighbor dog-sits for some nice folks who live on Old Burnt Store Road, in the most western part of Cape Coral, FL. The owners have been on a rather extended trip and will be home later tonight and my neighbor invited my friend and me to enjoy their lawn and do some landscape painting.
The house is on a canal with boats going up and down it and the nearby homes are gorgeous with their typical Florida landscaping of palm trees, philodendron and sometimes banana trees. Across the canal was a scene typical of a preserve with uncultivated grasses and trees and, in this case, many dead trees. What a difference there was between the two sides of the canal!