Everything Old is New Again

You know the story -

You buy a new shirt - a new WHITE shirt.

I am an artist - almost everything I own has paint on it.

What doesn't have paint on it usually ends up with some other type of stain.

I am a bit of a "slob" - what can I say.

So why do I insist on trying to buy and wear white?

Oh well . . .I digress -

On with the story . . .

you wear the white shirt once.

You are very, very careful.

When it is dirty, you put it in the wash -

you look it over carefully and there are no food stains and no paint.

Whew! You did good.

The shirt is washed.

You even hang it to dry.

You go to wear it again and . . .WHAT????

It has a purple stain on it. Don't know what it is or where it came from.

It wasn't there when it went in the wash.

The shirt is now a paint shirt . . .or is it?

While on my weekend away, I decided to try an experiment.

I took the stained, but otherwise clean white shirt (that had only been worn once) and got it wet.

I gave it a good wringing out to remove the excess water.

And then . . .

fluid acrylic paints were put on a paper plate and I added water to them.

I watered them waaaaay down.

 and using my paint brush I started dabbing blobs of paint on my shirt.

I tried not to "paint" anything - just blobs.

I let the wet paint and the wet t-shirt do it's thing.

I added more colors - keeping in mind how the various color would react if they came in contact with each other.

All those years of painting with watercolors came in handy here!

I pulled some of the color in long lines to add variety.

Then I waited.

And waited.

For the shirt to dry a bit and let the colors set.

If I had been at home, I probably wouldn't have had to wait as long because it was was warm.

But I was on the coast and it was a bit cooler and damp out.

After it was "mostly" dry - I got out my bottle of scribbles three-dimensional paint.

Black was my color of choice.

And I began to add shape and texture.

The trick was to move my hand quick and not let the paint get too "thick".

I didn't want the end result to be stiff.

And I wanted it to have a very free, unformal style.

In the end - I think I turned that stained $7.00 tshirt into a custom designed shirt that I can wear with pride.

Hmmm . . .what other clothes do I have that could use a makeover?

Garden Delights

I have always been fascinated by the fact that artists tend to have amazing gardens.

There is something about creating a landscape of texture and color -

so rich, so vital, so alive.

Now I am not saying that I am an "amazing" gardener - I do ok. But the reality is, I plant it and water it and Mother Nature does the rest.

A few years ago, I pulled out many of the flowers that were in my backyard and replaced them with all edibles.

The season is moving fast.

And we are peaking on many of the items.

In a way-it is bittersweet.

I love to fill my dinner table with items that we have grown.

But it makes me sad - because each meal means we are one day closer to the end for this year.

Every year, when I plant I have a hard time imagining how it will grown and look by the end of summer.

How it will become a tangled mess of greens and reds and oranges and purples.

In fact - a confession - I often overplant because of my lackof foresight.

And sometimes, that works against me.

But all in all . . .

it is a delight for my senses.

Mother Nature truly is one of the best artists I know. . .

Before and After

Before . . .

 After . . .



And for all of you in those parts of the country that have had record high temperatures this summer. . .

I realize that you are ready for a break.

I understand that you want fall.

You are looking for changing leaves and cooler temperatures.

I understand.

My  heart and thoughts have gone out to you over the last few months as you have suffered.

But allow me a moment of selfishness.

In my part of the world - the Pacific Northwest. . .

we got a late start to summer.

A very late start.

It feels like summer has really only just began.

And I, for one, am not ready for the changing of the seasons quite yet.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that as of Thursday - it will be September.

It is time for schools supplies and shorter days and the return of crazy schedules.

I'm not ready.

I still want to think about beach trips and lazy afternoons in my hammock (not that I have got to do that as much as I would like . . .but you know what I mean.)

I promise - I will get on board before too long.

But allow me to enjoy the long days of summer just a bit longer please.

Thank you for indulging me . . .

Weekend Confessions

 Confession time -

My weekend didn't turn out quite like I had intended.

As you know from my last post, I was expecting to spend a good part of my weekend working on building inventory for upcoming shows.

Well . . .that didn't really happen.

Instead, I spent Friday night with my daughter shopping for wedding dresses.

I would post a picture - but her fiance may look and that would be bad luck.

And I, for one, am not going to be responsible for that.

I spent Saturday catching up on lots of chores that have been nagging at me.

My closet for one . . .

If you could see the donation pile setting in my entryway right now you would understand.

I painted . . .a little.

I think I spent 2 hours - I intended to spend about 6!

I went to my bunko group and ate and laughed and ate and laughed some more.

And we played the game - but let's face it.

The game is really just an excuse for a group of 12 of us - men and women - to get together and eat and laugh.

Mission accomplished!

I did get a nap on Sunday.

So I checked that goal off my list.

But it wasn't in my hammock. Too hot for that.

And I spent some valuable time with my family around the dinner table for Sunday dinner.

As you probably know from past posts - this is a pretty regular occurence for us.

And it seems to be even more important now that 2 of my 4 little birds have flown from the nest and are living on their own.

We had a great meal - my son's girlfriend is vegetarian - so I spread my wings and tried an all vegetarian meal.

OK - it wasn't ALL vegetarian. Since my parents were joining us I was kind and grilled up some chicken for those who weren't feeling adventurous.

But I didn't eat the chicken.

Since it is summer - it was actually really easy.

We had lentil burgers on sourdough rolls smothered in hummus. They were yummy!

And so simple.

We will be making those again.

And then we enjoyed some of summer's bounty . . .

Cantaloupe, peaches, blueberries and fresh basil.

Oh my - what a combination!

As pretty as the summer sun.

Fresh picked green beans straight out of the garden.

Drizzled with a bit of olive oil, some salt and fresh pepper.

Placed on a hot grill and . . .

Perfection.

3 packs worth.

We fought over the leftovers.

Ironic confession -

I do NOT like to eat tomatoes. At least not raw tomatoes.

I do love tomatoe sauce, salsa, and most dishes with cooked tomatoes.

But no raw tomatoes - NO!!!

And I have tried them - every single summer I try a few just "in case".

Nope! Still not buying it.

But I do love to grow them and can them and share them.

So I made a simple raw tomatoe salad for those that love them at the table.

Sliced cherry tomatoes (the variety is "super sweet"), drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh basil.

It was beautiful in the dish - and I really did want to like them because they were so pretty.

Those that ate them said they were delicious.

I'll take their word for it!

My husband missed the dinner this weekend. He was away looking at this . . .

But we will be back here at Oceanside over Labor Day weekend for the annual Labor Day art sale.

And while we are there, I'm sure I will get to see a sunset like this.

And walk in the sand. And feel the breeze. And smell the salt air. And listen to the waves crash. And feel my stress melt away.

And oh yeah . . .sell some art!

If you are on the Oregon Coast for the weekend - take a drive and come see me!

In the meantime - go eat some of the summer offerings while they are still here . . .