The last two weeks of May are some of the year's busiest with end-of-school near for the grandsons. In June I'll be "gone fishing" for a few weeks while I complete commitments to others and commitments I have made to myself. There are family portraits I want to do, portraits of the children and portraits of the old folks. It seems there is never enough time to paint all of the visions stuffed into my head. Images overflow my mind. Some of them must be painted to clear out the brain clutter (related to house clutter).
Preview: Pigtails #3

I can hear the grunts, squeals and oinks as I paint them. I'm not sure how the piggy paintings work for Art Helping Animals since on the farm pigs were livestock raised for market or for porkchops, but the paintings are fun and reminiscent of so many childhood nursery rhymes. I will keep this one since my dad participated in the making (at least verbally). It's only in the last year that he has become positively supportive of my art.
Preview: Looking at Clouds #1
It was often said to me as a child that I had my head in the clouds. I do remember many lazy, hazy days of summer when I would lay on my back in the sandy fields and look for pictures in the clouds. That was an activity encouraged by my mother whose creativity seemed mostly directed at finding an activity to keep us children out of her hair as she went about canning and freezing garden vegetables for the next winter. Looking at Clouds is small, only 4.5"x6" colored pencil on toned paper. When completed, it will be available at One Painting a Day.

The previews above are two of my current works-in-progress. I'll be posting more as they develop more fully.
















