I painted eleven (11) hours yesterday!  Today my eyes are tired.  I will continue with this painting this afternoon after I run some errands.  The light is fantastic today and after the depressingly gray days over the weekend, it might be hard to stay indoors.   Back to my brushes.

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day."  - Doug Larson

I have finished this painting!!!  Thunderstorms today and the light was hideous, but at least there was no hail damage.  I will start a new painting tomorrow.  Also I plan to do a 5x5 for a local fundraiser that supports the ACO that will compliment  my entry this year.  Back to my brushes.

"If it is your time, love will track you down like a cruise missile."  - Lynda Barry

Got to paint for eight hours straight yesterday!  The light today is fantastic.  But, had to relate the mark left on me by NYC - literally.  So the last day my partner and I spent the entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We were there from opening to close and still didn't see everything.  We didn't redo what we saw last year, so that helped.  Anyway, on the way back to our hotel we ducked into the wrong subway as express was all that was running apparently (felt really sorry for the pregnant woman having to come back up those stairs!)  So we decided to go back to Fifth Ave. and walk the "livelier" way back and enjoy the sights since we were leaving the next morning.  So between Park and Fifth I did a pure face-plant on the sidewalk!  I tripped on the uneven slabs and would have recovered but caught my foot on one of those decorative wireworks around a tree and that was all she wrote.  Down I went KERPLAM!  Bloody fingers and hands, bloody knee, scraped elbow, and at the time I knew my thigh, shoulder, ankle, and toes hurt.  But hey, nothing was going to ruin my last walk.  So down Fifth I hobbled from 77th to 37th.  The next morning the bruise on my leg was about as big as a latte' cup and standing nearly as tall.  Today I'm still sporting scabs, a black thigh, and my shoulder still hurts to touch.  But does that stop me from painting.  NO WAY!!!!  Just get new bandaids and carry on.  Back to my brushes!

"So go ahead.  Fall down.  The world looks different from the ground." - Oprah Winfrey

I'm back with my brushes - yeah!  Painted nine hours yesterday and it was fantastic.  Light is great this morning and I'm jumping right back into this painting.  I have a funny story to share but it will have to wait till tomorrow.  Back to my brushes.

"Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition."  - Jacques Barzun

Back from my trip to NYC and the American Watercolor Society awards dinner!   The exhibition was exceptional this year and it would be difficult to pick a favorite.  Really enjoyed seeing Anne Abgott receive her AWS signature - definitely a highlight.  Met some memorable people...Laurin McCracken in the wine line made me laugh; Linda Gramatky Smith introduced me to Ratindra Das;  Mark Mehaffey, John Patt, James McFarlane, William Vrscak, Diane Schmidt, Elaine Callahan, and Kathleen Giles.  Janet Campbell and her husband Bill, Donna Read and her daughter, and Toshiko Ukon and her guest were at our table.  Toshiko's painting "One Drink" is beautiful and classic, so lovely.  Donna's painting "Pensive" is of her daughter and was an unusual angle with great play of light across the face.   Janet's painting "Session Break"  was very memorable, beautifully painted and won the Dong Kingman award.   Again this year I tried to meet Antonio Masi, and got closer than last year, but again failed.   Well, maybe some day.  Linda Gramatky Smith presented my award and I was very touched and honored by her kind words.  She is such a lovely, warm and vibrant person.   She made the award extra special!  A very fine time and luckily the weather held off and my partner and I walked all the way back to our hotel.   

"The joy of discovery is real, and it is one of our rewards.  So too is the approval of our work by our peers."  - Henry Taube

Looking forward to new experiences, catching up with friends, and good eats.  Back to my brushes.

"Create your own visual stye...let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others."  - Orson Welles

Still trying to make this drawing work.  It has depth, but I'm not sure it would translate if you didn't understand the subject matter.  Perhaps I should let go the idea of true understanding and just let the composition rule.  Difficult piece.  I'll continue to wrestle with the idea today.  Back to my pencils.

"The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks."  - Douglas Adams

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  It is a toss-up which is taking up more of my time, either conceptualizing this new work or daily hum-drum intrusion.  I have drawn this new piece several times, sketched I should say, but I am yet to be satisfied.  So, I continue on with the original thought and try to bring it to the finish line.  I'll try again this afternoon after I finish my chores.  Good news is that it is cold and cloudy and thus a perfect time to draw.  Back to my pencils.

"Failure is unimportant.  It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."  - Charlie Chaplin

Received the info packet for Splash 15 today!  So many directions I could go, this painting was full of creative solutions.  This should be fun.  Back to my brushes.

"You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."  - Eleanor Roosevelt

The American Watercolor Society's 146th Annual International Exhibition opens today and the reception is this evening.  Wish I was there.  Have a great time everyone!  

Dismal, cold, rainy day here.  I have been conceptualizing for fourteen hours now.  My eyes are so bloodshot I look like something from an old-school vampire movie.  Back to my brushes.  

"Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well."  - Mark Twain