The digital catalog for the Illinois River Salon Art Exhibition was released today.  You can see it at the Heart of America Artists' Association  http://www.hoaaa.wordpress.com  .  If you get a chance stop by the exhibit at Compton Gardens in Bentonville.  I spent twelve hours painting today and have to admit that my eyes are blurry, dry, and tired.  It is coming along nicely.  Trying to finish up a small painting while the large one is drying.  Back to my brushes.

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into  smiles."  - Washington Irving.

Autumn.  I am thankful for a break in the hot weather.  We had Bikes, Blues, and BBQ here for the last four days.  I am thankful for the respite from the noise.  You would have to say it is a successful venture.  The thing I most notice is the average age.  It's got to be 65.  No kidding, out of 50 motorcycles, most with two on board, I saw only one couple I would reference as young.  I will take into account that I was near the Harley-Davidson showroom.   It is a lot of fun to see all these retirees, accountants, and so forth letting their hair down...or sporting bandanas.  All hail our inner badass!  Painting today.  Back to my brushes.  

"The most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek."  - Robert Louis Stevenson

I cannot fathom why there is such a jump in my stats, but hey, thanks for stopping by my page.   Finally had the time to send my recorded commentary to the Crary Art Gallery for the PWS show opening next month.  Using smartphones or tablets, patrons can scan a specially  encoded barcode (QR code) that will start a You Tube video containing my painting commentary.  I kept it short and sweet and didn't explain everything.  One minute long.  Back to my brushes.

"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."  - Graham Greene

Have been working on this latest painting.  It is going well, but slow.  Picked up two new framed pieces for the Illinois River Salon and they look great.  Have some volunteer work that will keep me away from my brushes tomorrow.  I've been doing some film critiques of art documentaries that I will share soon.  Back to my brushes.

"She got her looks from her father.  He's a plastic surgeon."  - Groucho Marx

Okay so it took more than one hour to complete.  It took five.  I just kept finding things to clean up.  But it is done.  Off the board complete.  Hooray!!!!  Moving on.  Such a great feeling to have it completed.   Back to my brushes.  

"Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says "I'm possible!"  - Audrey Hepburn

I started another piece today and although it may turn out okay, I'm just not loving it.  So I have decided to do something else instead.  I'll come back to this another day perhaps.  It may be better as a half sheet.  I think I had better start earlier tomorrow.  I had some errands I needed to run this morning, it took up too much of my day.  The sun is setting sooner and I can definitely tell.   Puts the hurt on working by daylight.  The "Autumn Sedum Joy"  in my garden is getting quite pink.  Still very hot for mid September.  Back to my brushes.

"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."  - Frank A. Clark

Took a break today and had lunch with a friend at the Flying Fish Cafe then walked the trail to the museum and saw the Angels and Tomboys exhibit again.  We had a great time discussing our work and the pieces at the museum.  The weather was hot, but a cloud made it bearable on the walk up the hill to the square where we were parked.  Good times and a very nice break.  Back to my brushes.

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."  - Heraclitus

Nice article about the Mid-Southern Watercolorist Exhibition in today's Arkansas Democrat Gazette - Style Section.  Was surprised and delighted to see my painting reviewed and included with the photos.  You can't read the article because it is behind a paywall,  but here is a link to the photo of my painting.  http://www.arkansasonline.com/galleries/17453/album/536677/?page=1 
There is also a  nice article in the Arkansas Times which I will  place a link to here:     http://www.arktimes.com/EyeCandy/archives/2013/08/12/watercolor-wonders-at-butler-center
Back to my brushes.  

"The golden age has not passed; it lies in the future."  - Paul Signac

I'll be painting today.  A quick note about my entries in the Illinois River Salon.  When I was thinking about  what to paint I took into consideration that most would paint full-on landscapes portraying our wonderful vistas and light.  What could I bring to the exhibit that would be different?  So I chose to come in close and stay on the dark side.  The cave  appears  so solitary and quiet in the painting, but the actual location is quite loud because of the waterfall.  I hoped to portray the beauty of the locale,  the cool misty temperature, and compositionally focus on the flora and the water.  It can be difficult to end a painting without a landform, but I chose a little texture from the mist and movement of the waterfall instead.  From the same area I chose to get even closer, focusing on the tiniest little ecosystem, overlooked but so beautiful!  It is very challenging to portray texture in watercolor.  But hey, I love a challenge.  So I chose to do these blocks with the moss.  I left  the leaves sprouting out of the crack  smooth as a place for the eye to rest from all the texture.  A sideways cruciform armature , a little off center, the yellow in the leaves drawing the eye up and down completes the composition.  But the star is the moss.  I chose to do this in a true neoimpressionist manner - from ten feet away, it looks real. On closer inspection the viewer will enjoy the many, many layers of colored dots...done with a toothpick.  I'm quite pleased with the blocks as well which took every bit as long to accomplish as the moss.  I used different combinations of blues and oranges and used as many granulating paints as possible.  It is a textural feast!  I hope you will stop by the exhibit at Compton Gardens  September 30-October 2nd and take a look.   Back to my brushes.

"I always thought a yard was three feet, then I started mowing the lawn."  - C. E. Cowman