Thursday, May 15, 2008

. . . "tailed the bus"


Baptist Church Bus II, 11.5 x 14"; mixed media on canvas

That old school bus in the used car back lot has really been the source of inspiration for my latest paintings. I had quite a successful photo-shooting outing that day, and I can't wait to go out again and find more great ideas. This is, of course, one of the taillights of the old bus. I find that it's hard to get blues to come out accurately on the computer but this is pretty close, despite the glare in the upper right corner. Maybe a little too dark . . . I also can't really look at these paintings objectively because I know what the original picture looked like, and even what the original item looked like, so I can't tell whether this painting would be interesting to someone who didn't know. Can it stand alone on it own merits? Does it need to?

I think I must be pretty single-minded. . . a one-task-at-a-time person, not a multi-tasker. I sort of knew this when I worked . . . I hated to be interrupted to do something else when I was deeply into another project. I started three of these small paintings at the same time, applying texture and then the base layers of colors. But I then worked on one until it was finished, instead of doing a little on this one, a little on that one. One advantage of starting three at one time, however, is that I only have to wait once for the texture and base coats to dry.

I'm off today to meet my sister and my mom and some friends to tour a designer showhouse. The designers will be there in person to answer questions. I have heard that the kitchen is phenomenal. Interesting, but my kitchen is phenomenal enough for me, since I don't cook much. Probably a cooler and a microwave would be sufficient for my food preparation skills. The art is supposed to be fun, too. I hope they let me take pictures. . . if they do, I'll post some.

2 comments:

Elis Cooke said...

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know I really enjoy looking at your work! don't comment often [blogger makes is so tedious and time is often short]but just wanted to let you know someone's out here inspired by what you're up to lol! namaste Elis.

Mary Buek said...

Thank you, Elis, I read your blog, too, and I know what you mean about time and tediousness.