Art and alien space pods

Nope, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth... at least not yet anyway.

The past couple of weeks have been hectic and as the last of the lazy, hazy (or in our case cool and soggy) days of Summer come to a close I realize how much prepping we still have to do before Winter. After all, the paddocks won't seed themselves and firewood isn't going to cut and stack itself.

The Women's Art Festival went well and the weather held out despite some dark, threatening clouds that rolled in mid-afternoon. Then last week-end the Other Half and I were off camping with friends. Getting any amount of art done has happened at a glacially slow pace, although I do have this to share:

"Enlightened"
5x7, coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes
Copyright Rita Woodburne

There's a weird glare at the bottom part of the picture which I apologize for, I'll need to get a better pic of it later. I also have a couple of WIP's on the go and I hope to post them this week-end since it's a long week-end and I intend to be as lazy as possible before the Fall rush of chores begins.


Also, because things aren't weird enough for me on a regular basis here on the farm let me share with you with my story of discovery...

So last week Rosebud and I were walking through the woods. It was a nice sunny day and we were enjoying our morning constitutional and as we wandered here there and everywhere I can recall thinking 'It seems quiet... too quiet'. After all, it's the woods, there's usually leaves rustling, birds chirping and crazy squirrels chattering away as we walk past them.
As this thought crossed my mind I remember feeling somewhat anxious, as though something wasn't quite right. So, with that feeling of uneasiness coming over me, Rosebud and I started to head back. We were on the homestretch and as I rounded a corner approaching the surface ponds I saw something that darn near made me require a change of pants. It was this:



Oh yes, a scary mylar balloon. Except this balloon (which measures a good 2 1/2 feet in height I might add) still had enough helium in it that it was standing upright.

So there I was, standing in the woods with my heart pounding and face to face with what I initially thought was some type of alien space pod. Then I realized it was a smiley face mylar balloon and I was even more frightened because, really, who the Hell expects to see a sunshine smiley face balloon staring at them in the middle of the woods. Not me, that's for sure.

After I figured it was safe to approach the balloon and there weren't any booby traps set out to ensnare me I picked up the balloon and took it back to the house with me because I can only imagine how the horses would've reacted had they seen this horse- eating monster in one of their favourite snacking spots.


So there you have it, the fun and weirdness just never ends for an artist living on a farm. I like to think of it as my own little 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' experience. Better a mylar balloon than a Coke bottle, 'cause the balloon makes for a much better story. ;)

Back on the long week-end!

And we're off!!

Well, in the interest of not rushing through my van Gogh/ Vermeer postings I’ve decided instead to do a gardening post. The Masters took their time, I think it would be in my best interests to do the same in studying and posting on them.
Also, the Other Half managed to get home early because we're having/ had some severe thunder and lightning storms come through the area and operating heavy machinery in those kinds of conditions is a no-no.


This summer has been a bit different than we’ve had for the past 2-3 years. We’ve has lots of rain (which is a relief when you’re on a well) and the temps have been erring on the side of cool-ish. My kinda Summer.

With that in mind it’s fair to say that it's been super for the good ol’ veggie garden. This year I decided that despite the Other Half’s distaste for them that I would grow green beans because I sure do love them. I built myself 2 little tee-pees and planted my bean seeds and waited for them to grow.

They started out innocently enough. The little beans poked their way through the soil and their little tendrils started to climb and climb... and climb some more. Then they kept climbing and they didn't stop, in fact, they still haven't stopped. If you don't believe me, look below:

And the mighty bean sentinels tower over their garden keep...

Fortunately, mammoth, out of control bean plants also yield lots and lots of beans just like these ones:

Mmmm, bean-y goodness.

At this point the plants have twined around the eggplant, the zucchini and the sunflowers that surround them. I'm pretty sure if I had planted the tee-pees about 2ft closer to the house they'd have started growing up the walls and by the end of the Summer we would have been held captive in the house by bean plants gone wild.


So there you have it. Me, I'm off to pack up the cooler, finish loading the truck and off we go. Just in case you're hankering for some art though here's the fox kit WIP. I've gotten more done on it than this but I'd like to keep you in suspense, dear reader, until I return from the Bon Echo Art Show. :D

Fox Kit, WIP
8x10, coloured pencil on Colourfix
Copyright Rita Woodburne

I know... you're just dying to see how it turns out.

Hiatus

"In Morning Light" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Hi there dear reader. I do apologize for my absence but I'm going on a self-imposed hiatus from a regular blogging schedule.
As I mentioned a few months back I accepted the task of assisting the local library art co-ordinator in putting together this year's Lilac Tea Art Show and Sale, an event that started just last year and was enormously successful both in promoting local artists and its main goal of promoting literacy in our community through various fundraisers such as the Lilac Tea. We're getting down to crunch time now for application deadlines and we're also starting to plan for the advertising of this event and while I knew that this would be a time consuming venture I didn't count on just how time consuming it would be helping out with that and all the other things I have on my plate right now.

So.

I'm still going to update my blog but it will be a bit willy-nilly, if you will. I'm still trucking along with my VG project and plan on doing another post related to that either on Friday or Sunday and, having mentioned that, you can expect to see more posts taking place on week-ends as that seems to be when I have a bit more free time to indulge the part of me that enjoys writing.


There you have it. I'll be back later in the week with sketches and more on Van Gogh so until then keep on art-ing!

Maybe I do have an evil twin...

"Spot of Confidence" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

"What's Up?" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

Happy Friday, dear reader!

Over on her blog, Crash Octopus, Meg Lyman has been sharing with us her experiences of attending shows and selling her art, showing being both an exciting and scary venture for any new artist. I should know, I'm still new myself!

I had made a comment on her latest art post and in her response she implied that I should share a story of my own about my show experiences. I don't need much coaxing, so gather 'round the campfire boys and girls because the art show circuit can be an interesting one...

I started doing shows two years ago (see? I am still relatively new) and was like the majority of other artists in that I find social interaction, especially for extended periods of time, to cause indigestion. Over the past two years it's gotten easier and I have to admit that I actually look forward to going to certain shows because I know I'll get to see friends and because, despite the saying, familiarity doesn't always breed contempt. In fact, sometimes it's nice to get that "coming home" feeling after spending lots of time venturing out of one's comfort zone.

Regardless of whether the show is old or new, the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the number of intersting people I meet and the interesting things that come out of their mouths. One of my favourite things to hear when people come into my booth and look at my art is: "You did this?" To which I politely respond: "Yes." Although what I'd like to say is: "No, it was my evil twin, but because of her potty mouth and tendancy towards violence I have to keep her locked in the basement while I go out and sell her art. You know, to buy her medication and restraints."

I don't say that, but sometimes I'd like to. Especially to the people who suspiciously eyeball me up and down after I tell them that I am, in fact, the artist.

The other thing that I've found amusing at outdoor art shows is the critiquing that happens at the most unexpected times. You know, when someone's dog pees on an artist's work. I've seen this happen more times than I care to recount and while I've always felt that placing artwork on the ground or very close to the ground is a bad idea, apparently it's not a widely shared notion. I've been around dogs my entire life and know that anything valuable or breakable must pass the peeing range and tail wagging height criteria before being secured. As a side note, this is also a useful guideline for avoiding damage from high-speed, ice-cream wielding children.

Another amusing art show experience is the random person you get that 1- wants to talk to everyone and 2- is visibly intoxicated. I've met this random person at almost every outdoor art show I've done and while I'd like to think that they're just really social it's the tell-tale whiff of rum, scotch or beer (maybe all three??) that always gives them away. The most interesting one I've met so far was the fellow who I had the pleasure of speaking with for about an hour and who, despite being very tipsy, managed to pull off successful conversation segways between the Group of Seven, Sesame Street and the politics of the current Canadian government. I'll just let you try and imagine how that conversation went, although in hindsight I can see how he pulled off the segway between a show featuring muppets and the government.


These are only a few tidbits of the fun and frivolity I've experienced at art shows and I suspect there's more to come...at least, I sure hope so! There are lots of interesting experiences and people that can be found at art shows and sometimes you just have to go find them. Then again, sometimes they find you.

Back next week, keep on art-ing!