Monday, June 30, 2008

Mowed Elec Trick



So I borrowed my daughter's electric lawnmower. It was a saga... First I tried to sharpen the blade with my only Texas very small file. Then I went to buy a better blade, but they didn't have one. After that I left the blade in a shopping card and had to retrace my steps to find it. Etc. etc.

But the lawn is cut and Linda filled 17 bags with trimmings from the plants.

What will tomorrow bring?

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Waiting for Texas Driver's License #2



The mother and her little daughter sat on the floor reading books. The mother's head seemed 4 times larger than her daughter's. Lots of people waiting to be called were reading books.

I just made drawings, and read some newspapers left in the chair next to me.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

No Longer 2 Skinny 4 My Friend

Waiting 4 Texas Driver's License #1


Our daughter told us to go to the office in the downtown area because it doesn't take as long. We didn't listen to her.

Linda couldn't get a license because her birth certificate was only a souvenir from the hospital.

I made two drawings (maybe #2 will be posted tomorrow) and then walked around an asphalt track 4 or 5 times in 100 degree weather. The breeze felt good. I think it took two or three hours before my number (87) was called. The clerk was very nice.

You have to hand over your old license to get a new one. The woman from Kansas sitting a couple of seats down from me didn't like that. I didn't care.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Austin Ladie



I asked my daughter if I could draw just a little on this card she received in the mail. She said "yes."

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Lost in Austin



Today, in our new home, I kept walking into a closet looking for a bathroom. I think I should paint arrows on the floor.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

. . . looking @ the artwork.



We ate at one of our favorite lunch places in Austin. Linda noticed that there was a woman looking at the artwork on the wall.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Art Secret



So my daughter and my friend both liked the straight picture. I thought the idea of photographing a drawing askew (6/23/08) was such a good idea. Maybe I just need to do it better.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Afraid to Paint



I was afraid to paint in our motel room because I thought that I might get some paint on the carpet. Then I remembered that my paint was in one of many unlabeled boxes in our car three floors down, and I was too tired to try to find it anyway.

Luckily Linda had a pencil, and there was one scrap of paper that wasn't too slick to draw on. I tried to draw on the side with the type, but the pencil had thin leads and I couldn't compete with the dark type, so I drew on the other side.

Then I photographed the drawing...first straight on, and then at an angle. Yea, my figure seemed to come to life. Magic!

Joint Statement


Monday, June 16, 2008

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Pantheon



Worked more on the painting. It is still terrible.

Here's a quicky on the Pantheon.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Another "Work-in-Progress"


I've had a dozen blank canvasses for about a year, all 8" x 10"— the size of Edward Weston's negatives.

Today I made a genuine mess of one of them, so I did a quicky on a postcard in order to have something to post. I think it works pretty good.

Tomorrow I'll go make to the canvas and try to breathe a little life into it.

Kim

Friday, June 13, 2008

Apology for a Bad Painting



In 1964 I dropped out of college to read a stack of books. I started to paint and never read the books. A painter lived down the hall (another basement room in an old building) and taught me a few things, none of which I remember.

In 2007, 43 years later, I dropped out of college again (this time as a dean rather than a freshman) to read books and paint. I ended up writing poems, drawing, and learning a little about Buddhism. I stopped the writing when I discovered that I didn't know anything.

Now it is time to paint. Sometimes, like today, the paintings won't be very good. I beg your indulgence (is that the right expression?). I suspect that many good things come from failed attempts. I remember seeing a movie on the Wright brothers last week. They had some disasters until they improved their plane...and figured out how to fly it.

William Blake said that practice is art. My hope is that if I paint everyday I'll get better at it.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Man Faces Death



Hudson River School Painting
Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826-1900)
View of Quebec, 1846
Oil on canvas, 22 3/16" x 30 1/6"
Alteration on postcard

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Einstein Visits 1927



Collaboration with Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848)
View on Lake Winnipiseogee, 1827 (100 years before the Babe hit 60)
Original: oil on panel, 19 1/4" x 26 1/8"
Alteration: acrylic and ink on postcard, 4 3/4" x 6 1/2"
Made for the 82nd birthday of Lennie Kesl

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

All Alone



Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, which can be interpreted as the buddha in each of us. We may be alone until we see that goodness that is part of all of us.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

In a Line



I wondered what it meant to wait in line as I went through security at the airport.

Who's in the world?

Xiushan said, "What can you do about the world?" Dizang said, "What do you call the world?"