Firewood

This summer I was able to spend some time with Carolyn Hesse-Low, what a treat she is. A real sweetheart that's for sure and a great painter at that. If you ever find yourself out at dinner with a group of painters and Carolyn is there, be sure and sit close to her, not only is she a wonderful conversationalist but she also eats like a bird, so there's always plenty of left overs. Good for a chow hound like me. I have heard, I think it was Scott Lloyd Anderson, that she is also a great dancer!

We where chatting one evening about living life in Wisconsin especially during the brutal winters and the need to cut, collect, gather, and chop firewood. Seeing that she lives in the San Diego area, this whole concept was absolutely foreign to her. So for my dear friend Carolyn, a small stack of Wisconsin wood. : )

Winter time means commission time

After traveling all summer it is nice to be grounded again and being able to spend some good time in my studio. I usually push my commissions off until winter giving me more time indoors anyway. I am currently working on another mural as well as few other commissions and portraits. I have attached a few images of the mural that is currently in progress.

My laptop serves as a light box for detail while the study is on an easel close by for color reference.

Canon Power Shot

After close to a decade I have finally purchased a new digital camera.

I tried out the Canon G 11 however was totally taken by a friends Power Shot due to it's ability to zoom in 80x with good clarity, versus the old Olympus I had.

The camera I purchased was the Canon Power Shot SX20 IS 12.1 Megapixels. About $400.

It's a little bigger then what I originally wanted especially when it comes to traveling with it, however because of its zoom capabilities I was sold.

I have attached a few pictures that better illustrate this.

First is a view from my studio, on the horizon there is an old school house as well as my neighbors farm to the right. The second shot shows the zoom in on that school house. Two more shots show the neighboring farm as well as closer view of the hay loader. Also a shot of a full moon over Sedona craters and all.

It is amazing how far digital has evolved. At one time I shot my own 4x5's thanks to Burdick and Gerhartz, but those days have passed.

Go Figure

I have been running around all summer long doing plein air events, teaching workshops, cutting grass, and playing with my kids. I finally finished up in early November, then found myself playing catch up for a month for all the time I was away. Cutting and chopping firewood, winterizing our home and studio, catching up with the kids and finally getting back in my studio in December.

Obviously I have found no spare time to keep up with my blog. Even though I am home for the winter months and will spend much of my time in my studio, besides some plein air time, I am still finding it tough to keep up with this blog.

For me this blog was supposed to be a way of keeping my thoughts recorded and share things I have learned through my experiences.

It looks as if I will continue but not as often as I thought I would.

I do have some things I'd like to share but I am also in need of being selfish with my time. I guess that is part of being an artist, especially one with 4 young kids.