OneWord

Oneword, I had no idea that one single word could really hold so much power. I never really thought about it. Perhaps it is because we are BOMBARDED with words. they are thrown at us from tall buildings. "Exclusive Offer" flood our in boxes. "FREE - with a purchase" I am told on a daily basis that I am going to "LOVE, Adore, want, need, Must have, desire" things. So much in fact that I had begun to allow words to lose their meaning. I am sorry but when walking down the street if a woman hears the word "FAT" screamed out a passing car window the first thought she has is not.... oh wow they think I am Phat! And Lets not forget the word Slut, but that is a different sort of rant. I am here to tell you people..... Can I get an AMEN from the congregation that you too can remember the power of words...... You too can remember that the meaning of words are rooted in feeling and true desire..... Yes Sisters and Brothers.

I was stumbling through the web and Oneword.com was the crack in my virtual sidewalk and I am glad I tripped. Each day the maker of this site send you a new word. You are given a small amount of time and you write about this one word.

Try it..... the last word I did was torch.

http://oneword.com/

I thought about the photo I added to this blog. If it was one word it would be morning.

One word.... powerful stuff.

Abraham Lincoln Portrait Competition (Also know as, my total failure to follow directions)

In the words of the Grateful Dead.... "What a long strange trip it's been."

Recently, my husband and I were talking about the movie Shawshank Redemption and why it didn't receive an Oscar the year it came out. I only saw the movie because Blockbuster had no copies of Forrest Gump. Lt. Dan aside Shawshank is arguably one of my favorite movies. Zero expectations allowed the movie to really shine in my memory. Painting Lincoln was a similar experience. There was nothing to paint.... I wandered around the house wanting something to do. (see two blog posts ago) and I had no expectations or illusions of winning. A photo that spoke to me and time. Did I win the 8,000 lottery that the city of Norwich threw out there for us to fight over? Nope. Folks I feel really good about that. After hearing about all the Hoopla snarled into that prize. I am more than glad to not be anywhere but on the fringe of all the noise.

Red from Shawshank "I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say... I liked [Abe] from the start. (IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/quotes )

http://www.theday.com/article/20110416/NWS01/304169913

http://www.theday.com/article/20110426/NWS01/304269924

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/carousel/x1274373751/Exiled-artists-in-Norwichs-Lincoln-contest-given-apologies#comments

This is whats next.....

I love the smell of paint.... Love it.

May have mentioned it before.... but it is true. Inky fingers from printmaking.... paint in the pores love it.

through a series of random events I have had the chance to paint the largest and most fun painting I have painted in years, So sorry about the delay in posting and thank you all for being so patient with me.

I live in a town that decided to host a competition to paint Abe Lincoln..... to replace one that was stolen. Do I think I will win this NO.

I spent some time wondering - should I? - shouldn't I - whats the worst that could happen? (Rick has a painting of Abe for his classroom. My Husband is a history teacher who spent a week at the Lincoln Library last year. Lincoln means a lot in our house.)

Stretchers check -

Paint check -

Photo of Abe .... Well we will work that out in the wash.

We have spent so much time together I feel as if it is acceptable to call him Abe rather than the more formal Mr. President or Mr. Lincoln.

This is the funniest part, at the pivotal moment when I wasn't sure if the image I put on a canvas was going to say what I wanted to say I was Christmas shopping in a little store in Mystic CT. You know the kind of place, stuff so you can remember your trip. The General Store sells everything from summer sausage to cow bells and there amongst all the tourist t-shirts and lobster pots with Christmas wreaths on them... Was a book that has nothing but images of Abe- just about any photo of the man I could ever want. No talk just a paperback of Abe. Now I do believe we are led to do certain things but this feels (although in the nicest most pleasing way) like I have a bull ring in my nose. So who am I to say no. Who am I to wonder why? Or even question what is next....

The paint is going on that is whats next and that my friends is the fun part....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=162289600483645&id=109053815807224&aid=31199

What's Next? No really.....What's Next?

That is a question I have been asking myself lately. What is next?
I have been enjoying using the internet for it's intended purpose and really getting out and looking at all forms of visual art and it makes me wonder. What is next for me? What is it that make a piece of work move from the "That's nice" and walk away stage (which is quiet frankly where I feel that a majority of my work falls into.) and go to the Wow that makes me.....think, feel, desire, enjoy, despise, what I am looking at. How does any artist make that jump? There needs to be a depth of emotion in the work as well as a desire to show something in a way that it hasn't been seen before even in the most mundane of subject matter. Can an artist feel deeply for what they are working on without it being all consuming? I have no idea.
I do know this...I will keep looking and when I feel that passion about a subject... you my dear reader will be the first to know.

Today would be a good day for......

Sleeping, and yet here I am. I was told that if I didn't update my blog I would be booted out of the funny people club and post haste so I figure I better do as told
Today would also be a good day to do laundry and catch up on housework, but I think that tomorrow really is the better day for that. I consulted my inner child and they told me that playing hooky was what I really needed to do. I tend to listen to my inner child they get sulky if I don't. Then I will have to ply the little snot with Chocolate and that isn't good for anyone involved.
Today would have been a great day to clean out the gutters.....Wait I did that.
Today....Yeah I think I am going to stick with door number one, Nap. Funny can wait another day.
Night all.