Painting on Vacation Trips

Bob and I recently took a four day trip to Las Vegas to take in a couple of shows. Las Vegas is about a four hour drive through some beautiful desert and a crossing of the Hoover Dam. Since moving to Scottsdale we have made occasional trips to Vegas for a get-away. Although we had tickets to see both Jersey Boys and Ka, it was also our intent to drive out of Vegas proper and check out Red Rock Canyon and other sights in the area. As such, I took my camera, sketchbook and a few pastels. Well....we did drive out to Red Rock Canyon.....and I did take some great photos....but I did not stop, set up my easel and paint. Why? Well, we ended up with much less time for exploring than we had hoped. This happens often when we travel. It is not that Bob isn't willing to pull out a lawn chair and enjoy a book or newspaper while I paint, but rather that we plan too many activities in the time we have available.

Well, I am going to look at changing the planning process...since I am the one that does all the planning and making of reservations. We have a driving trip planned the end of July into August. We are meeting our kids at Bass Lake, CA just outside of Yosemite National Park. Bob and I are planning to be gone about three weeks. Our drive to CA will include scenic roads through Sequoia National Park. We will be outside of Yosemite for a week with our kids. Our drive home will be through St. George, Utah and Zion National Park. Just think of the painting scenes just waiting for me!! As I build the schedule and make the reservations I am going to build in dedicated painting time. Hopefully my strategy will be successful! I will let you know!

Polly Revised

At the Arizona Pastel Art Association meeting last weekend we invited Judith, Spitz, a local pastel instructor and show judge to come to the meeting for a critique session. Members bring a painting they would like to have feedback on to the meeting. I decided to take the painting of Polly I shared in the last blog. As a result of the critique I made changes to the painting. Judith gave me the following constructive criticism:

1. The green pillow was dominating the original version of the painting. It was suggested that the painting be revised to take the emphasis off of the pillow. I decided to address the issue by having Polly's leg over the pillow as opposed to behind the pillow.

2. There needed to be green in other areas of the painting to provide more harmony of color. I made the green in the sheet pattern more apparent where before they were very low key. I also added a little green to Polly in her ears. Finally I added some green to the crease in the back pillow that is predominantly burgundy.

The result is a much stronger painting. Sometimes another set of eyes....especially more knowledgeable eyes....can see things that the painter just does not recognize. It provides great opportunity for growth!

Polly

With some time over the holidays I have gotten to some projects that have been waiting for my attention....some for awhile. One of those is a painting of our Springer Spaniel, Polly. We had two Springer Spaniels, Polly and Alex, when we lived in Michigan that were wonderful pets. We lost Alex at a young age in the mid 90's when he twisted a gut and died of a heart attack before we could get the surgery done to hopefully save him. We weren't sure how Polly would deal with his loss as they were inseparable. Besides that fact.....Polly was blind and used Alex as a guide dog. Polly suffered from a condition that is being bred out of the Springer Spaniels.....however....it is a formidable task as it doesn't show up until about age 2 and many females have already been bred at that age. The retina separates from the back of the eye and there is nothing that can be done. However, Polly did fine and adjusted to being without Alex. We had her for many more years. She was a faithful trooper and a loving companion. She lost her hearing and began to suffer from displasia of the hips. She finally started having neurological problems and we would find her turning in circles. With the vet, we decided her quality of life had deteriorated to the point that we needed to put her to sleep. We still think of both Polly and Alex often. I had done a painting of Alex prior to his death (see website under Animals), but had never gotten to Polly although I had a photo that I thought perfectly showed her sweet personality. She was our couch potato and the photo showed her lounging among the bed pillows. I greatly enjoyed doing the painting. It brought back many happy memories as well as the sadness of losing her.