No, I haven’t been lazy since the last entry. But most recent renderings have been too large to put through my scanner—like 16″ x 20″ and 20″ x 24″. Large paintings can be photographed, but that never works for me as well as a scan.
Featured above are a couple of little guys that I’ve sandwiched in between the biggies. In the top painting, the watery effect was achieved with thinned white gouache drifted randomly over the rocks. The second painting was experimental, with lots of goopy gesso topped with acrylic bead gel. When the gesso and gel were thoroughly dry, paint was added to drizzle and drip on the textured ground.
Meanwhile, I currently have a hole in my head. Maybe that’s not so funny as it sounds, but HEY! Let’s laugh. Arthritis is the creator of a one centimeter gap, causing (GOOGLE this one!) a diagnosis of Atlanto Axial Instability. In plain talk, I’m a BOBBLEHEAD—the treatment of which, at this stage and perhaps in lieu of surgery, is a very fashionable neck/head brace fitted for me at our local Hanger Clinic.
The pleasant young man who fitted the brace commented that I have a long neck. Then he chuckled when I shared that my maiden name is “Longenecker”. I doubt very much that he caught the double entendre cached in my name; he is too young. Had he fully grasped the joke, his chuckle might have been a guffaw. Moreover, unless you readers have connections with the 1930s and 40s you may not realize that once upon a time the word “neck” was a verb as well as a noun—with “necking” being an active, enjoyable present participle! 🙂
Grammar and vintage fun aside, my brace is downright elegant. With a red tint in my hair, I look something like Queen Elizabeth the First. So what in the world does this stream of consciousness wandering have to do with art? Namely, this: for years I’ve painted standing up, with my head bending over a waist high table. Now that I’m de-bobbled by a neck brace, this position is no longer comfortable. When the head falls forward and down, I feel more like Elizabeth the First’s mother—the Unfortunate Anne.
I refuse to stop painting, so what to do? Joe and I cuddled on the couch with my I-Pad, and scrolled down pages of standing easels. Unanimously we concluded that spending an arm and a leg just to accommodate my compromised head would be stupid.
Then suddenly a light went on in said head: my sturdy, adjustable music stand. Although my violin retired from active duty years ago, the music stand has continually served in the capacity of displaying art. Now the music stand has morphed into a standing easel.
Voila! There’s always a way to make minor adjustments—even major ones when needed. Life is GOOD! 🙂
Margaret L. Been — November 20th, 2016
NOTE: Happy Thanksgiving!