Moonrise, revisited

Pastel is not my medium, but every now and then I grab it when I need to think in color and don't want to get out the oils. This is a study for "Moonrise, Fire in the Valley". I like the dimensions better than the previous study in oil.

Blog Ambition

Last night I spent three hours writing a blog post.

The post was meant to be a little philosophical gem about the Art of the Future. I sat down at the computer, flipped through my mental notes, cleared my throat, vocalized a few phrases, and mounted this virtual soap box to begin what was meant to be a masterful declamation of Ideas.

Masterful perhaps it was - sadly it was also quite long and not entirely coherent.

No problem. I got out the scissors and trimmed a little off the top. Unfortunately that made the argument uneven and I was forced to cut some points from the other end. Three hours later, at 1AM (considered late in Vermont), I had whittled the manifesto down to two very short paragraphs which may or may not have had any logical connection. Determined to post or die, I scrapped both, wrote one brilliantly condensed paragraph in their stead and went to bed - only to awake four hours later seriously doubting the brilliance of said paragraph. Throwing on a robe, I scurried down to the computer only to have my worst fears realized...let's just say that post has been remanded to rewrite.

Thank God I didn't quit the day job. Here is a sketch for a figure at the Game Supper.

Life in Vermont

Some studies I've been working on for the Game Supper: an African American woman at a table; a couple of figures in conversation; a farmer taking a break from pouring coffee.

Here is something I love about Vermont: This drawing of a farmer holding a coffee pot was done from life and the man who posed for it is our Representative to the state legislature, John Malcolm. John has a beautiful dairy farm in Pawlet. A few years ago, like so many farmers, he needed a hip replacement and realized it was time to sell the cows. A year or so later Perry Waite our longtime rep. decided he had had enough of politics; John ran and won the seat.

When Tom and I first moved to Pawlet and shortly thereafter attended our first Game Supper one of the many things that amazed us was that the guy running around pouring coffee was our state rep. Perry Waite. I lived in New York city for fifteen years and never laid eyes on my state rep., let alone drank from a cup of coffee that he poured. That kind of thing just doesn't happen in Queens.

When John took over the seat representing Pawlet, Rupert, Wells and Middletown Springs he also took over the post of pouring coffee at the Pawlet Game Supper; apparently it's a package deal. Naturally I want him prominently featured in my painting but with the legislature about to go into session I had no time to lose. A few weeks ago I summoned my courage and asked him to come to my studio and pose. He readily agreed, posed for two hours with barely a break (farmers really are tough) and would accept no payment (whew). You gotta love this state.