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Just to warn you, this is no botany monologue. I mean, I love nature as much as the next guy, but everyone has their limit. My limit is mass quantities of ant colonies in and around my house. This year it's been all-out war. In prior years we've had a general detente, with only a few exceptions: like when I disturb a nest while weeding under the magnolia tree and find my legs and arms covered with panicking ants. But this year the little bastards made their move and built freeways, overpasses, subways and country roads next to and inside the walls of our home. I don't believe in using a lot of chemicals, so did a google search on various homemade deterrents. Yes, I did use a couple of the basic ant & insect home defense type chemicals to start with but moved to non-toxic means for the daily battles. Today I miraculously happened to be by the kitchen sink just in time to see an invasion of at least 50 optimistic ants making their way through a tiny space at the base of the window. (They're dead now) but that's the first lesson to be learned:
I am approaching art and life with these attitudes as this plein air sketch I did in Washington illustrates. It was a cold and windy day so I knew my time was limited. (Optimism) I started with decisions of composition and line, laid in a transparent red oxide wash, wiping away the light areas and defining the major shapes. Because I was shivering and holding my tripod to keep it from blowing over, I sped through the drawing and aimed for getting the shadows and hues down. (Persistence) I had to stop when I couldn't take the climate another minute even though I knew the painting had many issues. (Failure) Later, in the studio, with memory, sketched and photo reference, I returned (Reconnoiter) to the painting and faced the challenge.
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The annual and infamous Tomato Art Fest in East Nashville is happening this weekend: food trucks, craft vendors, parades, music and, last but not least, the gallery-hosted art show and sale in the former Art and Invention Gallery. The festival is pretty much only on Saturday, August 10th but the gallery will continue to display tomato art for a few days after. Gallery hours are: Saturday August 10 9-6 Sunday August 11 12-6 Wednesday August 14 12-7 Thursday August 15 12-7 Friday August 16 10-7 Saturday August 17 10-6 @ 1106 Woodland Street (formerly Art and Invention Gallery) Obviously this is not a serious event and so neither is the art. In fact, most of the art is wacky and whimsical, which isn't really what I'm fluent in, so I aim more for presenting this yummy vegetable/fruit in unexpected ways. These are my two entries this year:  "Reading Maters" 10x10 oil on gallery wrap canvas $300 @ Tomato Fest  "Sneaky Mater" 9x12 oil on gallery wrap canvas $300 @ Tomato Fest |
