ANOTHER POSTCARD TO THE SENATOR

New Year's Eve postcard to one of the Texas Senators. Sen. Cornyn is the less rabid of our GOP representatives in the Senate, not necessarily the least dangerous. 
Here is the image on the card.

Search for a Method

 I was reading Sartre at the time I painted this. Thus the title "Search for a Method". That's his title. I liked that.
Here is the text of the NY Eve card.

 "Dear Senator Cornyn, I read your editorial in the Austin paper. It occurred to me that my grandchildren are going to be living in a cave, eating radioactive dirt if we don't get the GOP out."  

Post cards have to be brief.

CHOP CHOP? MAYBE NOT!

I took the piece left over after cutting off the mold. Wiped it down, dusted it off, preparing for further cutting up. But no. Hm-m-m-m. I think I am going to roll this piece, (h) 37.5 x 35" and save. Maybe perhaps to be re-stretched at some future time. I'll call this "editing". Before "editing" it was (h) 42" x 40".

A little off center composition. I'll lose a few more inches when I re-stretch. As Scarlett said "I'll think about that tomorrow..."

I rolled it up on a 2 3/4 inch tube with glassine and paper. All to think about another day.

BLACK MOLD!! OH, NO!

Un-stretching a painting, entitled BIRTH, that dates from 1984, I discovered black mold underneath the stretcher bars along one edge. The plan was to roll up the painting for safe storage. I knew it had spent some years stored in a laundry room. The imagery is hard to look at. This is an homage to the trauma and excitement of giving birth, to becoming a mom. I do love this painting. It is (was) hard to look at.
 BUT Black Mold!! OH NO! 
So rather than risk spreading the nasty fungus, contaminating other paintings in the closet I had to cut it up. Oh heavy heart, I will save bits. Make collages, bookmarks or some such from the pieces.

But I can't find a photograph of this painting. "Documentation is more important than the actual event, object." I have observed that many times, in many ways. So I photographed it with my cell phone and with my digital camera, both at 72 dpi. It was a perfect day for a photograph, high clouds, lightly overcast mid winter sun. The digital camera took a photo with color closer to the painting.  The cell phone photograph has a lovely palette but not mine.

Good-bye BIRTH. You did stir the pot!

BIRTH  1984

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIRTH   1984

This one is with a camera, warmer palette. 
 

No LANDLINE HERE

Nope. No telephone landline in my area that does NOT require electricity. I can get a back-up battery that will supply 6 hours or so of power for the phone, for the modem. That would not be particularly helpful in a big disaster. Global climate change will be bringing one to me sooner or later.

 Oh, the troubles I have seen. It has been fun and adventurous. A few times, just a few, I have experienced some disaster. The telephone landline that still worked after the tornado or storm was lovely! So very handy to say, "Yes, we're fine." or "Please come, now." Then gave directions.

 Electrical power is fragile. So change my expectations. Phones do not work nowadays without electricity.

details

ANOTHER RIBBON PAINTING

MY SUBURB 16 x 20

I just finished - or I think it's finished - another painting with a ribbon floating in the middle of the image. The ribbon was yellow until I was about 2/3 finished. It does capture my neighborhood. No people outside.

ART AND BUSINESS

Not Extant

 Joe returned the painting and wanted his money back. A portrait commission from January 2015 looked good to me. He did not say what was wrong with it. Just "I hate it! I've been keeping it in my closet!" I said no do-over. It has been over 2 years since he sat for me. I gave him his money back less the sales tax and took the painting. What to do?
I admit. It hurt my heart. Such a nice painting. Really captured him. Then I thought about "What is Art?" with a capital "A". Two of my favorites below:

“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it" Bertolt Brecht

"We have art in order to not die from the truth." - Nietzsche

Also "Art is metaphor" and "Art is a discipline of courage"....A million answers to that question.

Then I thought "What is business?" This is business of art. I looked carefully at the canvas. It is a gallery wrap canvas but the corners can't be keyed-out. This is one of those shortcuts that art suppliers are making nowadays so the canvas is doomed anyway.  I am FREE! Free to do whatever because the canvas is shoddy, not well done. First rule - Art is done well. So it is painted it out. I have a new surface to paint on. A surface with a limited life span. Hooray!!

New paint Surface!