The Past is not gone Forever – “What Goes Around Comes Around”

"Americana" 16x20 acrylic on canvas

“Made in the U.S.A.” is a new mantra touted by many upstart entrepreneurs these days. They not only want to feature local artists and their skills, but to keep the money circulating in our own country. This new trend seems to be catching on as citizens watch their jobs and their dollars fly overseas to make some other country rich. 

Yes, the cost of producing products in America is more expensive, especially in light of the big push by the President and some in Congress to raise the minimum wage. This would only add fuel to the “flee America” model. When small business owners and corporations have to increase wages, absorb health care costs, new taxes and over regulation they are more apt to do business where the cost of doing it is less.

But there’s a catch. While I was searching for USA companies, I found that some of them were only assembled here. One dog food manufacturer’s product was considered unsafe because the ingredients were actually obtained in another country, hence, uninspected. So if you’re looking to buy American products, do your research first.

"Star Billing" mixed media on canvas

Still, for the good hearted people who really want to help our country and its people out, it's worthwhile to scout these companies out and take a look at their products. I can say this from experience: “Artist’s who create in America, usually sell their artwork right here in the homeland.” Of course, there may be exceptions. It is up to you to become informed.

With worries about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms), more people are growing their own food. This includes raising chickens and rabbits where zoning allows, growing a vegetable garden, planting fruit trees, strawberries and raspberries. Some brave souls have even left the urban life altogether for life in the country raising goats, llamas, or buffalo. 

I’m not that brave, but I would like to grow some of my own vegetables and fruits. In our gated community, the closest I’ll come is to growing strawberries and tomatoes in appropriate pots on my patio or in my small flower beds.

Watching wildfires burn up precious land in the West, and floods destroy huge swaths of land in the heartland makes you realize that American grown food could also become scarce if crops are either destroyed or not planted in the first place.

It’s reassuring to know that a return to the basics and a simpler way of life could relieve us of short-term famine or hunger. My last blog about painting with food products also provided a solution if your budget makes it difficult to buy art products. Even brushes can be homemade and could add a surprising twist to your finished artistic products. 

The watchword is not to succumb from fear when the going gets rough. Use your creativity to supply your needs and wants and perhaps supplement your income if necessary. The saying “Where there’s a will there’s a way” served our parents and grandparents well. Perhaps it will also save the day for you and your family.

(All artwork is for sale from the artist or at Carol's online Gallery  )

"Sunshine" 11 x 14 acrylic (Sunflowers in a garden can provide nutritious seeds for health!)

Natural Wonders can Supply a Tapestry of Beauty

"Seedlings from a beechnut tree"

I’m a saver, a scrounger, and a lover of nature. If there’s an unusual seed or leaf out there it ends up in my house.

We were in Phoenix for my grandson’s wedding, when a black twig caught my eye as we were walking. My son thought it was a twig of seeds from a beechnut tree. Although they were black from the cold winter mornings, the pods had dried perfectly, showing a split that revealed the empty seed pockets inside. I brought it back home in my suitcase. It still adorns a table in my living room.

A few months ago, I spied a large palm frond. The leaf is usually trimmed while it's still growing on the tree, and the remaining woody husk continues to grow and harden. The one I found on the ground had already bleached out in the sun and the green had long since disintegrated. 

I took it home and brushed off the dirt and grit, sprayed it with Raid and left it for a few days. After washing it off with water and drying it again, I began my search for the face that was hidden inside. The shape was a little off, but I turned my woody palm into a Florida panther which will one day hang on someone’s wall.

"Florida Panther" for SALE on Etsy" (16 x 21)

Another piece of palm is awaiting its identity. I know from experience that many coats of paint are required to satisfy this thirsty wood. After its features are complete, I will seal both front and back with coats of varnish to give it sheen and a long life.

If I had my “druthers,” I would decorate my home with accessories only from the natural world of nature. One of the most enchanting Christmas trees I've ever seen used a long-needle pine and had only pine cones and bright red velvet bows on its branches. The students who decorated the tree could not afford expensive ornaments or trim and had used what the surrounding terrain had provided. The tree was simple and elegant. The smell from that pine was a gift from Heaven!

One February, when we lived in Phoenix, I dragged home the woody branches of an old Joshua tree that had died in the desert. I loved the way its branches told a story of strength, dignity, and endurance. I placed it in my flower garden by the back fence. When I shared this story with friends, they had to see it.

(Gazebo and butterfly garden completed by the Garden Club for the community)

When I showed them the cactus that I had embellished with pride and an artist’s vision, I saw their faces slump. Their expectations were higher than the reality they saw. “Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.” We must remember this as we put paint to canvas to reveal our inspiration and imagination. Nothing is ever what it seems to be. We all see things through our own prism of experience.

I’m always saddened by people who rush by and can’t see the color and richness that abounds right under their noses. A car commercial showed the manufacturer's pride and joy racing over the Sahara desert. They wanted you to focus on the car and its tremendous speed and agility. 

As for me, I scanned the rolling hills of sand, the flowing ripples of each dune. What I saw was a masterpiece of serenity, texture and rhythm. The car I barely noticed.

Some people may never give your artwork the nod. They don’t know that you struggled and nursed "your baby" into existence and new life. They may view askance at your efforts to capture a singular shape or a few grains of sand on a canvas; skillfully layering it with values of monochromatic color and harmonious blends. 

We keep painting because that’s who we are. We convince ourselves that the joy of overcoming will one day triumph. But what if it doesn’t? My friend, what better way to spend your time than in pursuit of perfection? The brush grows lighter with use. The joy of creation is mother’s milk to the suckling artist. We indulge. We drink. We become.

(My next acrylic on canvas will be titled: "The Cook" using Amelia as a model)

Hunters actually shoot these adorable Partridges

"Northern Bobwhite" Drawing; prints available

When I spotted the two birds, they were running alongside the chicken wire fence, hidden beneath the Brazilian pepper, the hedgerow, and the Spanish moss which draped from their lower branches.

The birds saw me and a soft chortle started up in their throats as they ran for a hole under the fence to escape. They were so fast on their feet that I failed to capture the details necessary for identification.

Checking my Audubon Field Guide later, I tried to piece together my impressions: stocky round bird, reddish brown feathers, unique head markings or Mohawk haircut; a chipping or swamp sparrow I wondered? Naw! Too small.

It was a year later in March before I saw another pair scurrying along the fence line. This time I got a good look before they slipped under the fence and disappeared in the dry pasture stubble. 

Turns out, they were northern bobwhites; members of the quail or partridge family and indigenous to Florida.

When the mating season begins each spring, coveys break up and mates build their own covered nests in the grass. In late summer, families join others to form a new covey until the next breeding season.

My husband and I saw the bobwhites almost every day for several weeks. One lusty fellow searching for a potential mate flew to the upper branches of a live oak and serenaded us with a “bob bob white.”

On days when we didn’t see the quails, my husband would whistle his own rendition of the song and we waited. Sure enough, an answering whistle told us where the bobwhites were located that day.

When the spring rains came early that year and flooded the grasslands, our bobwhites disappeared. My husband whistled to see if they had returned, but so far, there has 

been no answering call. We have waited four long years for their return. I miss those bobwhites!

Mike Barr has one of the most helpful videos on painting a rainy day scene:  

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

"Window on Pine Island" 16x20 wrap canvas; oil

 Years ago, a retirement adviser suggested I diversify my portfolio. “The secret to success,” he said, “is to avoid putting all your assets, all your eggs into one basket.”

He was right. It still didn’t stop me from losing money when the tech bubble burst; my mutual funds were heavily invested in technology. And it didn’t stop me from losing money when my AOL stock tanked. His advice did teach me a valuable lesson: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. They just might break and you'll lose everything!

That philosophy works for artists, too. We must diversify our portfolios and adapt to market changes. A recent visit to some art galleries and consignment stores underscored the need to stay abreast of the changing tastes of a younger upscale market; one that is being pinched by the current economic climate.

I saw smaller artworks, smaller canvases, and artwork being applied to craft items: Magnets, plates, glasses, boxes were plentiful; and more jewelry is being made. Tourists who must fly back home are looking for gift items that will tuck easily into a suitcase. 

"Hey, Coconut Mon" 18x24 mixed media on canvas

Artists must adapt and make these “bread and butter” items in order to bring needed cash into their resource bank. Recycled items were numerous: Palm fronds elaborately painted with shiny enamel to look like fish, jewelry made with seeds and natural items, Paper Mache sculpture, etc. 

Online, I saw an Indonesian artist creating wonderful artwork on Styrofoam cups, probably for lack of money or supplies. Extraordinary skill and talent cannot be kept down, even by money.

I force myself to paint “pretty little things” when what I’d really like to paint is serious, controversial paintings with possible political overtones; but who buys that? Still, if we paint what we love, eventually someone else will love it, too; or so I’ve been told.

I don’t know about you, but when I get discouraged, I’m less creative. When I try to “make myself” create, I come up against a wall. When I stay positive and stay busy, I’m more likely to come up with more ideas than I can use. Don’t give up. Adapt, change and find new avenues for your artwork and your creativity.

Featured Artist:
Dorina Costras from Bacau, Romania. Exquisite, original drawings and paintings may be found on Facebook or at the RedBubble link below.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/doreen01/works/9139709-the-sun-the-moon-and-the-truth

PLUS Stan Propenko Part 3, Drawing of the Head, Sideview

Down on the Farm

I was born in a farming community, but I've lived in the city most of my life. I never had farm chores to do, but I grew up around those who did. I learned how to milk a cow, but I did it for fun not because I had to. I enjoyed feeding my aunt's goats, but I was on the other side of the fence. I simply pulled up hunks of long grass and fed it to them through the chicken wire. I loved listening to them crunch the sweet-smelling grass and feeling the vibration of their chewing on my fingertips.

My aunt taught me how to do many things on her small farm, including how to gather eggs. The chore frightened me, especially after receiving a few sound pecks on my arms and wrists from the hens for intruding on their nests.

When I visited my daughter in Seattle after she'd given birth to her second child, I was given the job of gathering eggs from the wild ducks which frequented the pond behind their house. A nesting hutch and been built for them, and my daughter and her husband gathered the eggs and sold them on the side. Many people prize duck eggs for their use in cooking. Apparently, their large yolks make cakes and other baked goods rise into fluffy deliciousness.

I disliked gathering duck eggs even more than hen's eggs. The job was noisier; wild ducks are a loud lot. The chore was slimier and dirtier. I wore a pair of oversized boots to protect my feet from slipping and slopping in the mud. I wore a pair of gloves to protect my hands as I gathered the doo-doo covered balls. The eggs were a bear to wash and clean. Gentle scrubbing was required to get them ready for selling. Why am I telling you this? Because Im planning to paint a rooster, and I don't want my negative experiences to effect the final product.

The rooster is the pet of a veterinarian, and a daughter of a friend of mine. He is saucy and brilliant and as proud as he can be. When I saw a photo of "Chicken Nugget," I knew I had to paint him. He's truly grand and in a class all by himself. "This ain't no ordinary rooster, folks!"

The only thing missing in my reference photos are the feet. Now if I can just find a good picture of a rooster's talons, I'm good to go!