Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Avenue, Everett, Washington
www.schack.org
This exhibit is a playful tribute to pets through the eyes of the artists who love them. Leashes, collars, beds, toys and food will be collected during the exhibit to benefit N.O.A.H. and the Everett Animal Shelter.
This painting has been chosen for exhibit at the Edmonds Arts Festival this year. It will be shown in the gallery at the Frances Anderson Cultural center. I am thrilled and honored to be part of the Festival.
Several years ago, I was part of the festival featuring artisan crafts. I painted mailboxes. Setting up a booth, carrying shelves and display racks, carting rural mailboxes and then sitting in the sun for a three-day weekend was quite an adventure. Was that really twenty years ago?
This year, it will be much simpler to take a leisurely drive to Edmonds to deliver one painting.
A lunch on the waterfront sounds like a good idea.
Enough with the rain and gray and cold, windy weather! The tulips are hardly peeking out of the ground, the trees are barely opening their fresh, bright green leaves, the birds are padding their nests with fur and feathers and the gray whales nowhere to be found. (At least I haven't seen them yet).
Driving north on West Camano Drive, I see a bright pink glow. Sparkles in the distance. A definite contrast to the dark green environment. I am drawn to it like a dehydrated camel dragging towards an oasis in the middle of the desert.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear...
... it's the elusive Glam Flam Flock of Pink Flamingos!
They're baaaaaaack! Oh thank goodness. These lovely pinks are all decked out in their finest bling: shiny baubles, chunky necklaces, fab earrings, fancy scarves, faux pearls and diamondique. It means Spring is finally here and we will have wonderful days of sunshine, lollipops and rainbows evermore.
This is our view to the west. The Victoria Clipper is headed north with a bald eagle soaring overhead. Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains are in the background.
Part of my day should include a walk. One of my favorite places is Cama Beach State Park, just a couple miles from home. Rusty goes with me and we enjoy the wonderful peace and quiet.
Our walks are good exercise for both of us. We practice little tricks along the way—sit, heel, stop pulling me out of my boots—the usual. I run some of my latest ideas past our good collie as we enjoy breathing the fresh air, studying the moss and ferns and unusual twists in a tree limb.
Falling can be deadly. So can the fear of failing. Sometimes, you just have to take a deep breath and take the plunge. Dive in. Quit over thinking, over analyzing, and trying so hard.
This is the pep talk I often give myself. Not that I am a good listener, mind you. I do tend to obsess.
However, I am finally figuring out that the best art that I create is the art I make for me. Get over the fear that 'they' won't like it or understand it. So here I go...
