Something to Crow About

Something to Crow About

It was bound to happen.  I've been blogging about the progress I've been making on my most current piece for several weeks and this weekend the final paint strokes were made and my signature added.  I moved the piece off my easel so we could start on all the final steps of photos, varnish and preparing the piece for hanging.  

There is a mixed feeling of satisfaction and anxiety involved with this final process.  Satisfaction that the piece turned out as well as my skill level will allow.  That I have poured your heart into every step of the process and now I have the tangible evidence of my labors sitting propped against the wall.  

The anxiety for me comes in with the empty studio easel.  I don't like the feeling of not having a work in progress and the what-if's and unknowns until I have worked out the renderings for my next composition.   I like the control of knowing what I'm working on and feel a bit uncertain when I can't peek in my studio door and know what I have to do next.  Top these feelings with the reality of the March calendar and that I only have 2 weeks left until I have to hang my show.  Can I finish something substantial in these two weeks or should I just focus on small fun pieces, cowbells and using my new printer to add to my inventory of cards, magnets and prints?   I think the reality that I must face is that I will only have 4 focal pieces for my show when I had planned on creating 5.

  

Being raised in the Ozark Hills of Central Missouri I can tell you that I'm just having a blast painting these cute country scenes.  So you can put your mind to ease that I will continue to paint with this theme for some time into the future.   I'm actually hoping for more venues to open up that will allow "Down Country Roads" to be on public exhibit in the future.  I already have several ideas for my next morning glory covered fence line.

"Something to Crow About" is now available on my website in my landscape gallery.  Check out my other works while you are there. Just click here:  Julie Townsend Studio or on the gallery tab above.  If you are interested in purchasing an 11 x 14 limited print of any of my artwork, just send me a message and I will be happy to work out the details.   

Hectic Days

Everyone on the planet has experienced days that are sometimes pretty hectic and of course artists are no exception.  We may spend a little too much time inhaling paint fumes and turpenoid but life requires an occasional venture out of the studio and into the wilds of REAL LIFE!  This pretty much describes my entire last week.  Between recovering from my own recent carpal tunnel surgery and doctor appointments for both my mother and mother-in-law, the whole week seemed to be spent running just to wait.

It is times like these that make me so thankful for my little studio and my ability to lose myself in a painting.  In no time, I am returning to the pleasant experiences of a recent family hike on Mt. Rose near Reno.  That hike maybe 2 months past and 500 miles away, but painting brings the memory acutely back as I try capture the emotion of the day on a 16 x 20 canvas.  This piece is still a WIP (work in progress) but it has brought a release from the stress of the week.  I find myself traveling back to that beautiful October afternoon.  This piece also has that normal effect of predominately consuming my attention as most of my WIP paintings do.  Washing dishes, folding laundry or sitting in a crowded waiting room will often find me looking at the last photo taken of the piece and mediating on my next correction or addition to the composition.  I know if you even have a spark of creativity in your life you know what I'm talking about.  Here is my current consuming obsession....