OK I didn't paint today, one more morning of fiddling about in the yard/garden/pond.
I do consider the garden to be a creative endeavor, so here's a couple of pics. I hope to get out this afternoon and do a painting, I posted a pic of the pond 'cause my paintings usually only show a very small part of the whole. A while back I was blog-tagged by Jo Castillo. I won't tag others but I have enjoyed reading the seven things that most people don't know on various blogs I visit...so Here's my list.
1. I secretly wanted to be a writer for many years and I have many journals and quite a few poems hidden away. I stopped journaling about 15 years ago, but I still write the occasional poem. I show them to no one.
2. I suffer from terrible vertigo, yet I love the view from tall buildings, mountain tops etc. When I went to Yosemite I had to lay down on my stomach to peer over the edge of half dome...still felt like I was going to fall, but the view was priceless!
3.I still harbor the thought that I should stop painting still lifes, landscapes etc. and spend the rest of my life only doing portraits and figures because I think portraying people is the noblest form of artistic expression.
4. I live in New Jersey because my parents and family are here, if they weren't I would surely move to the mountains of New Mexico. I love the sea, but the the southwest stirs my soul more then anywhere I've ever been.
5. I'm quite neat in my home and at the work place, but my paints and studio area are totally messy and disorganized.
6. I quite drinking in 1991, before that I spent ten years downing a bottle of vodka daily.
7.I have a bullfrog in my pond and I feed him worms and grubs out of the garden every day. You can see him ( sortof ) on the little island among the rocks in the top picture. I've collected frogs and toads all my life because my older sister called me "The Toad" when I was a little boy !!
Secret 1: He, you too ?! :-)
ReplyDeleteMy occasional writing seems to interfere with painting, as it is apparently more or less the same energy/motivation for me. So I am a little doubting at the moment what to do with it.
Can't you post it anonymously on a blog and send me the address? ;-)
Chuck, I'm not a big fan of the tagging, but have so enjoyed reading about everyone, too. Thanks for the "news". :) You have a beautiful garden. Wow. We travel too much and have sand and pine and oak trees. I'll think of you in NM this summer.
ReplyDeleteI have a little vertigo, too, but it has improved as I get older. Maybe I feel if I fall now, I had a good life!
Jo
what a BEAUTIFUL garden.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for the comments blog-folks.
ReplyDeleteBart I've actually thought of doing something like that, funny you should ask. I took a writing class some 5 years ago, but realized that I just don't have the time to do both ( write and paint ) so I'll keep trying to do the one thing really well instead of many things less well.
As you saw in my list, Jo I would give up the lush New Jersey garden for the pine and rocks of New Mexico in moment. When Georgia O'Keefe started to make regular visits to the southwest, she commented that everything back east ( Lake George ) had become much too green for her taste. I know just what she meant.
Yes, the green. We just got back from a trip to Michigan and Kentucky. So much the same from the interstates and not enough time to get off. I'm looking forward to July and New Mexico!
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