A studio visit,10 favorite things,Garlic Cheese

Here is the WIP from the last session. It's coming along, nearly done. I'm in no rush. I'll pick at it for another day or two. I've really had a lot of fun with this painting, especially working on the clouds. It's too bad that jpegs miss so much of the details: I decided I did not like the beach sand, so I extended the grass all the way to the water. I still have work to do in the grass. For the sky, I over painted the pink areas in the clouds with a cool gray and that worked really well. I touched up the tops of the clouds with Titanium White and a tiny bit of Naples. The Jpeg misses most of that.





Yesterday a reporter from a regional style magazine came for a visit to my studio. It was fun and pretty cool. I took a shower, put on non-painted clothes and shoes and some makeup-Gasp!!! I looked like a middle aged, middle class woman. Oh MY!!

She asked me to make a list of ten of my favorite things. Here is my list:

My Kids
They were beautiful and interesting children. They have grown into elegant young women. I could not be more proud of them.

My Dog
Anchor is my best friend and companion. He is the Studio dog, moving from spot to spot to lay around and be cool.

Coffee
I like bold Latin American coffees, the stronger the better. Starbucks is my friend.

Paynes Prairie
I have painted hundreds of paintings there. It is always fresh and new.

Films
Favorites include Office Space, Be Cool,Gone With The Wind,Casablanca, Gone in 60 Seconds, Tombstone.

Music

Favorites include Putumayo World Music CD's. I love listening to foreign language songs. I have no idea what they are saying but it sounds great. I also love musicals and Italian Opera.

Southern Cuisine
Favorites include cheese grits,fried chicken, chicken fried steak,all versions of gravy. Gravy is a food group. Collard Greens, corn bread, smoked or fried Mullet, ripe tomatoes, fried green tomatoes.

My Studio
My studio was my Daddy's workshop. I spent happy hours there with him as a young woman. He was a woodworker and a metalsmith. I like to think that he is often here with me as I work. It is a safe, happy place, cozy and full of art. What better place could I be?

My Paints
I know it seems weird but I really love paint. They have a beautiful and rich texture. When you squeeze them out of the tubes they are luscious in color and offer a luxurious richness. I love the texture and color. The smell is divine too. Lifting them with the brush and putting them to canvas is like no other experience.

My Toys
I like to have a lot of fun in the studio, so I have a few toys from my youth. I have Pokey and Gumby on my computer and Spider Man hangs from the light chain. I must buy another rubber chicken to nail to the top of my easel. I miss him. I have lots of old parts and pieces of toys up on shelves around the studio as well as old crockery.

I thought this was an interesting request from her and fun to assemble the list. I try not to get too nervous about these things. It is often better to not try to anticipate what questions they will ask. There is no real way to rehearse this kind of thing. However, it's a good idea to do a few things to spiff up the place and make a reporter feel welcome.

I made a snack for her of course. I made my favorite garlic cheese spread, a dish of assorted pickles, sliced pepper jack and Swiss cheese and turkey rolls with fancy crackers. Not too hoity toity but nice.

I also did a bit of dusting and got all my art supplies and student stuff put away for the day. The photographer will arrive on Friday. It will be interesting to see which river painting he will choose to shoot. I am going to wear black so that I look artistic and existentialist :>). I'll have to clean up again, twice in one week. What is the world coming to? The magazine article will come out in April. It will be fun. I hope I didn't say anything too stupid. All publicity is good publicity, so they say.

Speaking of which, I got a nice note from an environmental group in South Florida who want to use one of my images for their annual fund raising poster. I was very flattered and of course I said yes. I love these serendipitous opportunities which come out of the blue. Hopefully they will send me a poster to put up on the studio door. I use my inside door to the studio as a large bulletin board. It works great!! I just tape everything to it and then pull stuff off when it is no longer timely.


Today's Recipe:

I put this recipe on the blog several months ago when I first started it. Here it is again if you missed it. This is one of my all time favorites, always loved by all who taste it.

1 tub cheddar cheese spread
8 oz cream cheese
1 package Good Seasons Dry Italian Dressing mix
2 T wine

Mix it all up good and store it in the refrigerator. Serve after taking out of the fridge about 20 minutes. It should be cool to room temperature, but not cold. Serve with good crackers or garlic toast rounds.