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It’s Saturday evening, and David and I managed the installation of all my paintings (40 – exceeding 20,000 square inches of canvas!) in good time and — more importantly — without any huge fights! (Not that we do, usually, but, given the enormity of this project, and tension involved, I was sure we’d have a blow up or two!).  They are now showing at one of Nashville’s finer restaurants, The Mad Platter, on Sixth Avenue North in the Germantown Neighborhood.

The installation went so smoothly, I’m shocked!  The biggest piece, the 36 x 80 “Miracle in the Breeze”, went up as if it were made for that space!  And all the others laid out perfectly, too.  I was so afraid I’d not have enough, but it.all.just.fit.beautifully!  Marcia, owner of The Mad Platter, was sick and at home resting and only came to lock up at the end, giving us her stamp of approval and pleasure over the works.  They’ll be hanging there for six to eight weeks.

The show’s reception is set for May 2, and my artist BFF Bindy, is coming down for it.  Good thing, too since there are some 50 people who’ve RSVP’d for the reception and she’s got the kinda charm and personality that lights up any room.

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It was punishing me, just resting there, huge, taunting, belittling me in its blankness.  I’m talking, of course, of the grand piece for my show.  As previously mentioned, it’s a 36″ x 80″ wood support I’ve chosen to paint for the back wall, brick, in The Mad Platter.  I have to have it painted and ready for installation Saturday, and yet, I was frozen here. 

Then, on a hike with the dogs, it struck me.  I’d wanted to do something floral, and graphic in style.  Reverse sunflower?  Possibly, but sunflowers are so overdone.  I’d scanned my photos, poured over seed catalogs, and more.  It wasn’t until I left the worry to wander in the open air that I got the image I wanted. 

“Miracle in the Breeze.”  I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been one to take dandelions for granted and deigned them ugly because they are weeds. But as I walked, and the dogs chased the puffy seeds in the air, I couldn’t help but think about dandelions on their own level.  They are really remarkable, when you think about it.  First, the cheery yellow bud, then the fuzzy seedheads designed to be light as air to carry far and wide and propagate.  Who’s the weed nazi that determines the pecking order in the domestic plant kingdom?  Why are these weeds and things like roses, with their thorns and dropping leaves, desirable flowers? 

Not important now.  What’s important is that I can use this this — downy living miracle — and fill canvas with lovely colors and convey the meaning all at once.  Combine the miracle of it with motion and authenticity — and here’s the critical thing – look great on the red brick wall at The Mad Platter — all at once! 

So, it’s done.  Took me a full day to prep the support, and two more days and yeah, a great deal of paint – to get it done, but it’s there.  The mindgames are over, the canvas is no longer blank, and come Saturday, will look fantastic (IMHO) on that red brick wall! 

>One good thing about having company:  it forces you to clean! 

The day was a pristine, perfect 75-80 degrees with a slight breeze and we were able to hang outside on the patio when the family (my brother Barry, his fiance, Gretchen, friends and a nephew) came.

I spit roasted the lamb after marinating it in a blend of fresh rosemary and other seasonings and it turned out just delicious!  The ham was cooked as I’ve always done them, from my mom’s recipe, with pineapple rings, ginger ale, brown sugar and lots of cloves.  I threw in more fresh ginger slices and yeah, it was delicious! 

So, though I was unable to paint, the day was not wasted.  In fact, it was quite a lovely respite!  

>It’s supposed to rain tomorrow. Good news for the allergies, bad news for the yard sale I’m supposed to have today and tomorrow.  Can you say “Yard sale interruptus?”

And Sunday is Easter and  yours truly has an ambitious “dual meat” plan worked out – boneless leg of lamb AND a Ham since David, who grew up seeing sheep shorn on the Welsh countryside, doesn’t like lamb.   I hope to squeeze in some painting time along with the cooking but am not holding my breath.

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I lucked out and hit the Art Supply Warehouse canvas sale late last week and bought some bigger sized canvas in bulk (6 packs) at great GREAT prices! They have arrived and now I just need to cover them.

I lucked out even more yesterday when I took my presentable watercolor paintings to Hobby Lobby to find mats for them. Yeah, sale there too! Half off, so I got some perfect mats for most of my better watercolors and will do what I can to find affordable framing options for them too. While at Hobby Lobby, I researched how to frame canvas panels I’d painted that I will be showing. The Hobby Lobby staffer explained they go in open frames without glass, obviously, and usually use foamcore behind to back them to the right depth. Nice staffer, helpful concept, but though the frames were on sale and very affordable, I will look around and hit the sale on the first day they have it next time, rather than wait until late in the week. (The staffer explained they have this sale usually every 2 or 3 weeks.)

Lastly, the painting above is a quick and vibrant one on a small 12 x 12 canvas. Comments from my facebook fans (where I’m Moesse the Eclectic Artist) and from friends I’ve emailed it to indicate this style and color combo is very popular. I think I’ll be doing several more of these graphic ones for the show.