"Organic Gardening" -- oil on canvas -- 48x36" -- Margie Guyot
Woke up this morning at 3:15 and jumped out of bed. I wasn't about to miss this morning's famed lunar eclipse! Nothing really got started until at least 5 AM, I discovered. Southeast Michigan was blessed with clear skies for a change. Around 5 I saw a smokey haze at the top part of the moon. My neighborhood, you can stand out at 5 AM in your pajamas and nobody notices. Anyway, it was a most exciting vision to watch! The moon slowly got covered in shadow and kept getting darker and darker until I couldn't find it anymore.
So it was an invigorating way to start the day! The astrologers are saying lots of people will be having stressful days and much change is going to happen. But I had a pretty good day. Very productive. I finished up the final touches on this still life. It was done in my downstairs studio. I'd bought this cement statue and wanted to use it in a painting. Also bought about 8 cabbages. Do you know how hard it is to find cabbages in the grocery store with leaves on these days? They always strip them bare-naked. I had to tell the stock clerk to hold back his knife. This painting was done over the course of about a week and let me tell you, those cabbages were looking mighty nasty at the end! For the final touch I picked some flowers from my backyard. Late August is not the prime time for flowers in my backyard, other than a few black-eyed susans, phlox and queen anne's lace. The patterned tile floor is kind of a tricky one to draw in. The cement boy is actually throwing a rock (supposedly), but he kind of reminds me of a figure in Van Gogh's famous "The Sower" painting.
I love painting cabbages! They have the most interesting colors. Besides green, you see shades of blue, yellow ochre, purple, etc. I could just sit and paint cabbages over and over -- and enjoy it for a long, long time.
Maybe I should change the title to "Genetically Modified....". The hot topic in agriculture these days is the GMO controversy. Genetially Modified plants have been banned for the most part in Europe. The way this painting is composed, with the carefully controlled placement of the cabbage on the tiles, reminds me of the carefully planned GMO industry. You do notice the absence of weeds, don't you?
So it was an invigorating way to start the day! The astrologers are saying lots of people will be having stressful days and much change is going to happen. But I had a pretty good day. Very productive. I finished up the final touches on this still life. It was done in my downstairs studio. I'd bought this cement statue and wanted to use it in a painting. Also bought about 8 cabbages. Do you know how hard it is to find cabbages in the grocery store with leaves on these days? They always strip them bare-naked. I had to tell the stock clerk to hold back his knife. This painting was done over the course of about a week and let me tell you, those cabbages were looking mighty nasty at the end! For the final touch I picked some flowers from my backyard. Late August is not the prime time for flowers in my backyard, other than a few black-eyed susans, phlox and queen anne's lace. The patterned tile floor is kind of a tricky one to draw in. The cement boy is actually throwing a rock (supposedly), but he kind of reminds me of a figure in Van Gogh's famous "The Sower" painting.
I love painting cabbages! They have the most interesting colors. Besides green, you see shades of blue, yellow ochre, purple, etc. I could just sit and paint cabbages over and over -- and enjoy it for a long, long time.
Maybe I should change the title to "Genetically Modified....". The hot topic in agriculture these days is the GMO controversy. Genetially Modified plants have been banned for the most part in Europe. The way this painting is composed, with the carefully controlled placement of the cabbage on the tiles, reminds me of the carefully planned GMO industry. You do notice the absence of weeds, don't you?
Labels: cement statue, ceramic tile, Organic Gardening; cabbages; flowers, still life, Van Gogh
posted by Charlevoix Sax Quartet at 6:54 PM
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