Day 5, Artist Residency, Homestead National Monument, NE

I've been getting out early each morning, while the shadows are still long, and doing what I call silhouette drawings.  The prairie grasses and wildflowers are gorgeous and I can see some of the silhouettes making it into my finished work back in the studio.  The sun is strong out here and I searched out SPF 100 today!  Found some - it was even SPF 110.  I'm heading out early, trying to stay out of the sun in mid-day and heading out again late afternoon to paint in color.

The following painting is giving me a little grief in that, since it's a late afternoon scene, the sun starts to change the light too much for me to finish.  It's 2 days painting for about 1 1/2 hours so far and I'm not feeling it's resolved.

Looking south from center of restored prairie

Then there's the little painting I did looking west toward the woods.  I'm understanding the structure of the land better and dusting off the color theory that Professor Billie Theide so lovingly taught me at University of Illinois all those years ago.  http://art.illinois.edu/people/theide/

Looking west toward woods from visitor's center

Tonight as I'm writing this, we heard 3 barred owls just outside the house - saw one up a tree with the flashlight!  I'd never heard one of them before.  The payoffs of being in the middle of the country!  And don't even get me started on the stars!

Ispiration in Other Art Forms

I check out books at the library like my friend buys wine.  If it's highlighted on the shelf and the label is creative and cool, I give it a try.  That's how I came to borrow "In Fact The Best of Creative Nonfiction".  I renewed the term of borrowing I loved it so much!  This is a book that starts with an introduction by Annie Dillard that is, basically, advice for young writers.  (It reminds me of a book I've read a few times and recommend to young artists called: Letters to a Young Artist, by Anna Deavere Smith.) 

The essays are full of delicious descriptions for a visual artist like myself.  I've read and re-read Diane Ackerman's Language at Play piece.  It is so visual!  She describes the act of making/creating so accurately it almost hurts.  As is to be expected, she puts words on a process that so many of us visual artists tend to struggle with. 

It would be easy, lazy, even, to say, "Well, she's a poet, a writer - that's easy for her.  I'm a (insert visual artist label) - I work with color, shape, form, etc."  But I expect it is  more like when someone looks at a fit woman and says, "Well, she's lucky"...or, "She's skinny".....which totally discounts the fact that she gets her ass out of bed every morning before 6a.m. and walks, runs, bikes, swims and (mostly) eats healthy.....you get the picture.