SOLVED! Plus, "And the Other 335?" 2014-W01

A + Barren + (Coat - Cot) + Hat

First, I am happy to report that a certain rebus puzzle that has been the topic of several past blog postings is finally solved.  So SPOILER ALERT...  the answer now appears as the title of the image in my gallery and to the right.

The prize for solving was a stuffed bear wearing a hat.  "A bear in a hat".  Get it?  An awesome Chicago Bears hat, even though the Bears did not finish out the season in an awesome way.  Oh well.

With that out of the way, we can get to the posting I had planned for December 14th but which painting I only just finished today.  So pretend you're still caught up in the excitement of Christmas instead of the hangover that is early January while you read on...

Now that over-the-top holiday themed sweaters are a thing, I first have to comment that intentionally gaudy renderings of same simply cannot be appreciated in the same way as the sincere, accidentally vulgar creations that started the whole ball rolling.  Get real or get out.  And with that said...

Move over garish sweaters, there's a new sheriff in town!  Christmas tattoos.  Talk about commitment, I thought to myself while I read an article that presented a glittering array of lurid noëlesque body art.  I suppose by their very nature tattoos are not meant to be tame.  Still, outside of the roughly 30 days from Thanksgiving to Christmas, why would you want such a tattoo?  They must look awfully odd with sweaty dew causing them to glisten in the dog days of summer.

They sure are compelling images though.  Without further ado, may I present this anonymous bicep adorned with a charming Yoda-Santa mashup.  I'm sure many of you who saw last week's post thought it was going to be the Grinch.  Gotcha.  On the off chance that Fox News personality Megyn Kelly reads my blog (hah) she will be comforted to see that, although this Santa is green, at least it's on the arm of a white person.  Please enjoy the painting with one eye as you roll the other eye (for whatever reason pleases you)!

The Force of Christmas Spirit Tattoo Always With You Be

Best of 2013 2013-W52

"Which will they be?" I asked myself as I sat down to write this post...  paraphrasing Elizabeth II,  2013 is a year on which I shall not look back with undiluted pleasure.  Or to put it more clearly, parts of it kinda sucked for me and my brothers.  No need to burden you with the details; at least now the herculean tasks and the worst of the heartache are behind us.

Artistically, it was a pretty good year though.  Not necessarily in terms of what I made, but most definitely one of growth as an artist.  I accomplished many of my Art Resolutions, I finished some long-pending works in progress, and I blogged every week (with over 45 new works).  I hope to carry that momentum forward into the new year on all those fronts.  As you can imagine, it was difficult to narrow down the list to a handful, but here they are:  my Best of 2013.  (Re-)Enjoy, and Happy New Year!



This selection came from my efforts to work through a book on creative approaches to watercolor, written in Spanish!  So it was doubly challenging.  Some approaches (or, propuestas as they say in Spain) were a 1-and-done.  Others I explored multiple times and this painting was my second stab at propuesta 4.  I like it; I don't love it.  But, lots of people commented on it, so without further delay, we have "The Storm" from W09.

La Tormenta

After months and months and months of procrastinating, I finally pulled out this mixed media piece in June and took it from underpainting to finished work.  I love all the different greens of spring and summer...  and a good handful of them made their way into this undulating landscape from W24.

Peaceful Interlude in the Serpentine Grapery

My series Cats in Hats & Wigs picked up a few new entries this year, but dogs finally got their due in  a new series Driving Doggy.  Here's the first, from W15.  The first two may not be "best" on their merits — I painted them on my mother's dining room table while she was in hospital.  They're the last of my works she was able to enjoy.  And I think she took a little motherly pride in seeing that some of her artistic talent had made it into the next generation.

Driving Doggy I

Finally, we have the best of the Best.  I feel that in the second half of the year, I broke through to the next level of skill with the medium, eventually producing what I think could be my best executed work to date in W39.  I did a great job capturing her likeness (so says her daughter), and more importantly I feel I accurately portrayed the subject's joie de vivre.  Most exciting to me, I really pulled out all the guns in terms of technique and though not perfect, I only need one hand to count the flaws.  Now, as for the painting itself, I still have to work out some sort of custody-sharing arrangement with the subject!

An Artist, Poised to Laugh

Cut Bait 2013-W51

Before we get to today's posting, let's begin with a blast from the past.  Long time readers may recognize this puzzle painting from 2012.  You can read or refresh your memory on the subject in the blog archives (links to the left) for 2012-W37 and 2012-W44.

After a long dormancy in Maine, the effort to crack the puzzle is coming off the back burner and, I suspect, it will be solved in the next 24 hours.

So, put your thinking caps back on if you're still playing; you can expect a reveal of the answer in 2014-W01.  And with that, on to our posting for today.


The painting I started last week at Salon deWinchester is turning out a lot more fiddly than I thought (or care for!).  Rather than rush, I decided the painting and its accompanying post will have to wait for another time.  Fish or cut bait, they say.

Fortunately, in the gallery lurks another painting with a tenuous Christmas motif.  It might be my favorite in the Cats in Hats & Wigs series.  Sadly, tomcat doesn't seem to enjoy his festive hat...  but I hope all of you enjoy a wonderful and safe holiday.  Merry Christmas!

Rudolph

Updated: More Than I Could Chew 2013-W50

Between the early morning snow shovelling, and the early afternoon snow shovelling, and the late afternoon dogsitting and not to mention the very detailed painting that is underway but not complete, today's blog posting was destined to arrive tardy to the party.

Possibly not until Monday, I thought at first.  On more sober reflection, I decided to take my time with the painting and push it off until next week's posting.  Here's a teaser...  though it's not exactly who or what you think it is.

In lieu of a new painting this week, I decided to share the painting below, which many people have liked over the two years since it were made.  As I look out at the heavy grey skies and loads of fresh new snow, the wisteria seems especially inviting.

Wysterical,  2011

Team Dog 2013-W49

As I have said in previous posts, I like most dogs except for potentially lethal breeds with irresponsible owners.  Whereas generally I am at best indifferent to cats, be they housecats or (lazy) lions.  Cheetahs and jaguars are cool though.  Oddly, I prefer to paint cats.  I'll have to ponder why that is.

If we gave household pets the vote, then I'm pretty sure cats would overwhelmingly vote for republicans while dogs would vote for democrats.  (And, birds would be independent voters, because they're flighty.)

Suppose your dog were suddenly twice as tall as you.  He would still be your best friend... plus, you could ride him to the grocery store!  Now, suppose your cat were suddenly twice as tall as you.  He would eat you.

On a more serious note, remember that on December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States suffered staggering losses in an unprovoked raid on Pearl Harbor.  Nearly 2,400 servicemen and women were killed and another 1,200 wounded, along with nearly 70 civilians killed and 35 wounded.  Please take a moment today to honor the sacrifice they made for our great nation.

color study

Bleak Friday 2013-W48

Yesterday I read news of a mobster being fed to pigs by a rival gang.  Not sure when.  Being that they're animals, the pigs devoured him alive, undeterred by his shrieks (while they lasted).  Sorry for the horrifying imagery.  I also read the usual and customary stories about Black Friday shoppers and their behaviors.  Which reminded me of the first story, the one with the pigs.  Except I think the pigs come off a little better, especially as compared with one disgusting shopper I read about.

I struggled with whether and how to relate her story.  In brief, she ate a very hearty dinner on Thursday but must have forgotten that what goes in must eventually come out.  Thus early on Friday, while her part of the checkout line was still all the way back in Large Appliances, she needed to use the restroom.  Unwilling to lose her place in line, she used the clothes dryer next to her to evacuate her bowels.  That's correct.  P**ped.  Right there in the store, while in line, in a dryer.

A decade ago, the Black Friday phenomenon was a curiosity.  A relatively harmless freak show that I felt one should avoid witnessing first hand.  But in recent years, as the hype ratchets ever higher and behaviors become more extreme, Black Friday has become for me (and many) a disgusting spectacle that shows the worse side of humanity and our consumer culture.

The biggest irony is, almost none of the Black Friday "sales" are true bargains.  Retailers merely jack up the original price.  You end up paying the same amount that you paid a decade ago, but you've been tricked into believing you "saved" more.  Think about that while you struggle with the traffic and the crowds and the craziness and wait in line to buy yet another thing.  Wouldn't it be great if, instead of giving someone yet another thing, you found a way to give them a wonderful experience to remember?

Ah well, sorry for some of the images this posting may have conjured up for you today.  Let's cleanse your brain with this adorable kitten in a sock.  While you enjoy that, I'm not sure how I'll spend the rest of today...  I finished my Christmas shopping two days before Thanksgiving!

Kittybauble

Tom Turkey: In Memorium 2013-W47

After a spell of whattopaintitis, I recovered sufficiently to settle on a portrait of a noble bird that might well have been one of our national symbols instead of the eagle.  Tough break.  Instead of soaring majestically in election year commercials and appearing on things like money and our national seal, the turkey occupies a low-level ubiquity most of the year, only to be elevated to center stage on Thanksgiving Day.

Two observations and a story to follow:  let's start with one observation.  Turkey is terrible.  Not much flavor to speak of, and a disagreeable texture.  In my opinion, but an opinion which is shared by many.  Also, how does that bird stay so dry even when it is served in a liquid like chili?

A dozen years ago, I consulted over several months with a company that housed much of its workforce in a large office complex north of Hartford, on the Connecticut-Massachusetts border.  The place was a solid 20 minutes away from everything.  Management therefore had wisely endowed the complex with a lot of conveniences in a bid to keep people on the premises over their lunch hour.  Convenience store, health club, dry cleaner drop off, even a shoe repair service!  And an excellent cafeteria...  restaurant quality food if you asked me.  Early during my tenure, I was walking across the complex around 11am when I observed at least three dozen people queued for the cafeteria opening.  Turned out it wasn't a one-time phenomenon.

Every Wednesday by 11, people would be lined up early for Turkey.  And all the trimmings.  To me, it was shocking that people would line up for first crack at a meal that I was happy to eat once a year.  A meal that they could —and evidently did— eat every week!  Crazy.   And p.s., there was plenty of turkey and et cetera still being served every Wednesday at 1pm when I went to lunch.  I just don't get that obsession.  When I was young, turkey wasn't so common and thus it was kind of a big deal the one time a year when you did see it.  In retrospect, I think we savored the idea of a rare treat rather than its actual and tenuous flavor.  Maybe that's what drove those workers to their Wednesday queue.

Meanwhile, this Thanksgiving, I'll be eating a shredded Turkey from a Puerto Rican restaurant (better, still not great).  Although it's been a year with much sadness for my family, I still realize how very fortunate I am and how many things I have to be thankful for.  And while I'm taking a moment to be grateful, I'll be busy shovelling stuffing into my mouth because let's face it, that's what Thanksgiving dinner is really all about.

I hope your bird is moist-ish, your stuffing delicious; and all the other side dishes: may they be plentiful and at least warm if not hot.  I hope, as you give thanks, that you sit in the company of friends and family.  And most of all, I hope you have the good sense to relax at home on (especially) Thursday & Friday... instead of joining a frenzy of crazed shoppers fighting over the same crappy sale items as last year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Lurkey