Blog
11/28/2017 7:21:02 PM
I have been wanting to paint a zebra for a long time. This was one of my Thanksgiving break projects. When I was a little girl we got three stations on our black and white TV....imagine that! Every Sunday night Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom came on and I was glued to the TV. I guess the black and white TV made me particularly fond of the zebras. I remember closing my eyes for the opening scenes when the big cats preyed on the other animals. I was thrilled when we got to go to the Washington Zoo and saw them for real! The zebras were even prettier in person than I imagined. This week I'm painting a lion. In my wild kingdom the lion will be a vegan--so no upsetting scenes!
This week we will be going to Orange, Virginia for the Holiday Village-- https://www.theoda.org/downtown-orange-holiday-village/
I'm very excited...I've never been to this event before! Please come and join us if you can. Jimmy has been busy framing pictures and I've been painting...we hope you like our efforts. We are also starting to get prints and notecards of some of our paintings. If you are interested please contact us.
Hope you are having a great week!
Beth
11/19/2017 3:49:19 PM
I don't get Downtown very often, but when I do I love walk by the Paramount! It is iconic for the Downtown Mall...our own little neon bling. I reflect on how many people have enjoyed special outings in this place for many, many years.
This summer has brought tragedy and hate to our city. I'm hopeful this picture helps capture the true emotion of the mall this fall as the leaves change. With the changing of the seasons so to can the healing return the charm we all know in this historic section of town.
Downtown has been the longstanding heart of Charlottesville from years past to present day. The array of restaurants, shops, shows, and people make even a short stroll down the mall seem like a great escape. Through painting have I only recently fully appreciated the architecture, colors, and novelty of this area.
As you look at this painting I hope you reflect on a special outing and the good times had in this wonderful place!
I plan to have this picture framed and available later this week. I also plan to have a limited number of prints available in the coming weeks.
Have a good week!
Beth
11/6/2017 7:35:52 PM
Chicken Little…one of my favorite stories as a little girl! I’m not really sure why I liked it so much. I ‘googled’ the story and learned it originated in 1823 and was translated and mutated multiple times. The end result is pretty much the same—hysteria//paranoia about calamity that is unfounded.
In this story, I believe my mom read the Grimms Fairytale version to me, an acorn hits the chicken in the head and he (or she) runs the countryside over to tell the king the world is ending. He comes into contact with others and they join in the angst.
My father told me my grandfather use to say, “believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.” Chicken Little would have benefitted from this lesson! What is the relevance to this painting? When I painted this, I reflected on Chicken Little…I was reminded of how distorted media is on all fronts. There are so many wolves out there trying to divide us through misinformation. The more divided we are the less we see the truth and real issues…instead we focus on acorns hitting us in the head. My wish and prayer for today…we could all simply focus on kindness, truth, and the wonderful things we share as humans.
With an eye towards chickens and good news...my sister's new chickens laid their first egg today! I was delighted to get a text with pictures from several angles at work today...was a bright spot on a Monday. Congratulations Sis....the girls are growing up!
Have a good week!
Beth
