"ABIGAIL" - 12 X 24 GALLERY WRAPPED CANVAS

ANNOUNCING A NEW BLOG...

Dear friends....this is to let you know that I have created a second blog which will only show my art gallery.This way, anyone who would like to view just my artworks can do so without wading through the family picnics! The location is: www.judeongleyartworks.blogspot.com. You have seen all of these before but now they are all in one place. Stay tuned for more art pieces!

AN EARLY EVENING WALK....AROUND OUR HOME

"JEANNETTE" - 18 x 24 GALLERY WRAPPED CANVAS

"SOPHIA" - 12 X 24 GALLERY WRAPPED CANVAS

I tried some different techniques on Sophia. Her dress and hat were created by using tiny pieces of torn paper I had painted and stamped. After adhering the clothing items I then painted the body parts. She seemed a bit incomplete so I added some jewelry. While I was working on her she started to remind me of someone. I think her body posture and head tilt remind me of the late Princess Diana. Maybe that's just me........

"HANNAH" - 18 x 24 GALLERY WRAPPED CANVAS

This week I concentrated on creating a piece showing more than the face. I included an arm and most of a hand. This was difficult but I enjoyed stretching and working it through. The background is a compilation of several stamped papers. As I go through these pieces, a theme seems to be coming to the front. It is possible I will soon be looking at a body of work showing "women and hats". I love putting hats on them! I am trying to remember to "lose the edges". This is hard for me as all my prior renderings had very hard lines. I continue to work and learn......stay tuned!

SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL FARMS....

Every Thursday, for 18 weeks during the growing season here, a basket of fresh garden items from the local farms is delivered to us. The cost is $6 a week. The basket will contain whatever vegetables and herbs come ripe during that time. In today's basket we received, chard, carrots, snap peas, zucchini, strawberries and six fresh brown eggs. Every week will be a surprise! In addition to the fresh produce, the basket includes a small pamphlet which includes recipes using one or more of the ingredients. It is a fun way to try things you might not ordinarily try. Here is a photograph of today's basket contents. We do love living here......

BABY ROBIN UPDATE........

This morning when I got up there was only one baby in the nest. Actually, he was teetering on the edge...flapping his wings and trying to get up the courage to take off. I went outside to watch him, and I could see the adult robin in a tree nearby, calling. Suddenly the baby took off, wildly flapping his wings and heading straight for the tree line. Apparently his rudders weren't working well and he glanced off the tree trunk and fluttered to the ground into the tall grass. Now the parents have to keep all three in range as they continue to teach them how to find food. We are missing them! According to those who know all about robins, since they hatched and matured so early in the season, it is very possible that the mother robin will lay a second family of eggs within the next couple of weeks. We will keep watching.......

THE THREE AMIGOS......

Can you see our three baby robins in this photograph? They are so big and so active! What with all the wiggling around and wing flapping we fear someone is going overboard! Roy positioned the garden tractor cart underneath the nest so that if one DOES take the leap, it won't fall quite as far and the landing will be softer. Of course, it has been raining off and on for several days so we have to make sure the lawn cart doesn't fill up with water. I'm sure they can't swim! I think soon it will be time for them to fly off. We have enjoyed watching them grow and I must say, the parents are probably quite tired of all the feedings. The bigger they get, the more they want (kinda like children in that respect).

"JESSE" - ACRYLIC ON CANVAS BOARD 16 x 20

Jesse lives in The Village with two other girls. They are all dancers......

WEEKEND NOTES......

A rainy Sunday afternoon visual treat in our front yard. Isn't she beautiful!

And, the first harvest from our strawberry patch. Of course, many more of them were discarded as they had been nibbled on by our small animals, I suspect the chipmunks.

"LOUISIANA FISHERMAN"....

Remember the photograph I used for the latest post? I cut it and then painted individual blocks and reassembled them to create "Clouds in My Coffee". This experiment called for me to draw from that same photograph, but with the photograph up side down. Here you can see the result. Then I added watered down acrylic to create the painting you see here.

The moment I took these photographs is the moment I should have stopped painting. But, I continued to lay down paint until last evening when I stepped back to observe and saw that my fisherman had disappeared; his soul was gone. I had over worked the painting to the point where it was no longer what it had been. So, this morning I plan to cover it all with white Gesso and start another piece. This is the only record of "Louisiana Fisherman". He will remain under whatever I paint on the board next. but I won't forget his face......

LESSON LEARNED: more often than not, a painting is finished before the artist is.......

AN EXPERIMENT IN ART......

This was an experiment that was difficult and yet exhilarating! Here is the process: I started by taking a photograph of Roy, sitting in a rocking chair and holding a cup of coffee. I then cut the photograph into small pieces, 1" X 1.5". Then, the pieces were numbered and I painted each one in a larger format on watercolor paper. After they dried, I adhered them to a piece of canvas board. You can see the lines of the painted rectangles. The interesting part of the experiment is that the lines of the objects in the photograph do not exactly match up, ( example; the back of the rocker) nor do the colors used in painting each small piece. I was not happy about the way the face appeared so I did some over painting on it until it suited me. Also, the background of the actual photograph was not what you see here. I think it was drapes in the living room, all wrong for the portrait! The small pieces do not totally cover the canvas board but this can be disguised by matting the piece. ( and yes, the nose continues to confound me) So I present to you the "experiment": "Clouds in My Coffee" 16X22 - acrylic on canvas board

A FABULOUS DAY AT ARBOR VISTA!

We have a very long gravel driveway (approx. 360 feet) that was a challenge this past winter. Today we had it paved! This photograph shows the crew grading the bottom end of the driveway.

This photograph shows the driveway after grading and before the paving.

At the bottom, the crew graded for two additional parking spaces.

And THIS photograph shows the paving completed. If it were a bit wider it would be crying out for a yellow line down the center!

Here you can see the paving as it meets the parking pad at the top of the driveway.

Postscript: We actually thought that if it cured overnight, we would be able to drive on it tomorrow. Well no, not the case. We now know a minimum of three days is necessary so that our vehicle will not put grooves in the surface. Who knew? If WE had known, we would have parked the car at the bottom and walked down to it. So, we are house bound for a few days. Totally worth it!