Life Imitating Art

Thanks to an evening of painting well past midnight I'm posting early today.  The grey/black skies and constant thunder and lightning gave way to a few hours of calm in the late afternoon yesterday so I packed up the kids and headed down to the beach for a quick but refreshing swim.   And there in the water- out just a  little ways  were two women doing the backstroke under the indigo skies (did they have swim caps on?)  It was as if the ladies from my earlier paintings had come to life!  They swam the whole time we were there and I knew when I got home that I needed to capture the image of them out in the water.  Summer is fleeting and these women with their constant calm strokes served as a reminder to slow down and enjoy these next few weeks and all it has to offer. So above are the two smaller paintings of night swimming women and my messy late night studio.   Now I have to wonder will I start seeing rainbow houses and chocolate chip cookie weather vanes???

Tool of the Urban Troubadour

As I get ready to spend the weekend at Lollapalooza listening to oodles of live music I felt the need to pay homage to the instrument that speaks most profoundly to my heart...the acoustic guitar.  Many songs that end up being electrified, amplified and synthesized start out as a simple melody or heartfelt poem in a basement, bedroom or studio.  That is where the connection between the musical artist and the visual artist intersects...we both start with nothing and end up with something.  Sometimes we end up with a whole lotta nothin' but sometimes we are able to connect with other people through what we make and that's really cool.