Monday Morning in Studio Eidolons

Back to work on my Watercolor

Goya was not a systematic thinker, much less someone given to producing treatises or manifestos. He was an artist, a man who expressed himself in images.

Richard Lacayo, Last Light: How Six Great Artists Made Old Age a Time of Triumph

Waking at 5:39 this morning was not the plan, but it’s worked wonderfully for me. Our last four days in The Gallery at Redlands were packed beyond description with tasks that were rewarding, yet rendered me a mindless boob by the time we got home last evening. Retiring to bed around 10:00-ish, I set an alarm for 8:00, and found myself rising from sleep at 5:39. Coffee and executive time, sitting up in bed, yielded restful bliss in reading and journaling. By 8:00 I found myself at my drafting table in Studio Eidolons, Paddington seated nearby, and good sentiments bathing my being.

Paddington, my Studio Companion

I won’t discuss all the darkness I read regarding Goya this morning. Suffice it to say that I also am not a systematic thinker, and hope I can tell my story through images as well. But I choose images filled with light, rather than darkness. My second attempt at a watercolor illustrating “Palestine Blues” is coming along slowly, but satisfyingly, for me. I did manage to get in quite a bit of work while in Palestine the past four days, but now am happy to have some peace and quiet here in our home as I continue to chip away at this large piece.

Thanks for reading.

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Gallery at Redlands Hosting Two Artists at Work this Evening

Pastelist Grace Hessman

Watercolorist David Tripp

The weather outdoor in Palestine, Texas is dark, rainy and cold. But I’m feeling great inside The Gallery at Redlands. Tomorrow will be Palestine’s monthly art walk. Local pastelist and member of our gallery Grace Hessman will participate in art walk, and has agreed to spend an evening with me in the gallery making art and greeting patrons. I’m turning the drafting table over to her and I’ll carve out a spot for myself. It’s going to be fun making art side-by-side with a kindred spirit. If you are in the area and have time for a visit, please stop by. We stay open till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. And coffee is always available in here!

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Return to Edom

The woods edging the Edom Art Festival grounds

That I might never be blind to the beauty of the landscape! To hear music without any vibrating chord!

Henry David Thoreau, Journal, September 1850

Driving onto the Edom festival grounds at 7:45 this morning, I felt an exhilarating presence as I peered into the woods and gloried in the cool temperatures of the autumn morning. Like Thoreau, I wished I had the time and luxury to tramp into the forest and explore its depths, but I had a tent to set up, and so commenced the eight-hour grind of getting ready for tomorrow’s events.

“Front entrance” facing the thoroughfare of the festival grounds

“Side entrance” facing the main gate entrance to the festival

“Opposite side” entrance

Passing through

Once again, I opted for a corner booth and am excited that I’ve been placed just inside the main entrance; my booth is the first one inside the gate, on the left as you enter. I loved the placement that allowed me to have a front entrance and side one; the front for the thoroughfare into the festival, and the side for those entering through the main gate. Either way, a patron can enter and exit the booth without having to backtrack.

I also experimented with angling my pro-panels more than before. By doing this, I was able to hang thirty framed paintings, far more than I have ever hung in a festival booth the past twenty years.

I am exhausted and unable to contribute much in writing tonight. My plan is to turn in early tonight and rise early in the morning. I’m spending the night in Palestine, an hour from the festival instead of Arlington where I am more than two hours from Edom. My genuine thanks to artist Cecilia Bramhall and her willingness to work our gallery this weekend, allowing me the time away for the festival and the luxury of going upstairs to bed early.

Thanks for reading.