Ron and Jerry in Full Mask Mode
It's already June and it's been a crazy summer. We're moved into the new house in Olympia and my new studio is finally in working order. Now I can get back to doing a blog more often and back to painting every day. I try to pull myself away from all of the craziness that's going on in this country or at least take some long breaks to focus on my art.
Were out of the woods and back in a city. It's been fun getting around Olympia and feeling more and more comfortable here as time passes and e comes around. We've both been getting our new studios ready to work. Finally I can say I'm working and getting used to the new way of life with rain, easy to grow flowers, not having to drive 30 miles to get groceries or go shopping and having a movie theater very close to our house. What a difference! Still we have wildlife...mostly squirrels and birds, one lone bunny, an irritating raccoon (who washes up every day in our beautiful ceramic geode on our back deck), and outside cat neighbors show up on occasion. We have even seen a few deer...never expected that!! City deer I guess. Olympia and Lacey have lots of restaurants to explore. Lots of movies to see and galleries to check out. Great! But then comes the Virus and the unrest in the country and things come to a halt. We're sheltering in place. Luckily I can still work in my studio and so can Ron. But no going out to eat, no big movie screens, no shopping without masks....it's a whole new way of life!
Jerry Wearing Tiny toilet Paper Earrings beaded by Vonda Chandler
What a crazy time it is in this world. Reading the news in the New York Times and the Olympian keeps me up to date. CNN and MSNBC are sources of good information and are hard for me to turn off. It's difficult to believe what I watch and what I hear. Racism is rampant thanks to the antics of the Trump administration. Riots, fires, rubber bullets and protesters almost fly off the big screen of my television. Things are hard to keep up with and hard to watch, but it's important for me to see things with my own eyes, so I keep watching. I take a break now and then and watch a favorite movie or documentary. Many times I'll go out in the yard and plant flowers and pumpkins to keep me sane.
Our class in the spring in Mexico went really well. We got down there before the virus reached the US. The weather was beautiful and so were my students. I love spending time and painting in Mexico. I sometimes Melaque feels like it's a second home (even though I need to brush up on my Spanish). The weather was beautiful at La Paloma and it was lucky for us that we got there just before the epidemic showed up both at home and in Mexico. We were very fortunate. Now there is a beautiful new Art Center in Melaque. It looks amazing, has lots of classes going on...in dance, painting, drawing and even cooking. In the back there is an art sales gallery, the front a stage for music, plays and movies. You can get a wonderful meal there with a new Mexican restaurant right inside the front door. Who could ask for more?
Ron's studio is almost ready to be used. He should be working very soon. I can't wait to see what he creates. The move has been tiring for both of us. I can't wait to see him working in his new studio.
Since my studio is up and working I've been doing some small paintings and working on some commissions. Soon there will be new paintings for sale.
Being in a new place has brought out funny things from the back of my mind and put them up front for action and for fun. I was in the studio just playing around one afternoon and started looking at a book Ron got for Christmas called "Cars of Cuba". I know nothing about cars...I just drive the one that's here. My Dad did. He liked big convertibles with soft tops...and I mean BIG. I had a 1955 Chevy beater car when my kids were born and after that all Volkswagons. So the book got me started. I was trying to draw cars. Now I love drawing and consider my own drawing great!!! If I do say so myself. BUT CARS...impossible for me!!! I have sold a few paintings with cars in them, but not many, and those cars were cartoonish and not a great representation of what I was trying for. So I had an idea. The cars I know how to draw are kind of silly. I drew a bunch of these and looking at the results I had to laugh. Ron also had a laugh. My cars all ran one end off the paper and were so silly that I couldn't stop laughing. So a series called "Girls Who Paint Cars" was born. I can't stop. These will be great for a studio sale in the fall. I love them, they are strange and I'll laugh sharing them. So my head is full of cars and lots of other ideas for painting. Look for them soon at this site!!!
Watercolor by Jerry Fenter