Portrait Finally Completed! Kind of.....Another Lesson Learned by an Old New Artist

Well, here's the final portrait of Yvonne, completed two months earlier than requested. I would have liked to fuss with it more, but Yvonne's widower was leaving Florida to go to his son's home in New Hampshire, and wanted to take it with him....

Here is the problem with letting people see a portrait before it is finished....

Either they don't understand that the painting is "not done yet" and they hate it.... or they "Love it as it is" and don't understand how much better it can be if they let you have more time to finish it. 

If your client hates the painting, you don't want to invest more time working on it. You can't sell people on something that is in your imagination. I find it easiest to back off, saying "I guess that is one thing I am just not good at painting.... So sorry." 

If the client "loves" the painting "as is", I used to think that was a problem. Now I realize that if the person who has consigned the painting loves it, and tears of joy well up in their eyes, the painting IS "done".

The mission in painting for a client is to bring them joy through the painting. It does not have to be a masterpiece to the artist, it only has to be a masterpiece to the client!

In the case of Yvonne's portrait, having another two months to make final adjustments and refinements would have made it a better painting. To me, that is... I don't know if the refinements would have made a difference to Henry.

Once Henry saw the painting (my mistake), he fell in love with it! I didn't even have the hands drawn in, but he wanted it less than a week to take to his son, in New Hampshire.

So I rushed painting the arms and hands, and slapped the painting into one of my own frames that he wanted... 30 minutes before he walked into the door to take it.... He was a very happy man as he left posessing the portrait of the woman he fell in love with fifty years ago.

So I learned a lesson. Maybe I have to get "over" thinking I am a Vermeer, and should stop trying to create masterpieces. Doing everything to the finest detail makes me crazy at times, and that is not what creating art should be about. A portrait should make a client happy.... end of story!

I will always try to be better, but I am not going to try to force "better" any more. There is a fine line between putting in effort to improve oneself, and trying to reach unrealistic goals in one big jump.

OK, if people are thrilled with a painting at a certain stage, it's their painting, and I have learned now to let it go, then....

So, for someone who just started to paint at age 62, I guess I have more to learn than just how to work with those paints!

Always be willing to learn, like that Wild Old Lady, who now has to go into her studio to clean it up! :)

Stop building a "Regret Pile" by knowing there IS NO "Later",

This is a photo of our favorite fishing spot on Gould Lake, Ontario. It was taken on what we didn't realize was our final visit. We took a quick two-hour tour of the lake, and I hurriedly snapped as many photos as I possibly could.

We could have stayed on the lake longer, but were hurried back to the cabin for reasons that didn't matter. I could have taken 1,000 more photos, but we decided we would go back out on the lake "later". There was and never will be a "later"....

That has probably happed to you, too. Yet I bet you still believe you will do this or that "later".... Then when you lose the opportunity to do something "later", you gain a regret to add to your "Regret Pile"! Hmmmmm....

What does one do with a "Regret Pile"? .... hah, you use it to "beat" yourself up with! More accurately, you waste your "Nows" with internal whining over lost opportunities.

If you can blame others for your "Lost Opportunities", all the better! Then you can whine out loud, sucking all the joy out of the moment of "Now" for everyone else around you. Yes, Misery does love company!

If you want to enjoy today, listen to me, and STOP putting things off! Just stop it!

Take that "Regret Pile" and put it in the garbage. You can't do anything about yesterday's "I'll do it later".... mistakes.

All you really have is "now", so begin to use it to it's fullest....

The "I'll Do It Later" philosophy seems to permeate ones life like a "dancing baby" virus. Before you know it, there are so many things in your "Later" pile, that you become overwhelmed! I speak from experience....

Now here's a good first step to take... Pick a small daily chore that you usually put off, and take two minutes to do it!

I used to put off making my bed. I became so lax, that finally I was making the bed at night, just before I went to bed! I don't think I was being lazy, because I was busy all day.... That was my excuse, "Oh, I have this to do, so I'll make my bed later". Then all day, every time I saw the unmade bed, it bothered me, but I always found something more interesting or pressing to do. I would beat myself up a bit, but still walk past the unmade bed.

When I experienced my "Eureka Moment", about the infamous "Later" I began to make my bed in the morning again. Now, I say to myself "There is no later.", and I take the two minutes to make the bed. I feel a lot better about myself.

Every day I do at least one little job that I have been putting off for "later". These little accomplishments enhance the quality of my life.

If you are a procrastinator, you too can improve the quality of your life! .... Small steps will eventually take you to the top of a skyscraper.

In the meantime, I am enjoying the many photos I was able to take at Gould Lake in 2008, and now I take my camera everywhere with me. If I see something in the moment that I want to photograph, I have my husband turn the car around. It was worth it, to miss those other photos of Gould Lake, because I learned an important lesson.... There is no "Later".

So I hope you too will learn from my lesson! Love to you "Now", because this Wild Old Lady is going to her studio to paint ... Now!

Genealogy - Even if you're not a genealogist, write down what you know!

There are my family books.... only one was compiled by family genealogists and printed properly.... The others are an assortment of notes about different family lines I came from ... names and stories.

Perhaps I will never get around to taking this information a step further, but at least it is written down and semi-organized so that if one of my descendants is interested in family history, they will have a good "starting point"....

That's more than I ever had.... With the Gallinger family, I only knew my grandfather's name, and remembered that an uncle once casually noted that his grandparents were named "Joseph and Mary"....

With the internet so available, I just happened to find a reference to Lily Worrall, who was researching the Gallinger Family. When I gave her my grandfather's name, she said there were several "Robert Gallinger's" in that generation. When I mentioned his parents were Mary and Joseph, that narrowed it down to Joseph Gallinger and Mary Crites Gallinger as being the parents of Robert! That was an important detail!

Lily is my cousin three times over in the Gallinger family... (Don't even ask...!) and more talented than I ever will be!

Six months later I was in Cornwall, Ontario, attending a Gallinger Reunion with almost 300 Gallingers who came from across the United States and Canada to attend!

I found out that I was descended from men who fought in the American Revolution, but for the "Crown".... (I also am getting close to finding a different group of ancestors fought for the United States.... Small world, eh?

To compensate for the absence of information I received from my own parents, I am making sure my own children get all the info possible. I know that it is only important who and what you are. It doesn't matter who your ancestors are, in the end. It's just a fun hobby, and full of surprises....!

There was a magic moment when I looked at a dour photo of my great, great grandmother... I said to myself, "They had to sit very still back then to have a photo turn out.... Do you think she pursed her lips to hold her face still? That would account for the pouty look..." Then I went to a mirror, pursed my lips... and oh my Gosh, there was a somber Mary Jane Brotherton looking back at me! What a moment hah...!

So when you are laughing at your ancestor's photos, try mugging a little in front of your mirror! You might be surprised at what you see!

Well, now I must go and paint! Love to all of you from that Wild Old Lady in Florida who's writing notes for her kids and making faces in the mirror :) !

My Original Matson Oil Painting! - Which Matson Did It?

This original 24" x 24" oil painting, signed "Matson" was given to me over ten years ago by my Dad, who was living in Sun City, Arizona. I don't know where he obtained it, but he and my stepmother were "down-sizing", and gave us three original oil paintings while Corky and I were there on a visit.

Although the colors were bright, I hung it in the loft area of my log home in Orchard Park, New York, and it made that casual area sparkle.

In 2003 I began to create art myself (which has taken over our home), so my lively Matson painting has been bubble-wrapped and stored on a closet shelf in our Brooksville, Florida home. Now we are now "downsizing", and have decided to sell it. I went on the internet to research the name "Matson".

(Closeup of Artist's Signature)

I have found several Matson's who are artists on the internet! Todd Matson does wonderful work... but could this have been an early painting? R.J. Matson is a cartoonist, but could this have been an early oil, done as a student? There are dozens of Matsons out there! So who painted this colorful painting? Here are some close-ups...

There might be a clue in how the canvas was stretched.... Here's a peek at the back....

Ok, I put it out there! If anyone knows which "Matson" painted this painting... I would love to know also!

Thank you for caring .... from the grateful Wild Old Lady who is having fun today in Florida!

Niagara Falls Police Dept. - Working there in the 1970's

Yes, this "Wild Old Lady" once worked for the police department in her home town of Niagara Falls, New York! Here is the Official Identification and Badge to prove it! Hah....

In the photo, I am the one without glasses, the long hair hanging down, and the impish look on my face.... On my I.D. I affected a more serious look, with my long locks pinned up into a bun-type bouffant "granny" hairdo.

We transcriptionists (clerk-typists) were assigned to a platoon and worked the same shift they did... We worked crazy shifts... and switched from one shift to another as soon as we became accustomed to one! No wonder so many police walk around with unsettled dispositions... (See how diplomatic I can be? ...)

Seriously, I was always sleep-deprived, and this was not good while raising two daughters.

However, it was a most interesting job, and there are a few humerous stories I will tell about it in future blogs.

How we typed the reports was like this... When the cops ended their shift, they would go in the transcription room, pick up a phone, and read their hand-scribbled reports into the recording system. Once reports were recorded, a red light would go on in the Transcription Room.

In the glass walled Transcription Room, the transcriptionist would put on her headset, as soon as she saw the red light come on. She had a typewriter, with a stack of blank forms at her disposal at all times.

She would type the report out on the official form, word for word, until all the forms were typed. If one typist couldn't finish all the reports, the next typist would start where the previous one left off.... If that red light was "a-blinkin" then she had better be "a-typin"! Amen!

For some reason, the worst reports came in during the midnight shift.... I will never forget that I had to type in "Homicide", then the name of a man I once dated. Later in the report, the "killer" was also someone I had known.. a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, and we all used to go out together. That was a shock, but it went with the job.

The second time I had to type "homicide", the victim was a very nice man who dated a friend of mine for many years. That crime was never solved.

It was not enjoyable to type those reports, along with the detectives more detailed accounts. When you worked at the Police Department, you were sworn to never divulge details of your work to the outside world, and that was the hardest part. You just had to go home and pretend that Police Department business never existed. I never divulged anything confidential to this day. (Of course, I almost forgot I even worked at the NFPD.... hah!)

So, try to stay on the straight and narrow, folks, or some sleep-deprived cop might have to come and get you!

Love to all from that Wild Old Lady who is in Florida with her art, and her memories!

The Biggest Loser's BEST Tip! Subway Veggie Delight Sub!

You are looking at half a Veggie Sub on a Honey Oat roll... from Subway! Doesn't it look good? This is what I ate for lunch!

Now here is the second half of the sub which I ate for dinner, with my own pieces of fresh-baked chicken tenders inserted! These chicken pieces are not "Mystery Meat"... they came from my own freezer!

So one sub, all my vegetables for the day, my protein for the night, very little fat, and almost no effort on my part!

Is that a plan, or what, folks?

Where did I get such a brilliant idea? ... From "The Biggest Loser" television show! One of the contestants, when she had to go home for a week, yet stay on a good eating plan... went to "Subway" with her friends and ordered a veggie sub.

I thought ... cool! When I buy lettuce, tomatoes... etc., it usually wilts in my refrigerator after one use. Also, it's hard to use a whole bag of rolls up, without overeating!

So, this is my adaptation of this week's tip from "The Biggest Loser" show, and I gladly pass it on to you!

Now I say... "enjoy"! And have a nice night from that Wild Old Lady who is painting up a storm tonight with a full tummy!

Artist's Don't Cook A Lot.... or - My Husband Thinks I've Lost My Touch in the Kitchen

I don't cook a lot... I'm always saying... "Now I'm off to my studio to paint..." and I do...

A few years ago I decided that I only have time to cook a lot and paint a little, OR I can paint a lot, and not cook.

At that time, my cooking skills also strangely began to "slip".... (Even though I finally had the red and black kitchen I had always wanted).

Does it say 1950's or what?

Anyway, cooking a large meal for two people just doesn't make sense if you want to do other things in life.... (and if you don't have a lot of time left.)!

So we go to a lot of great local eateries where I manage to eat healthily while my Corky can eat all the greasy foods he loves and maintains his waistline with!

Yesterday we went to Rooster's Cafe... Now just look at this great turkey sub I had!

I had to take all the chips and half the sandwich home! The turkey had been roasted there, and it was fresh!

So, who needs to cook! hah...

Well, off to the studio.... I have a painting to finish!

While you're cooking dinner, be sure to know you have the blessings of that Wild Old Lady who is painting in Florida!

Been "there", done "that"!

UpDate on Oil Portrait of Yvonne Columbe

Isn't she lovely? (16" x 20" oil painting... almost done!)

After changing the background color four times, and all the measurements I did checking her features with the original photo... to make sure all the proportions were correct... Phew!

I called Henry (Yvonne's Widower) over to view the portrait for the first time, and tears came to his eyes.... A success!

What a difference from the photographers photo that was "colorized", tones in gray, and faded with time! It brought back to his mind the memory of the vibrant woman he married!

All I have to do is some correcting and refinement of the ear, do the small part of hands and arms showing, then go over her sweater to even the color out, and define some of the folds.... easy work now... The hardest part was getting the face "right"....

He is leaving in a week and wants to take it with him, so I have to go now and finish her portrait!

Make sure you have wonderful photos of those you love, taken in their prime! You too might want to have a portrait done someday!

Love to you, friend, from that Wild Old Lady who is painting and loving it in Florida!

Watercolor Tree In Lagoon, Florida... Complete Fantasy!

I just took this watercolor out, since I am almost done with Yvonne's portrait. I put this one away a month ago to get away from it because I wasn't sure I liked the way it was turning out. Now it is growing on me again! (A note to fellow artists... Always put a painting away for awhile before you "dump" it!)

This scene was begun with my spraying and splashing watercolors to make the "swamp gas" type background... Then I splattered resist around in patterns to simulate both insects flying around the tree, and gas rising from the waters.

Started in watercolor, on 22" x 30" 300 pound watercolor paper, I then used some acrylic colors where I wanted more density and "punch". I also began outlining with a fine-line ink pen the 1,000 or so areas above the water where I had rubbed the "resist" off. (Aren't all artists a little "mad"?)

Below the water I decided to do a "cutaway" showing what is below the water, and I still have some resist on little bait fish outlines that I will define later on.

(After all, the painting wasn't complex enough to strain my already overworked brain, and I am sure that for my 100 hours of work I might actually get $100.00! ... hah!)

There is a lot of work to do, but now with a fresh eye I am ready to do it... (I need at least 3 paintings to work on simultaniously... Most artist will tell you that... Why? Because we are crazy enough to love doing it!...)

Here's my crude beginning of "below the water".... cute?

This area will be intriguing once I figure out exactly how to do it. (Oh, don't worry, I will!)

Don't you just love the way the light shines on this artwork, making it seem to "come alive"? I almost changed the location of my "photo shoot", to avoid the morning light, but then I enjoyed the way the light played on the paper... so that's it!

I better get busy, but always have time to send Love to you all, from that Wild Old Lady who paints in Florida!

Art Trading Cards... Here Are A Couple of Mine!

Here's my little Alaskan Salamander, painted in oil, a miniature of 2-1/2" x 3-1/2"...!

It has been said that Art Trading Cards are a modern innovation.... Not True! They were used in Vincent Van Gogh's time for sure, and much earlier. I understand that they were used in early times so artists could carry portable samples of their work, as photography did not exist at that time. I am surprised to see reputable sources citing these as a "new" art form. Shame! (Hah.... if I have to be the new expert, we are in terrible trouble...!)

This is my first attempt at painting the Gould Lake (Ontario, Canada) scene, and I did it in miniature "Art Trading Card" form. See how clear the water is? Makes you want to jump in!

 This watercolor study of a vase of flowers behind a colored glass window was done in the miniature size of 4-1/2" x 5-1/2"....

When you do enough of these studies, they help you develop your skill. They are fun and easy to do! I can't sell this one because it is about 80% copied from a book, but I have done quite a few more originals, based on this idea!

As a novice, I started a few large watercolor paintings because I like to work "large" (Large seems to match me!) .... Error, error!!! Always do small works of art first, when you are a novice!

Well, back to my painting, now.... Bye for now, you wonderful, discerning Art Lovers.... From that Wild Old Lady's Studio in Florida!

Gould Lake, Ontario, Canada... You Can See Through The Clear Water!

This is a 8-1/2" x 11-1/2" watercolor study of a photo I took from the vista of a Pontoon Boat while at Gould Lake in 2008. I will be doing this painting in oils because I really love the scene, and will be able to execute it more skillfully in that medium...

(I painted this scene first on a miniature Art Card, 2-1/2" x 3-1/2", called ACEO's on Ebay.)

There are so many beautiful lakes in Ontario where you can see through the pure water.... I could live another 100 years and still not see all of them!

Life is good.... Bye from that Wild Old Lady who lives in Florida!

A Winter Scene Beginning... "A Sketch In Time"..

Being raised in Niagara Falls, New York, I am used to winter scenes! Though I never loved driving on icy roads, I always delighted in sitting at a window on a cold winter's night and looking at the frosty scene outside!

This winter (in Florida) I am digging out some of my old photos and painting some of the winter scenes that I used to enjoy in person!

I have begun the above study in graphite, to be executed in watercolor.... If I really like it, I will paint it in oils! Oil painting offers the best way to maximize effects....

Formerly I used to just try to paint anything in oils, but am choosing more carefully now. I find that the investment of a minimum of three months of my life in a painting that I might not like at the end... is too costly!

Now I invest a week or two in a sketch, then watercolor, and that helps me to decide if the subject is worthy of "oil".... hah...

It's kind of like dating a man awhile before you marry him! It gives you time to work out the "kinks" before you make your committment... Amen!...

More love to you, along with my good advice on love and painting.... from that Wild Old Lady who finds herself unexpectedly living in Florida!

Fantasy In Watercolor - Underwater Scene With Flowers!

This is my 11" x 14" watercolor painting "Underwater Scene - Fantasy 101"...

(I would love to illustrate a children's book! Can you see it?)

I started by putting random circles of resist on 140 lb. watercolor paper, using various sized bottle caps. This was done spontaniously, without thinking of the end result. Fun, eh?

Then I wet the paper and introduced various colors, letting some mix, while some colors were left in puddles to intensify.

After this dried, I looked at the result and let the shapes "speak" to me.... Some shapes said "bubbles", "fish", "flowers", "gecko", and "sponges". No matter that some of these things are land-bound, and others were water-bound.

I looked around carefully to make sure the "Anti-Creative Cops" weren't looking, and then I painted my little fantasy....

A closeup of my little seahorse and sea "critters"!

A Detail of Floral Elements!

So enjoy, my dears....... from that Wild Old Lady in Florida, who's returning to her studio now to paint some more!

Oh, Hannity, You're STILL at it!!!

I don't watch political programs any more!

But.... the other night, whilst "channel" surfing I made the mistake of lingering on Fox for 10 seconds.... just long enough to see an intense, Artery Popping "Hannity", and hear him spew out the following words .... "the White House Propaganda Department....."

(click... I clicked off...)

Oh my Gosh! Now I know he knows there is no Department in the White House called the "Propaganda Department", so he was just engaging in one of his typical rants.

I don't care which "side" these rants favor, and who is doing the "ranting". This type of rhetoric is dividing the American People, inciting fear and inflaming the "nuts".. (Hmmmm .... roasted nuts, anyone?)

Come on, let's calm down, Hannity. Keep on going like this and some day you might have a "melt-down" like the "Wicked Witch of The West" did on the "Wizard of Oz"...

Hah .... as far as I'm concerned, I am not on a "side". I wish everyone would stop fighting and do what is right for the American people....

Oh well, there is money to be made by getting on T.V. and ranting.... I hope more people wise up and stop taking the "rants" seriously...

Back to the studio! This Wild Old Lady in Florida is going to paint some bugs! hah.... Make "do" with what you have! Love to you all!

Learning How To Paint Grapes in Watercolor

Grapes are a lot of fun to paint, using the medium of watercolor! You don't have to do a serious painting, just throw some paint on watercolor paper, and begin to make the shapes....

Then adjust them so they make sense as part of a little clump connected by vines. You can make each grape a different color if you want to! It's your painting! You learn better by having fun with it. Nobody has to see these little "studies"!

Well, back to the studio! Ciao!.....

Yvonne Columbe's Portrait and a Greek Goddess Doodle

This is a portrait in oil I am working on. Finally, after the 4th try, I have settled on a background. Now I will let it dry and I can return to the face, make adjustments, then I can paint her hair. It will be looser, fuller, and darker!

Yvonne is the wife of a friend of ours and sadly she passed away. This portrait, taken from a "young" photo, will be given to our friend in her honor.

This will hopefully be the last portrait I have to paint from a "colorized" photo. These old photos were black and whites,... and photographers used special colored inks to tone them with. At times photographers would play around with the facial features until the original person was beyond recognition. Thank goodness, looking through a magnifying glass I saw that this photographer was at least true to the subject's features. My only challenge was to get beyond the horrible gray tints to come up with lively coloring. It will turn out well.

Oh, for fun.... here is a Doodle I made... It's the back view of a Greek Goddess, done in loose watercolor.... just to show you I can paint in a looser manner!

Remember, that Wild Old Lady in Florida paints almost every day, so be careful she doesn't take your photo! .... Hah... what fun!