October 2024
The frenetic fall pace continued through October! We got back from Rome on Sunday, September 29 and then it was straight into plein air week at Piedmont Park.
There are always eccentric folks in the park but it seemed like there were more than usual this go round. As a plein air painter, we are extremely vulnerable in terms of safety. We usually have our backs to people and can’t see who might be standing behind us. And we are in a fixed spot, focused on one particular subject, gear spread out on the ground. For these reasons and more, I try not to paint by myself. But even so, we still sometimes get stuck dealing with people we’d rather not deal with.
What kills me is how many people will walk up and tell me that they’re an artist, too, then whip out their phone to show me all of their paintings. Do they want validation? YES, so I give it to them. I ooh and aah and tell them how beautiful their art is. But the absolute worst is when someone (usually men) comes over to tell me everything that’s wrong with my painting. One man in particular took extra steps to make sure I knew his feelings. He was Russian and got out his phone to Google translate his critique …
As I was being lectured by the Russian, another man rolled up on a scooter and screamed at me for not including the King and Spalding building in my painting. Then those two got into it with each other. Which led to the young guy head butting the Russian, flicking his glasses and spanking the Russian dude on the ass. The Russian man was mad because I didn’t put veen-doze (windows) in the buildings. All I wanted was a quiet morning of painting … instead, I got a Jerry Springer show.
I said to Scott, “why would someone want to come up to me and tell me how to do my job?” He said, “Beth, people do it every day. Look at sports. Fans tell the coaches and refs how dumb they are all the time.” So true, isn’t it?
I spent the following week working on two projects: framing and matting for Georgia Color and framing and matting for a show with Kathy and Cathy at Studio Z. I sold more than I expected at Studio Z, got to see a few friends I hadn’t seen in a while and got a new primary care physician. The bad news was that Kathy broke her hand on Saturday morning and had to spend all day at the hospital getting it set in a cast. That also meant that she wouldn’t be able to participate in Georgia Color :(
To top it all off, my Volvo went on the disabled list. Apparently the car flooded during Hurricane Helene. The sunroof drain lines that deposit water below the floorboard were overwhelmed, got clogged so all the water pooled underneath the floor mats and as a result, all of the wiring in that area was shot. I had it “fixed” at the dealership but after I got back from Georgia Color, State Farm called to say the car was a total loss. Cut to the chase - we spent this past weekend getting a new car.
Back to Georgia Color. On Tuesday, October 15 I packed the car and headed off to Savannah to stay with Sue and Andy for the week. Sue and I got close when they were in Atlanta for Olmsted and I loved staying with them. I drove around on Tuesday afternoon to get more familiar with the area, then we kicked things off officially on Wednesday morning. Initially I went downtown, thinking I might paint architecture but I didn’t see anything that grabbed me, so I left, heading towards Bonaventure Cemetery. On the way I passed the Forsyth Park Fountain. I had no intention of painting that fountain - it’s been done so many times - BUT, the light was so perfect and there was a parking spot right at the park, so I pulled over and painted it.
The weather for the week was amazing. There was only one time I pulled out the bug spray and that was during the Quick Paint, which was held at dusk and all the noseeums were out. I’m still covered in bites. But my QP sold so hooray for that.
Saturday night was the awards ceremony, so with everything turned in I spent Sunday morning at the art museum.
Overall it was a great week of painting, and I sold one of my library paintings. There were artists who didn’t win or sell, so I consider myself fortunate. Another highlight was getting a studio tour at Susie Chisholm’s home. Susie is an incredible sculptor and I must have asked a zillion questions. It was just so cool to see the process, layers, materials, armatures, etc. That’s my friend, Barbara, on the left. She stayed with Susie for Georgia Color.
I also did a demo and got a job as a result, so there’s another tick for the win column.
This painting below is one of my favorites from the week. I painted with Lori Keith Robinson several times during the week and I just love her. Her paintings are so rich with pinks and oranges and I wanted to steal a little bit of the magic in this piece, “Lazaretto Creek.”
I’m also very excited about this Majestic Oak painting. Lately, people have criticized my work as flat and graphic, and it’s taken some self coaching to get to the point where I don’t care what they think. I’m calling it my “F*** it phase.” :))))))) So fun.
Classes at Acworth have resumed. These classes are truly the highlight of my week. So happy to be back, watching them improve from week to week. Last week we worked on trees. This week we will practice one point perspective.
In addition to car shopping this past weekend, we saw Jerry Seinfeld at The Fox. Only Jerry can spend an hour talking about dish sponges, horses and cell phones and have us all in stitches. So good.
On Sunday we had a studio open house at Legacy Park. I met several really nice people and even ran into an old friend from Agnes Scott. I’m inspired by my studio mates and can’t wait to get back to a normal routine so that I can spend more time there.
NOVEMBER
Hopefully things will settle down a bit next month. I have a few docent tours and we are hosting the National Docent Symposium, so I have a lot of work to do for that. And we’ll make our annual pilgrimage to Louisiana for Thanksgiving.
OTIS and JULIUS
My sweet boys are doing great. Otis has been clingy due to all the travel, and that always makes me happy. He’s on my lap right now, snoozing away.
See you back here in a few weeks.
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