Boot Commission ~ Canvas by Canvas ~ The Upstairs Gallery by Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

Texas Boots
Acrylic 10" square CBC Commission

This is my square for a Canvas by Canvas commission for a California client in the style of our painting, "Boot Scootin". We had so much fun doing the set up photography for this series of paintings. A friend has an extensive boot collection and we spent the evening arranging and photographing boots in all colors and styles. The section of the square that is green, top right is awaiting our "rose painter" to make her magic with a yellow rose of Texas.


I could not resist taking a photograph of my new acrylic paint palette and I don't know if it will work but time will tell. I found this "No Spill Organizer" Jewelry Designer, with grooves in lid to keep compartments from spilling, 13.7 x 8.6 in with 32 compartments at Michaels. I felt like the grooves in the lid would help keep the acrylics from drying out. I used a white sticky felt to paste inside the top and moisten with water. I placed all in a Hefty Jumbo zip lock bag with a wet sponge. Maybe I won't bring my whole studio to painting days and weekends when we get together to paint on our CBC projects. I bring a jar of white and black gesso for those separate colors. This is an adaptation of one of Elin Pendleton ideas using pill containers. It would be best to store in the refrigerator but since I've just made a Sam's visit that idea will have to wait. I did use the pill containers like Elin at one time but didn't give them the proper care and they dried out, some grew mold, some got too contaminated.


If you forget to gesso your panel before painting time, you can always find a nearby truck out in the sun to quickly dry your square. The Upstairs Gallery is in the background.

The Upstairs Gallery Studio where we meet, greet and paint. This is where my "Love Your Life" art journaling workshop will be held in November. When I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond shopping for more organizers I found some small little journals that said "Love your Life" on them, hmmm.

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Art Journaling Workshop “Love Your Life” with Nancy Standlee

Three Day November 6-8, 2010 Saturday, Sunday, Monday 9:30 – 4:30

The Upstairs Gallery

1038 W. Abram

Arlington, TX 76013

Contact: J. T. Martin 817 277-6961 to register or

info@upstairsartgallery.com

Boot Square ~ Friends ~ Journal Pages

10" Square for a Boot Painting for Canvas by Canvas. I used a photograph of a pair of my red boots. I have designed this project and keep checking the CBC web site for a sneak peek. There are 4 squares finished as of Monday. Six of us painted at the gallery and later headed to Dallas for food and a kickoff meeting for the 3rd Park Cities Presbyterian Art Festival. All the details will be on their web site in about 2 weeks and it is a well attended and organized art festival and sale. This year the theme will be Parables: Surprised by Truth. This will be the third year to enter and the first year we won first place with our theme and the second year our painting, Core of Sin, sold before the show officially opened.
Just more boring closet clean out and finding too many pairs of ill fitting jeans, saw Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with girlfriends, started to read Charles Reid's new book, Watercolor Solutions. More of that on another blog post.

Friends:
So many precious details of our children's lives are lost forever in our ill equipped memory banks but one clear incident remains. I learned about true friends from my daughter and her friend, Kelly, when they were in elementary school. I watched and listened after their return home from school one day and they were headed across the street to Kelly's when I overheard one of them say, "I'll carry your books and you can carry mine." What a friend. How heart wrenching to watch them on our last Sunday in Virginia saying their goodbyes. That morning they were baptized together and later as Delphia and I were drying off and dressing two wet little girls in the restroom they realized the finality of the event and they held each other and sobbed and cried and so did we.
You are very luckly and fortunate to ever had even one very good friend. I lost my shopping, going to the movie and walking friend several years ago and never thought I'd find another. Now I paint with 8 others in a group called Canvas by Canvas and we're more than business partners - we're truly good friends. It always amuses us when a man that we don't know very well is prone to ask "Bet you get in a lot of cat fights?" At times we let their imaginations soar but usually we say "No, this group of 9 women try to be a loving and thoughtful group of friends. We realize our good fortune. We are all independent and a little strong willed but that's a good point." No schisms and screams for this bunch. Other groups of women friends can understand this.
The following journal pages have made me consider friends again when we all received an email with the subject line "I have bad news" from one of our members about a health condition. How do you journal and then have some privacy. I've opted to print off that original email and then cut and paste in my journal each of the CBC member's response and covered the messages with a piece of white net with gold sparkles to mark that time. (Earlier that day I've purchased a bottle of new perfume and added the scent sample and such a nice fragrance now in my journal and purchased a rolling cart for watercolor paints).
I've been dealing with the situation with journaling and we had a special called meeting to be together, hang out and paint on Sunday. Check out our "expensive" Sam Moon necklace of a crown made from Sam Moon earrings and each one of us are wearing one. CC made us all a "thinking about" bracelet and my Mudd backpack and I just sent my first text message. I could have made 9 telephone calls in the time it took me to hit those keys trying to get to the letter I needed, sent it to my kids as they were the ones requesting I get this feature. I don't think they want to hear from me so much as being able to send messages to me.

I'm reading in my new Reid book (I have others) and love how he contour draws and I'd like to have the time to do all of the drawing exercises in all his books, the doctor visit and I used the word remember and I recalled a piece of jewelry my grandmother Johnson wore and she had very little jewelry but this one was special and had a fake pearl where the word pearl should have been, "I Remember Pearl Harbor". Memories are who we are...
cleaning off more bookcase shelves, not finishing any jobs just starting new projects, computer searches, wanting to give more study to the Shirley Trevena books.
Our friend, one of the youngest members, says "I hope I don't get kicked out of CBC because I can't be a "lifter" for awhile (an inside joke about who lifts and loads our heavy 33" x 33" paintings). I answered "We may have to take a vote because now it will take 2 of the older members who used to be "watchers and holders" and "one on each enders" to take your place."
Or maybe for awhile, dear child, we'll carry your books and you can carry ours.