I’m registered as a participant in the North Ogden Art Festival on July 31st. Since I’m committed, I need to look online to see exactly where it is being held– some park somewhere in North Ogden I’m sure. Kind of exciting; I’ve never shown my art publicly before. I think the venue will be smallish, based on what I saw at the Ogden art show a few weeks ago. I’m ok with that. We went to the Salt Lake Art Festival today; it was big and busy and fun and we saw lots of interesting (and some good) stuff. Took my Grandma Wilson, so our pace was slow enough to take it all in (more about Grandma later). I noticed artists in their booths, watching people measuring and weighing and discussing their art, and I thought hmm. Could be painful; could be uncomfortable. Might be validating, might be fun. I’m up for it. I think I’m up for it. I’m working at being up for it. I’m not ready. I don’t have enough paintings that I like (yet). I don’t have prints (yet). I don’t have very many frames (yet). I don’t even have business cards. I ran out of Titanium White and Zinc White today, and was dejected at spending over $30 to restock just two tubes of white paint. Thirty dollars! I’d rather spend that on some paint containing pigment from precious minerals, like azure blue or something with bits of my favorite semi-precious stone, aquamarine (does such a paint exist? I love aquamarine, when it is slightly opaque and moody with a tinge of green). I’m experimenting with texture again (lace and fabric pieces gessoed to my board under the painting, for instance). And experimenting with new subjects; I’ve decided to do a couple horse paintings. I like horses. The camera and I bonded with one in the rain two weeks ago. She had gentle, inquisitve eyes, and bristly hair (like whiskers) growing on her velvet black nose. And I’ll be painting a rusty Jeep in a meadow of flowering mustard. This is very new to me. We’ll see how I do; I’m spread a little thin and not incredibly focused. My mornings and even some afternoons are spent in the dirt, digging paths and planting shrubs and trees and perennials that (once again) I bought prematurely. Meaning I probably shouldn’t have bought any plants til next spring (but oh! gardening is a necessary, vital thing for me, and I’m incredibly happy planting things). I figure I have three more weeks left to paint, and I think I need to paint at least (or almost?) four good paintings a week. I’ve never painted at that rate before. Yikes. But fun. I painted one I liked today, and two yesterday, of flowers a friend sent, and a left over pear. “Jen’s Roses and Peonies and The Pear Becky Didn’t Eat, #1,#2,  (I like long titles).
If you live anywhere around Ogden, please come! Even if you don’t live anywhere around Ogden. Come, and if it’s impossible for you to be appreciative of my (or anyone’s) art, say hi and be friendly anyway. And I (for one) will be friendly back. Besides, art shows are rich in people watching opportunities. High in festal community spirit. Rank with overprocessed, under-nutritive, irresistible food. What’s not to love? And I hear there might be Live Music. That’s, like, live culture. How healthy is that…
The end again.
