SO LONG SUGARBOY

When I was still living on West LaGrange in Lake Charles, my daughter, Kathryn gave me her white tomcat.
We already liked each other, as I'd always razzeled him when I visited Kathryn.

I was ever so glad to get him as he turned out to be an excellent psychotherapist.  He had a sympathetic expression as I regaled him with my gripes about my awful management team and  customer snatching fellow brokers at our stock exchange office.  His soft "mummmm" was a consoling response--like I feel your pain and how does that make your feel?

When he got into battles with other local tomcats, I threw pebbles and dead limbs at his rivals to be of assistance.  He would come back from the battleground and rub my pants leg in gratitude.  We were steady "Good Buddies" of the evening and on weekends and holidays.

Sugarboy enjoyed eating nice, fat, crunchy, flying bugs.  His favorite collection place was the streetlight in front of our driveway.

It was a fatal fondness.  One morning I gathered him up after he' been fatally struck by a motorist.  I turned into this nine year old---weeping for my lost friend...

MORE ABOUT DRAWING TWO...DRY BRUSH IN OIL

                                                   MORE ABOUT DRAWING TWO          

        AND THIS IS ABOUT DRAWING IN DRY BRUSH WITH VERY LIMITED OIL COLOR


When  painting  with artist’s oil paint, use a painting liquid mixture.  It’s called a  painting medium.  This mixture is made by using one part artist’s linseed oil, mixed with nine parts artificial turpentine called TURPENOID.  It is used in a plastic “squirt” bottle of some sort with a fairly small opening so that  the flow is limited.

Place the canvas flat and squirt the surface with painting medium. Distribute the medium evenly, using a paper towel.  Let the new canvas sit for a few minutes before beginning to dry brush.  This will prepare your canvas to accept the limited paint.  It will also prevent excessive brush drag.

Lay out some black, brown or other dark color on your palette.

an attach an artist’s oil cup containing a little bit of painting medium,

just a bit, not full and  little bit are the two key words for this kind of oil paint drawing.

Use a 6 or 9 size white hog bristle, filbert brush which should be touched into the medium then wiped with paper towel.  Just touch  the bristle lightly to add the dark color and brush it out thinly on the pallet..  Wipe the bristle on toweling until there is very little color left… but still enough to create a shadow drawing on the canvas.  Use a scrubbing motion to apply the tint.  When the image begins to take shape, gradually darken and prefect it.

If errors are made, simply wipe the image away with medium dampened, paper towel..  When removal is completed,  continue without having to wait for paint to dry.

I've often gone on to complete hundreds of wet in wet paintings, using this method of dry brush “shadow painting", working on sites all over this country.  Check out my website at www.elbertprice.com for some of these works.  Be sure to hit the link to Picasa for my latest  paintings.

More about completing the above paining in subsequent blogs.

Abstract Expressionist Study on Huffington Post

My response to a Huffington Post report on a study on Abstract Expressionist which said that there is validity in the works as opposed to the works of primates and children is as follows:

I an 85 and have been painting and sculpting since I was 4 years old.  Your pseudo scientific article is comparable to pretending that a personality can be explained by examining the bumps on the person's head.

I thought that the whole bunch of Abstract Expressionists and their "supporters" were a curse on the whole art community, making us objects of ridicule by association.  I was glad when Jackson Pollock finally put and end to them.

Children's art is direct and expressive and fun to view.  We love it.  Elbert Price

ABOUT DRAWING

OUR FIRST LANGUAGE WAS DRAWING PLUS A LOT OF GRUNTING AND POINTING

 ABOUT DRAWING...

Early people got into groups to share what they had experienced. Grunting and pointing or even waving arms was limited as a way of getting your tale, told, or an opinion across. But then, we flattened and cleared a patch of ground at our feet and picked up a short stick and stooped to draw and all gathered about. They began to nod; Yes I see! We all took turns with the stick to add our own bit to the topic... because we could all draw.
We could all draw and according to the cave drawings, we could all draw pretty well. Drawing was our first truly descriptive language.

My point is that anybody who tries to draw something, that interests them, can do it. They just need to hang in there, keep trying and don't become self-critical about their early result.

Everything that people like to do and even do quite well, they did awkwardly when they began.

I often advise beginners to pick a simple object (not an orange or a box) but a flower; a ceramic boat; a pair of shoes and so on.
Draw the subject carefully and place it face down... don't criticise it. Do this five times and try to do it as well as you can each time. Turn each drawing over without critique. Next, turn them all five over and notice the improvement in the final piece.

This won't always be true, but it usually is, if you aren't just rushing to finish all five.

Don't be impatient to finish and miss the fun in doing a sketch. You will be glad you drew.

Remember, self criticism is really a form of self-destruction---- JUST DON'T DO IT!

ELBERT         Sculpture "Drawing on the Ground" by Elbert Price

Peach-Pineapple Salsa

We have recently tried Peach-Pineapple Salsa and WOW!  It has completely kicked my favorite of 25 years, Pace Picante Salsa out of our pantry.  I personally load it onto my breakfast toast where Smucker's Special Recipe Strawberry Preserves once resided without challenge.  Peach-Pineapple Salsa sits two deep on our pantry shelf with an open jar in the fridge.  Thanks Guys,  Elbert Price

See my paintings and sculptures at www.elbertprice.com

Merry Go Round

We are only here briefly and if you don't buy your ticket to the "Merry Go Round" you don't get to ride the "jumpy horsey" though you may still recall the music.
We recently saw a movie where a guy was struggling to get back to his motherless kids. When at last he did and they jumped up and cried "DADDY" it just about destroyed me with emotion. I had to go to the back bedroom and take a towel to my teary eyes. If you've ever heard that sound, you never get over it --- even if it's someone else's kids--- it still moves you to your core. Like I say you gotta buy a ticket to ride the jumpy horsey on the Merry Go Round and the tune hangs about, as long as you do.

An Artist

A commentator said that an artist being viewed was "just not professional" ---like
he would be likely to know who is or isn't. The opinionated are merely loud, I think.

In my view, if you say "I'm an artist", and you create your art; then you are. Critics are many; originals are few; opinions are cheap.

Van Gogh wasn't thought professional and Balzac was though a "hack" by his peers.
An after dinner speaker can be a soap boxer on the noon break, his audience not important. If he says he's a speaker and does in fact, speak; then he is... You are what you say you are if you perform.