My Memling is Gone

Ok, this is not ok and it's not right.

As it turns out, my favorite painting at the Met is no longer on view.

I'm genuinely very upset about this.

I have been visiting her for years and I love her.

I'm so sad she's gone.

I even emailed curators in 2021 about it when they were renovating and they assured me she would be back.

I'll send another email.

I have a troubled relationship with the Met in general.

It's a place that I love very much but it doesn't love me back, and has been, frankly, downright unkind several times through many years.

I don't understand how a place I love so much can be so assaholic.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437059

Kitty

Jackie's cat Kitty died last month.

She had him for 14 years and I was also friends with Kitty for all those 14 years.

Jackie and I have been friends for 18 years and Kitty was a special cat.

It's the kind of situation that needs a gift painting.  Jackie cried when I gave this to her, Kitty was really special and she misses him a lot.

So, here is Kitty in Egg Tempera, 8x10

About 5 1/2 hours painting time.

Some progress shots:

The Abuses of Wax, Manet & Degas

Kedrin and I met up today to go to The Strand, and then met up with a couple other friends to go to the Met.

Strand Therapy is sometimes exactly what a person needs.

They are the only store that puts out ladders for people to go through the top shelves and they are unconcerned if someone falls and kills themself, or some other disaster. (In contrast, if I stand on a damn milk crate in the grocery store the employees freak out if they see it. Says it's dangerous.  What the hell else are those milk crates for??)

So anyhow I went through the entire art technique section and the entire medieval section and got a few cool books.  One is about techniques of medieval art and has a (short) chapter called "The Abuses of Wax".

I had to get it.

I also told the cashier all about it and he now wants to read it.

(Basically, putting wax on frescoes is a horrible idea and the author vehemently dislikes wax for this purpose.)

The Manet/Degas show is wonderful, but it was so, SO crowded.  I'll have to go back at a more reasonable time to really see it properly. It's a good thing I live here and am a Met member!

Balloon Handling in the Parade!

I was a balloon handler in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year!
I have never even been to the parade. Being in the parade, however, is different than just standing around and it was ridiculously fun.

You have to have a sponsor to do this.

Boathouse friends hooked me up.

Kedrin and I were on the Uncle Dan balloon together.

Eddie H2O was a clown.

Uncle Dan is from a movie that hasn't come out yet- it's abut a family of ducks who are going on vacation to Jamaica, but end up in Jamaica Queens... which is NOT the same thing... I have to see the movie when it comes out!

My friend Grace was at the parade and took this picture.  Uncle Dan's left wing popped right as we were in the lineup to start marching! He lost some altitude and kicked me in the head once... but he still flew!

After the parade was over I headed home.  Daya was working in the morning til afternoon.

I made my wonderful salmon chowder at her request.

Egg Tempera at the Draw-A-Thon

The High School of Art and Design had their draw-a-thon today!

I decided to take egg tempera and sit in the all day pose in the costume room.

Next time I might have to go back to the nude room, it's a lot less crowded (no kids allowed, 18+ only!)

Janae was with me, David was there too. It was fun to see everyone.

We stayed from start til finish, and the painting time total was probably around 5 hours.

Here is a 9x12 egg tempera painting. 

Aside from the very cramped space which hurt my back after a while, my travel egg tempera setup worked out very well!

18 Part 2

Tonight we went out for birthday dinner.  It's an all you can eat in 2 hours sushi place a few neighborhoods over and it was really great. It was a nice time; we talked and walked home.  I really love when we have these nice conversations.  It doesn't happen a lot.

Daya ate an astounding amount of food- I don't know how she can physically do it. It's truly baffling.
She dances it all off but a person still needs physical space in their body..... it's a mystery.

Cat Hill, Central Park & Exported Cat Puke

There is a cat statue in Central Park and it has been on my painting list for several months.

This morning I decided to go paint the cat.  I had previously scoped out my exact standing spot, so there I went.

8x10 oil

So, I set up all my gear and did all my normal things when I noticed there was something in my solvent jar.

It was cat puke.

Like, a LOT of cat puke.

Wet food cat puke!

HOW GROSS!

I always keep my solvent jar empty in the window to dry out, and I guess someone had a puke... IN the jar.

So I had to fish out three rather large chunks of puke.  They are now in Central Park near the cat.

This was disgustingly ironic.
Another plein air first!

I have now officially exported cat puke from home to Central Park, 

by the Central Park Cat.