Edward Hopper at The Whitney

Tonight I went with a couple of my boathouse friends to see the Edward Hopper show at The Whitney.

I can't believe I waited so long, and it closes this weekend.

It was PACKED.

Everyone coming just to see paintings.

That makes me happy.

Anyone who says painting is dead is wrong..... people are coming out in droves to see paintings!

Isn't that wonderful?

I photographed pretty much the whole show.

My pic of the intro blurb at the beginning didn't come out... oh well.

The colors and.... well, all paintings in general, are better in person.

The show was fantastic.

Enjoy.

Pictures from the roof garden....

Pebbles Goes to the Vet (Again)

Pebbles is a Very Good Cat at the vet, even though she doesn't like going.

The exam was free since I had accumulated so many points from the summer.

But now because of her age they want her in every six months.

She's still on the Atenolol and I have to monitor her resting heart rate at home.

She lost .25 pounds, and she has been slowly losing weight despite the extra treats, so I don't know what's going on with that or how to fix it. Her energy is great, she does eat and drink, so I don't know.

Vet bills, oh man..............

This is such a limbo time because I don't know what is happening with college and college finances.

I have to play a little bit of catch-up but since I'm not financing a fancy summer intensive for dance I'm going to do that with the tax return, and also probably take Isis to the vet.

It's just insane how everything adds up. INSANE.

**********

Move NYC told me in December they would assist with that LA trip on top of what USC reimbursed.

I had Daya follow up.

I was told I would get a phone call.  Nothing.

Then at the show I spoke with then directly and she said she would email me this week.

Nothing.

If someone says to me 'Don't let money be your deciding factor" and "We'll help".... and then they don't help, it sits sour with me.  And I feel like an asshole to keep bringing it up.

They should just never have told me they would help.

Plus I know the standards they hold their students to; they should act accordingly as well.

Anyhow. Whatever.  I have to let it go.

I do have to play financial catch-up and it's not super-terrible but I'm just so tired of always having to play catch-up. I get out of the hole just to go back in.

Ok enough complaining, I'm just really burned out and exhausted.

I'm feeling the burn-out pretty badly, but I don't know what to do because I'm already doing the right things.

Returning to Actually Paint This Time

A couple of weeks ago I went to the park but didn't paint.

But I did find a tree that i really like and I have been wanting to go back and.... actually paint it.

So today I did that.

I'm really happy with this painting.

It took just under 2 hours.... maybe I'm getting faster?? I don't mean to do that....

I was surprised by that when I finished and looked at the time.

Anyhow the tree talked to me a lot and I learned some new painting things from it.

Its always fun when that happens.

8x10 oil

When I got to my planned painting spot, there was a bike standing alone.

Weird.

I walked around to find my exact standing spot and 2 people were sort of hiding in the brushes.

Weird.

I think it was a husband and wife, or maybe a dad and son.

I couldn't tell.

Although annoying, I decided to set up anyhow, because I wanted to stick to my plan and also I knew I'd be there a lot longer than them anyhow.

I was right.

They stayed doing whatever they were doing for several minutes, then they left.

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My new boots are great AND I had a very unexpected issue on the walk over to the park...... my boots got too warm and it was actually painful to walk!!

I put on full winter gear because the temp said 33 degrees/feels like 27.

So I added the sole warmers and toe warmers inside my boots.

The toe warmers were actually too hot and I had to stop and remove them!

Otherwise I was fine, and I did not even need gloves.

I guess the weather got a bit warmer.  When I was done temp said 41, which isn't very cold.

This has been a weird non-Winter and maybe it will get cold enough that I'll be able to test my full boot-heating system again.

I have done it several times in the old boots and never had an issue being too hot!

__PRESENT

Adventures in Egg Tempera

Today I mixed up a very fresh egg yolk with a little vinegar and water.

And then i got out a particularly soft brand of pastel and my adorable Derwent grater.

I made some lovely dust and added the egg and...

It was weird!

It kinda beaded up and i think it isn't supposed to do that.

I'm not worried that it is from the pastel, it's just dry pigment with a small amount of binder.
And I have a jar of straight up Titanium White pigment and it acted the same way.

So maybe I need to add more water to my mix.

Anyhow it was a strange experiment and I need to work with it a little more.

I loved being able to use my adorable Derwent grater though!

The Last Move|NYC Show

Tonight Move|NYC performed two shows, after the 4 day winter intensive.

Daya performed her senior solo in both shows.

She is breathtaking.

The whole show was amazing.

I am so sad it is over, well this phase at least.

Here is  Daya's senior solo, from the second show:

Choreography by Norbert de la Cruz III

I am a painter not a dancer, and it is true that I do not view this in the same way that a dancer would.

The same way a dancer would not see things in a masterful painting that I might see.

But all the arts share a common core, and while the outward expression is different the core is the same and they all parallel.

However, I DO know it is breathtaking, and you have to be a complete idiot to not see the sheer talent and ability.

I am so obnoxiously proud of my child.

Yes I know how fortunate I am to have a kid like this.

Daya's head has always been bigger than mine, even when she was a baby.

I guess that's why I had a c section...........................