Not My Cats & Major Repairs

I'm cat-sitting for Sharon until the 9th.

Here are her bonkers cats, Harry and Nala:

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I signed up as keyholder for the boat repair shift today.

Even though I had no idea what to actually do....

Well, I learned what to do and we got the three Prowlers that live on the dock back in good condition.

They prob haven't been repaired since 2018 (that's what someone said) and they were looking awful.

We replaced all the deck lines and bungees.

They also need a power wash but the water outside isn't on yet.

But they look great and are now properly functional, and don't look like sad neglected abused creatures.

We also removed the metal tetanus plate on the back of Hector's boat.

Mark showed up and we made sure to showcase our many OSHA violations.

(He is an OSHA inspector for the city.)

We got to play with fun things, including the propane torch, the drill, and the hot knife.

Bitz & The Drill

Ethan & The Propane Torch

Jackie & The Hot Knife

There is a LOT of work to do before the season opens, which is May 23.

We still have other boats to repair, including all the Drifters used in the public program.  Mostly they just need new bungees and deck lines.

I will power wash the dock later this month, when the water comes on and we probably won't get freezing temps anymore. It's gross down there and has to be done before we put the boats out.

I'm glad April is moving along at a good pace.

Pilings at Riverside Park

I brought more groceries to Daya tonight, and then I went to Riverside Park to paint.

It's so nice over there...weather was supposed to be warm, almost 70...then out of nowhere a cold wind arrived. I was miserable for most of the painting. Last night I was too hot, tonight I was too cold!

8x10 oil

A man made quite the effort to catch up to me as I was leaving the park!

He said I was painting his favorite view....and he collects paintings... so I gave him a card.

(ALWAYS have your cards with you!)

Maybe he'll like the painting, maybe buy it, which would pay for all the new paint I bought.....

So, last year Jerry's started carrying a new brand, Tusc & Pine.

It's another good quality artist-grade oil paint.

Their marketing was very effective, because last year I got the Luminous set.

It's THAT pretty.

I'm not allowed to buy oil paint this year, unless it's a refill.

But Jerry's marketing struck again, and there is now also a set of warm and cool greys.

It arrived today.

All these are convenience mixes.

They really are nice.

I brought them outdoors.

Having given this brand a proper test run, I have to give it a high rating.

It spits oil, which is a very good sign of quality.  I like it.

I won't get anymore, because I'll stick to my Williamsburgs, Vasaris and Gamblins, but these really are nice colors and I'll definitely use them. 

Although it was weird to skip a lot of the color mixing, except adding black or white, it did save quite a lot of time- and it also made me think differently.  Which was the whole point to begin with- thinking differently.

If I put something new on my palette, I'll definitely use it and it's a nice way to move in new directions.

Judged in The Ramble

The weather FINALLY decided to be nice!

After work, I went to Central Park to paint. 

It's time to really start doing that.

Central Park is always crowded in nice weather, but it's much worse on the weekends.

I didn't mean to, but I ended up in The Ramble.

I wandered around looking for a painting, and I found it... I also found the Squirrel of Judgement, who was extremely judgmental.

Daya was texting me as I walked around.

I sent her the Squirrel so she could also feel judged.

Then I found the painting and settled into my spot.

8x10 oil

Daya wanted me to put an easter egg in the painting- I asked what... and she decided on a squirrel with a tiny top hat, since I was unwilling to put Cartman from South Park in, and it wasn't a pigeon kind of place.

Here is the Squirrel of Judgement:

I finished the painting right around sunset, so I got to walk back through the park at dusk.

It was so pretty.... the pictures don't do it justice at all.

View from Bow Bridge, looking east.

This picture just doesn't capture the magic of dusk in Central Park.... you have to go in person.

The lights in the buildings were all glowy. 

It would make a nice painting and I'll probably have to do it.

Reedy Plants

I have been taking egg tempera in the mornings this month.  

The afternoon got very crowded.

While it's tough to get there early- the morning class is 8:45-12:30- but I usually arrive around 9:15. 

I have to say it's nice to get out of class and have a lot of day left.

Doug doesn't care how long I stay- if it isn't too crowded and I feel like it, I stay for part of the afternoon session as well.

But today, as I was painting and enjoying class, I felt weirder and weirder, like I should be outside painting instead! It's true that I haven't been out enough yet this year, but that's because of Other Factors- mostly weather, but schedule stuff too.

Yesterday morning I was going to go paint before Daya's show and dinner with Janae.... and when I woke up the weather said 32/feels like 17.

Nope.

That's a full winter gear mission and I'm not up for it.

Then Aimee texted me and we spent the morning planning a trip in June.

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So anyhow I was in class feeling weird.

I left class around 1, stopped home for about 10 minutes to pack and re-pack, and went down to the wildlife reservation.  Temp was ok until the end, then it was COLD.

I'm ready for milder weather.

Here are some nice reedy plants.

They come with challenges, I might paint them again but this was a fun painting to do.

8x10 oil

I brought some Gamblin Radiants out today.

While it is true I have wayyy too much oil paint, I also know that I do actually use it.

Sometimes it's "eventually" but it does happen.

It was good to be out, even briefly.

We have a huge week of rain in the forecast which is a bummer, but maybe the weather people will be wrong!

Thingamingy, Charcoal Chimney, MIPDANIO, & Juilliard

I haven't updated my blog for a while....and I haven't been out painting for a while.

Hopefully that will change soon. I was thinking to go out early this morning, before I meet Janae and Kedrin for Daya's performance at Juilliard... but it's 32 degrees/feels like 17 and I would have to get out the door.... I don't feel like dealing with the cold.

So, even though I haven't been plein airing, things are busy.

I'm very busy at work.

Last Saturday officially started spring cleaning at the boathouse.  It's kind of gross in there, but it is less gross now.

We are doing inventory for boat repair, sessions go through April.

We started a tagging system on the deck boats to see what each one needs.

I wrote the tags in good Boathouse style:

Andrew did a good job cleaning the wood shop:

Ghost and Everton visited.

"Random Stuff"... at least it is contained now.

I SANITIZED the washroom and the bathroom.

The boathouse bathroom gets gross because several people have no etiquette.

I clean the bathroom regularly, because it's less-gross to me if I know I have cleaned it properly.

The floor looks terrible, we have to figure out the right paint for it, but this bathroom is CLEAN.

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On our last camping trip, we were looking for a large coffee tin we could use as a charcoal chimney.

Doug to the rescue!

He always makes coffee in egg tempera class, and on Sunday he used the last of this nice huge tin and asked if anyone wants it.

Yes please, the Boathouse wants it!

So now we have a charcoal chimney for camping.

That was very convenient.

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On Monday, we had the VHF radio class.

The Coast Guard Auxilliary usually teaches it. I took the class a couple years ago, it was good.

However, the coast guard cancelled last-minute and Martin ended up teaching it.

He did a good job.

Our favorite acronym is now MIPDANIO, which is the mayday protocol.

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Spring Dances is this week!

That means Daya is on stage.

I went Thursday, and I'm going again this afternoon.

Here is a picture of me and Daya.

We haven't taken a picture together for YEARS, which is sad... but I'm glad to now have a good, recent picture of us.

She was amazing on stage, of course.

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So, we have a few more days of March left.

I kind of wish I could jump over April and wake up in May, but April should be a good month.

My calendar is filling up- all my weekends are booked!

I'll be cat-sitting for Sharon, then a camping trip, then lots of boathouse repair/cleaning stuff, egg tempera class, the hotline, and I'll really start painting after work. 

I feel behind in my plein air work- it isn't a good feeling.

Anyhow, I have a lot going on but it's all nice stuff.

I'll get a proper amount of painting in soon.

I bewilder myself.

Today I went into the office.

Mostly because I didn't go in at all last week, and I was going to go yesterday but I completely flaked out.

I could. not. make myself go.

It was almost...weird.

I'm supposed to go in once a week, or technically per the policy three to four times a month.

Also my manager doesn't care, but I do have to be compliant. And I don't mind; it's good for me.

So anyhow I'm working on a HUGE -and by huge I mean HUGE- project.

It was giving me trouble so I was on the phone with my colleague, who also determined the system I'm working with is having a bad hair day and is stupid.

While we were both trying to sort it out, my manager pinged me on Teams asking if I was going down to 56 for the town hall. (He was there.)

Um..... I mean, I knew there was one but I wasn't planning on going.....

Plus I wasn't at a stopping point in my actual work-work.

So I wrote back.... I'm buried in *project* and wasn't planning on it.

Normally -- and I know this for a fact--- he wouldn't care even one bit.

But he said, uncharacteristically- you have to attend, managers are being told their teams should go.

Fine.

My next order of business was to find out the time of this town hall.

4.

What time is it now?

3:30.

Well geez M, really?

If you were requiring me to attend you might have said something sooner.

So I went downstairs to the town hall.

They mentioned sign-ups are open for the Chase Corporate Challenge.

I have never once in my life for even half a second had any interest in doing the Chase Corporate Challenge.

And somehow, today it seems like the best idea EVER.

Like, I NEED to do it.

So I registered!

I texted Matthew (Sharon's husband) to see if he was doing it with his company.

We both work in global corporate financial and often share our eerily similar work experiences.

I think Matthew makes a solid point about my performance review.

So..... time will tell what this is all about, I guess.

Sprite

Here is a portrait of Sprite, Cathy's very special cat.

When Dizzy and Sprite passed late last year, I sent Cathy gift portraits.

She commissioned another one of Sprite to match the one I did of Dizzy.

This painting should have been easy and straightforward, and it gave me so much trouble!

I even had to scrap the first attempt and start over!!

I haven't painted a klunker like that for a long time!

It's very embarrassing!!

Cats can be like that though, and Sprite was a quirky cat.

Dru says cats give her trouble too.

My cats have also given really accomplished artists trouble, it's a cat thing. 

They do it on purpose.

I'm so glad this painting is finally done!

And I'm so glad Cathy loves it and it makes her happy.

It's really a wonderful feeling to make others happy with my art.

6x8 oil

This painting is full of very expensive paint, which I love using.

Adulting & a Met Opera Audition

Daya sure had a day today!

I might have to remind her of today and how amazing it was and how it showed how amazing she is.

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We had a really good chat in the morning, just about how she's doing with some financial stuff.

She is doing extraordinarily well.  

Although she was not thinking this at all, I definitely see it and I put things in perspective for her.

In some ways, she is- and kind of always has been- ahead of her peers in basic life skills.

Unfortunately that does create a social gap for her.

It'll close as everyone gets older.

She asked me to keep something for her, to help her manage her head, and I said no.

It's the kind of thing where maybe a lot of moms would say yes and do it, because it would be helpful short-term, and it would have no impact on me at all.

But I said no.

And this is important because if I said yes and took a difficulty away, she would not learn how to keep her own balance.

She cannot depend on me-- or anyone else-- to keep her balance.

I will help with resources and structure to help her learn and keep balance, but she has to learn it.

And that takes some practice.  Now is the time in her life to do it, before she enters fully into the adult world.

Daya is a baby-adult right now.

She is an adult, yes, but I told her she has training wheels on.

I told her this is right and appropriate, she should have adult training wheels on, and she will for a few more years probably.

She got it.

And ultimately, because Daya is Daya, she won't settle for depending on anyone else for things she should do for herself. She requires autonomy; she won't stand for anything less.

I know this and I respect it, so I said no to a short-term comfort so she can learn and practice.

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This afternoon, Daya auditioned for the Met Opera.

There is a 900-person waitlist to get an audition there.

The director of Juilliard Dance got her in.

So, Daya just stepped right over 900 people sitting on a waitlist hoping for a chance.

She told me all about the audition, which was really cool to hear about from her perspective.

There were 40 people in her group.

Of those 40, she said only about 10 would be seriously considered, and of those 10, 5 are Juilliard people.

Daya knows she blew everyone out of the room in that audition, and she knows why.

She does things differently, deliberately. They are small and subtle but make a huge difference.

She listens. She observes VERY carefully. 

She says a lot of people don't, which I find surprising at that level.

She said they'll say at the audition what they want to see.

They might say they want to see you as a dancer- which is more individual artistic interpretation, or they want to see technique.

They wanted to see technique.

Daya has technique out the wazoo and she knows it so she gave them technique.

She also knows she went to an audition where there are no available contracts right now.

That means all these people are auditioning (and waiting) for something with no openings.

It has something to do with a legal obligation to renew existing contracts.

But life changes and she said there is no way they don't offer her a contract at some point, but she doesn't really care whatever happens.

She said it was good for strangers to see her and it was a great experience.

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Before the audition, Daya went back to high school and took class at LaGuardia.

They like when she visits. 

It's also half a block from Juilliard- very convenient.

LaG Dance is a very, very special place and I'm glad she still has that access and support.

Tadej told me at winter dance showcase this year that they don't see enough of her. 

She took ballet class with the high school kids, which I think is fantastic because of the osmosis which is very real.  It's good for the kids to have her there as well. 

As it turned out, her good friend and mentor George from Manhattan Youth Ballet was subbing for the class, and he is a strong and good connection for her.  

Also he has connections from dancing at the Met Opera. Nice coincidence there.

Astoundingly, 6 out of 7 of my dance paintings from 2023 are still on display outside the dance office!!

My favorite one isn't there, maybe it sold.

They were supposed to be a fundraiser for LaG Dance.

I like that they are still there on display.

It's a nice feeling.

Kind-of Spring

Last night I was on the hotline, and it was the first time I left my apartment since Sunday afternoon.

That's one of the reasons the hotline is good for me; it forces me to leave!

This is definitely a work-from-home issue.

Honestly I probably had 2 more days of not leaving my apartment in me.

Now I might not leave again until Saturday.

Yesterday was the first time since Thursday I didn't work late.

I am slammed at work and will be into April.

But it is good and I don't mind.

I'm making updates on a huge project I did 5 years ago.

It's work that has been most of my career but I haven't been doing much of for a while just because of natural job evolution. So, I have had to remember how to do my job!

I have been mentally engaged at work in a way I haven't been for a while and I'm enjoying it.

It's refreshing.  Also, I built some damn good files in 2021!

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March is going quickly and I'm glad. I wouldn't mind jumping straight to May, to kayak season.

I came home in a midnight thunderstorm last night and it's still dark and raining now.

So it's a dreary day and today I feel a little weird, a little off, slightly wobbly, but everything is ok.

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Every Spring I go to Sephora and get a new lip gloss.

And sometimes a new fragrance.

It's a nice way to feel new and refreshed.

This year I got one of these (09 Maple Glaze) and it's perfect.

It is not even a little bit sticky and it stays on.

I also got this fragrance, which is amazing.

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So, I feel ready to be out and about and feeling good.

I'm preparing for the warm season, preparing for camping, preparing for kayak season.

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Here is a pile of cats, just because.

On the GW Bridge

I have been wanting to paint on the observation deck on the GW Bridge for a while.

There is plenty of space.

Today, my friend Jan had a show reception at Buunni up in Inwood, so I thought it would be perfect to go paint on the bridge then see Jan's paintings and say hi.

It really was a perfect plan.

Today was overcast which means beautiful grays.

This painting absolutely will not photograph properly, but it's ok-enough.

A scan might be necessary on this one.

I'm really happy with this painting, and the whole thing was very deliberately composed around that wonderful orange buoy.

Painted looking north on the Manhattan observation deck.  

8x10 oil

I am done forever!

I never ever EVER have to do the FAFSA again!!!!!!!

Wicked

Daya is on spring break this week and next.

She gets spring break in winter, it's very early!

Juilliard Drama offered tickets to Wicked, and Daya asked me if I want to go.

Yes, of course!

It was a great show, the staging and general performance were fantastic.

And it was nice to have a good evening with Daya.