19 JUNE 06
I've been thinking about people who create art regardless of what else is going on in their lives. While some artists and writers struggle to be disciplined, others make the art they make because, for them, it's just natural. This note was in my inbox today from Patti Gee, who paints eggs:
You asked about the horses. Keeping them fed and all their health maintenance needs met was costing me more than I could earn. I'd have to spend all my time working and then I had no time left to do anything with them because I spent my "free" time cleaning up after them and maintaining the fences and fields.
I miss the horses every day. I hope it won't be too long before I can have horses back in my life--I'll probably have to move though. Jobs in this area pay so little and it's hard to get ahead when gas prices keep going up.
In the meantime, I make the best of what I have by creating nature trails out in the fields, planting flowers, trees, and some tomatoes & herbs. I'm even getting a little inflatable boat to paddle around the small lake out back!
The subjects I paint now are more of the natural environment that surrounds me. I'm kind of an oddball I guess because I've been fascinated with the large spiders I've found in my house and I'm getting interested in snakes--I've seen more this season and am trying to get over the creeps they give me. I've been painting studies and look forward to doing some cut-out eggs with spiders and snakes. Ha! Probably not very hot selling pieces of art...
Well, we'll have to wait & see what those spider and snake eggs look like. But here's an example of two finished eggs with birds.
. . .
