Tea Anyone?

“Morning Tea” setup for still life

No sooner did we get Scottie’s leg problem under control than he showed up with a swollen eye last week! Panic time and another call to the vet (after hours, of course). Fortunately, cold compresses and some bute took away much of the swellling, and he was then able to open his eye. Neither Shelley nor I could see any damage to the cornea, the eye wasn’t weeping, he wasn’t shaking his head or rubbing it, so we decided that either he was stung by something or he poked the eye lid with a twig. Now he is fine and another bullet has been dodged.

On the art front, I attended a gala gathering of artist members of Parkside Arts Council on Saturday night. We were invited to bring along some art, but the space was not conducive to good viewing. Hermit that I am, I didn’t know very many people at the gathering. But, I managed to chat with a few people for an hour before they all moved off and I became my usual wall flower self. Since the smoke from the fire was bothering me by then, I packed up and left. Hopefully, a few people saw my art and now know who I am and what I can do.

One thing I learned is to be careful where you take your art. The venue was an old ski lodge with an open pit type fire place. Since the lodge is really quite small, smoke filled the room, and I’m still airing out my portfolios and hoping the smokey smell will eventually fade from my artwork. Clothes I can wash, but not artwork!

I’ve been struggling to set up my still life for over a week now and have an arrangement that is promising. But now I’m second guessing myself and wondering if I bit off more than I can chew for this simple exercise. It might be time to consult with my mentor and see what he thinks.

Good! Another excuse to put off doing the  painting! I’ve included a photo of the setup above.

Back at the barn, three of us gals went on a glorious trail ride last night. It was even better than the last one since we were able to do some trotting and cantering  and ended up with a big gallop up the long hill to the barn. Scottie was winded but recovered fast, and there was very little heat in his injured tendon after the ride. We poulticed his legs anyway and turned him out.

Partway through the ride, I was thinking about how lush the vegetation was and that it was like riding through a primordial forest. I even wondered if we might meet a dinosaur (hey, I'm an artist; we have lively imaginations!). Not long after that we were going along a two track when the sound of a rattle trap vehicle approaching at high speed reached us. Quickly, we moved the horses off the road into the trees and waited for the beat up old pickup truck to pass us by. Fortunately, he slowed down, and only Elle, the novice trail horse, was at all concerned.

That was certainly a rude return to reality!

When I left the barn, there was a glorious sunset of orange, peach, gold and lavender which I enjoyed in bits between the trees all the way home, wondering how I could possibly capture such beauty in paint.