Day 146: Travelers

"Travelers", a mixed media painting.

My studio at home is right in the front of the house. We live on a corner, so at 3:20 pm (and I imagine also some time early morning when I’m still sawing logs) there’s a flurry of vehicular and pedestrian traffic from the nearby elementary school. It’s like my suburb turns into San Francisco’s mission district for ten minutes. There are people jaywalking and double parking all over the place… a couple cool restaurants and shops open up.. it’s crazy. I usually have the blinds open for extra daylight, so I imagine people can see right in there while I’m sitting at my easel. Today as I scowled at all the brats tromping our struggling lawn like properly barn-raised livestock, I imagined the conversation of a parent and child looking over at me…

“Who’s that, mama?”

“Oh.. well that’s a braless hippie pretending to be an artist. Stop looking, honey.”

Detail shot of detective page & altitude listings

Do I make better art braless? Perhaps. I can certainly move around easier. Besides, doesn’t every woman everywhere whip her boulder-holder off the second she’s within the safe confines of her home? For a moment, I considered throwing on a sports bra for the benefit of the voyeurs swarming my home. But as I gazed upon the lawn litter our fabulous neighbors so frequently leave behind for us, I said “screw that” and continued working on today’s piece.

Detail shot of Yukon map

“Travelers” is a mixed media painting on an 8×10” canvas. Using several layers of vintage patterns, I created a ground of navy lines and arrows that felt nautical. Adding a vintage map page of the Yukon, a page from a detective novel with the word “travelers” on it, and the text “the directional sign”, a theme evolved. I added in some blue, red and yellow, which gave it kind of a flag feeling. Smeared white dots evoke movement while splashes of navy watercolor make me think of a spilled inkwell. I say success! and call it a day with just a few minutes to spare. Whew!

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