The Hambidge Harrow

I worked on the harrow yesterday. I set it aside while I worked on the still life paintings for the show. It still needs the long, slim blades of unmown grass. It's as close to a landscape as I've gotten. This photo is a bit dark, but you get the idea.

The Hambidge Harrow

Here's the start of the harrow painting from yesterday. It was a misty morning up in the North Georgia mountains. In fact, I think low clouds were passing through. I like the out of focus, hazy feel.

Most of the background blocked in. The foreground is long grasses, knee deep. Once upon a time I would have painstaking painted each blade from the very start. Now I've blocked in some areas and will be going in to pick out darks and lights on top of this, and specific blades in the foreground and across the wheel of the harrow.

I'm going to start another drawing tomorrow. Everything is wet. I remember why I need to have several going at once. Being able to turn to another painting is all that saves me from turning good, clean color into muck, when what it needs is for me to wait.

third time is a charm

Friday an email confirmed my acceptance to the Hambidge Residency Program (insert celebratory cartwheel and handstand here). That means for three weeks in October I'll be up in Rabun Gap with room and board, zero distractions, and a studio of my own.
http://www.hambidge.org/Residency/Studios/tabid/65/Default.aspx

I fished it out of my spam folder the other night, after I got home from the Local Color show. When I saw the subject header (Hambidge Residency) I actually groaned. I just knew it was a form email rejection. Well, au contraire, as the French say.
Just being accepted is inspirational. My amphibian artist/writer brain (after a moment of blankness, followed by oh my God, what can I do that's worthy of with all that time?) is teeming with ideas. Something ambitious in terms of complexity and scale. Or something exploratory in terms of story and execution.
Art math: the act of researching the options, plus the thrill of anticipation, equals fizzy creative carbonation.