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My Beautiful Bride

53 Years Together

Woody's Blog July 2017

2017 Blog began March 2007
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Our Mountain From Our Backyard
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Another Exhibition 7/29:
I decided to enter my watercolor "Reggae Reflections" into the 2017 NAEA Member Exhibition! This exhibit will be displayed at the NAEA Studio & Gallery in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia, and will showcase artwork created by NAEA’s vibrant professional community of visual arts educators, highlighting the artistic skill and vision of members worldwide.
I enjoy painting street musicians, especially in the French Quarter of New Orleans. in November of 2015, we cruised from Boston to New Orleans to photograph street musicians in the French Quarter.. Along the ships route was Curaçao. It was our favorite island on the cruise. Its capital city, Willemstad — a UNESCO World Heritage site — a feast for an artists eyes with its iconic colorful Handelskade waterfront backdrop (Colonial Dutch buildings painted in brilliant pinks, blues and yellows line the waters of St. Anna Bay). Curaçao is also where I found this street musician who would later become my watercolor "Reggae Reflections". Even before landing in New Orleans I found street musicians to paint. Visual art and music make a perfect combination - where complements of color and sound come together.

"Reggae Reflections"
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Another Mudder Finished 7/28:
I've finished another "Mudder" painting from the Ranchos Church in Taos. This one close up and detailed. I'm working on a full sheet of 300 lb Archers Hot Press. The texture was added before painting to accent the adobe.

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Baseball 7/26:
Last night my bride and I joined a couple hundred KU Alumni to watch the Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies) beat the Omaha Storm Chasers (KC Royals) the score was 13 - 1. Of course the best thing about a ballgame in Albuquerque is the ballpark food. We both got two hotdogs wrapped in bacon and covered with onions and green chili of course.

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Our Watchdog 7/24:
Blossom keeps a watchful eye on our front door from atop the stairs.

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Another Birthday 7/23:
It sounds good to hear "you don't look 74" - as if I really believe the kind souls who say that. Of course, my reply is "It's because I havn't worked in 40 years - I was a school teacher and the kids did all the work." My beautiful bride took me to a 3-D movie: VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS - it was my choice - but I would not recommend it. Lots of special effects and not much story. Then we went shopping in Old Town where I found a cool stand for our bird fountain in front of the house. Later we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I got Lasanga plus the salad and bread sticks (and wine of course) my bride was paying. Since it was my birthday, I got complementary desert as well. My bride ate only salad - so, I got her lasanga to take home for me. On the way home, I got a box of wine at Total Wine and a new "out door" bed for Blossom at Tuesday Morning. That makes for a great birthday.

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Another Mudder 7/21:
I've started another "Mudder" painting of the Ranchos Church in Taos. This one close up and detailed. I'm working on a full sheet of 300 lb Archers Hot Press. I prefer the rough, but hot press is all I've got right now. I've added liquid mask to protect the whites and added some texture to accent the adobe. I've made quite a bit of progress - I just hope the color is not to strong.

"High Mudder"
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Black Hat Finished 7/20:
I finally finisher "Black Hat" - here it is matted - it's a portrait of Eason Eige - he was the juror of awards a MasterWorks New Mexico and later filled in as our model at MasterWorks Open House.

Eason Eige
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Landscape Project Finished:
We got tired of trying to keep plants alive between the flagstone in our back yard. So my bride has installed blue chunks of glass between the rocks. No need to water this area anymore. Blossom is smart enough to walk only on the flagstones - even though the glass won't cut her.

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"Ranchos Shadows" Finished 7/19:
According to Gabe Romero, the mayordomo supervising the enjarre, who was baptized here 45 years ago. He first joined the mudding crew when he was about 10. Each year, hundreds of parishioners and some out-of-state volunteers signed up to help. "I really feel it's God's way of bringing his church community together on a yearly basis," Romero said. "It brings in people of all faiths — it's not just Catholics that are here." The building is like a living thing, subtly changing shape as the elements wear away at its skin and new layers of mud plump up its curves. In the evening, after everyone has gone home, try walking around the building for a moment for reflection. "It's like you can almost hear the voices of people have passed on inside the church," he said. "You can hear the prayer and the shouting of kids. It sounds crazy, but I can hear it."

I matted "Ranchos Shadows" and my bride said,
"You painted that same damn church again ?"

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Love Blue & Orange 7/18:
I began painting on "Ranchos Shadows" this afternoon. In choosing the composition, I decided to show much of the church so viewers would more easily understand what's going on. I someone has never seen the process - then a close up view would puzzle them. I love puzzles, but I want to draw my viewer in and educate them.

Telling A Story
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Ranchos Shadows 7/17:
I started a drawing this morning (full sheet) for a new watercolor of the Ranchos Church in Taos - it's all about shadows on the adobe.

"Ranchos Shadows"
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NM State Fair 7/15:
After I framed "Holy Mudder" - I decided to enter it into the NM State Fair - I'll still be able to enter it into WFWS after the fair. I'm entering two other smaller paintings as well.

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I Finished Two Watercolors This Morning 7/14:
I feel really proud of the way my watercolor "Holy Mudder" turned out. I'm going to hold on to it so I can enter it into the next WFWS exhibition in Southern Arizona. This morning, I also finished my watercolor titled "Taos Street Music".

"Holy Mudder" and "Taos Street Music"
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"Holy Mudder" 7/11: This is the first time I've tried to paint a statue - I hope it works out. I'm also adding flecks of straw in the adobe.	...
Progress On "Holy Mudder" 7/10: This annual project is called “The Enjarre,” or “the mudding” of the church. I was lucky to stop by the church at just the right time to get some perfect photos to work from.

Balloons This Morning 7/9:
Blossom let me know there balloons flying this morning. So, I had to grab my camera and shoot a few pics from our back yard.

Hot Air Balloons
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Holy Mudder 7/8:
I'm starting on a full sheet watercolor this morning. The title is "Holy Mudder". I'm working from photos I took in Taos in June. Celebrating 300 years, the historic “Ranchos Church” was built in the mid to late 1700’s, and is the only original church which remains intact in the Taos area. San Francisco de Asis Church continues to be Taos Church as an integral part of the spiritual community. It has been artistically recorded by 20th Century artists, Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, and others who were fascinated by its adobe contours and sculptural buttresses. Their artful depictions of the rustic architecture of San Francisco de Asis have made the church nationally famous.
Every June, parishioners and the community volunteers gather to re-plaster the church in adobe. This annual project is called “The Enjarre,” or “the mudding” of the church. Since the church is the heart of the community many people are moved to help preserve the church’s historicity. By mixing clay, sand, straw, and water into thick mud it is applied to the surface, layer upon layer, until the entire adobe structure, from top to bottom which becomes resilient to the elements.

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Progress 7/7:
I made good progress on my two new watercolors this morning. I still need to remove the liquid mask before I do anymore painting. I layed the mats over each painting to get a better idea how they were progressing. Titles are: "Black Hat" and "Blue Guitar".

"Black Hat" and "Blue Guitar"
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Landscape Project 7/6:
Two more boxes of glass are needed to complete our landscaping project. My bride is doing a wonderful job decorating the yard.

Blue Glass
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"Black Hat" 7/5:
I'm starting on a new portrait this morning - "Black Hat" with lots of fun turquoise to paint.

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Summer Sunrise 7/3:
Yesterday, I caught the sun coming up over our mountain. July brings beautiful skies - especially if you get up early enough.

Sunrise, Sunday July 2, 2017
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Grill Ready 7/2:
I finally cleaned my grill, it inside and out, now it's ready for my holiday cooking - I'll start with pork chops for today. Bone-in pork chops are fantastic on a grill.

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"Poppy Artist" Finished 7/1:
Yesterday morning I completed my "Poppy Artist" Step by Step". The location was the Couse/Sharp Historic Site in Taos, New Mexico. Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio—Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, also known as the Couse/Sharp Historic Site, is a property on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. We took a tour of the home and studio when I was at the Taos Watercolor workshop earlier this month. Several artists painted on the grounds of the Couse House.

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