Tag Archives: Connecticut

It’S eCLECTIC!

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Can’t get rid of this damn chair, can I?

Did I tell you about my first day as a DJ assistant? I got the name of “The Electric Slide”, wrong, and shouted out, “It’s Eclectic!”.

No, that’s not true. Makes for a good story, though,

I do have a true story about the word eclectic, though.

Greenwich Old Town Hall

Back, (way, way back), I lived and worked in Greenwich, Connecticut. I worked in a small discount department store, where the close knit employees all felt like family.

The owner of the store was like a second father to me. One day he asked me about my taste in music. I said something like, ‘My taste in music is eclectic”. The boss looked at me, and said, “Don’t use that word here”.

I didn’t understand what he meant…..could there be an obscene, second meaning to eclectic that I didn’t know? I was really puzzled and upset.

Finally, I got it. My poor SAT mind was oriented to using big words. Then I realized not everyone has that broad a vocabulary. Some people wouldn’t understand, and the rest would think I sounded like a snob.

In short, don’t use a $20 word, when a $5 word will do just fine.

Cloud Over Greenwich.

Can’t Complain

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Wouldn’t help anything if I did…

So, as I pointed out, I’ve come to a milestone 10 years….I’m not running out of ideas for the blog, but no so much artwork.

Here’s a recap of the blog so far:
I’ve complained about how dreary winter is:

WINTERFIELDS

I’ve complained about Autumn being the entry to the cold, bleak winter:

OCTOBERFRUITLOOPS

I’ve complained about summer foliage being repetitive and boring to draw:

STAIRCASEONARAINYDAY

I’ve complained about missing the country while living in the city:

CONNECTICUTFANTASY

I’ve complained about missing the city while I live in the country

NYCSKYLINEATDUSK

I’ve even had the nerve to complain about flowers and rainbows:

FLORAL OVERLOAD, BY ROXANNE BALDWIN

RAINBOWOVERTHETRACKS

So, as you can tell, I’ve run out of things to complain about.  Therefore, I can’t complain.

I’m going to concentrate of my artwork, until the desire to complain comes back….which could be next week, for all I know.

Until then, meow for now.

 

There’s No Business, like well you know…

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Last Saturday was the Danbury Street Fair! In which I participated in as an artist.  I was able to do this on the cheap, without investing hundreds of dollars on equipment. I was breathlessly waiting to take the tent from its case.  I only paid $65 and a trip to Queens, NY, so there would not have been a big monetary loss if it was unusable. But then, I’d be without a tent.  Low and behold, we set it up and it stood as high and as proudly as the American flag on July 4.

20190601_102858 (1)I would have had better display racks if I could, but money was certainly an object.

As for sales, I only sold three small drawings (one of which was to my sister in law).strawberrystilllife001

It always surprises me what people decide to buy.  A young woman, a cat lover, bought two drawings

.livingroom72002

 

 

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And a small version of this one. I did put out this large, full-sized picture, which got a lot of attention.  Cat pictures were the order of the day, including my brother’s cat.

king

Lots of lookers though.  I’ve done enough of this kind of show not to expect to get rich off the sales.  The main thing was to get my art in front of the public, and have fun.  Yes, some people go on cruises, I do art shows.

It would have been a lot more fun if I hadn’t been fighting the flu with a fever.  That’s another story.

So, now making plans for the next one.  It will probably be in the fall, getting close to the holidays.  With better racks.  I’ll keep you posted.

And Poof, it was gone

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I’m talking about the post I just wrote, and lost.

Ah, well.  Facebook keeps reminding me that I haven’t posted in a while.  I apologize for my absence.  The truth is, I’ve run straight into a brick wall of an artist’s block. I’m as stuck as  a car in a muddy ditch.

This has happened before.  I’d lose the excitement of my work, and come up with some horrid pieces.  That’s exactly what has happened now.

I thought the change in seasons would revive me, but no.  It’s time to take a break and play around with other creative outlets.  But I’ll be back.  Ready to start fresh again.

So, in the meantime, I’m leaving you with a drawing I did many years ago, of a season like this….spring easing into summer.  It was a fruitful time artistically for me, going back many years to when I lived in Greenwich.  Goodbye, but only for a while.

Something Great is Coming….

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I have a routine to keep track of the approach of spring.  It’s a habit that keeps me going through the dullest months of winter.  It starts with the winter solstice, when though at the season’s darkest, the light begins to return.  Then it gets involved with more popular events…….Superbowl Sunday, Mardi Gras and my favorite, the start of baseball spring training.

I can see that spring is nearly here now.

Hurray! I Got Rejected!

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I finally bit the bullet, and sent out an application to a gallery.  I got a polite note back, saying my work was not a fit for the gallery.  Also, the note said, that my information would be kept on file, in case there was a change. (Yeah, right?)

So, why “Hurray!”?  I’m celebrating that I got past my fear of rejection, and actually tried.  You know what?  It wasn’t that bad.  I felt a pang of disappointment, but that was gone, within 10 minutes.

However, back to the subject…..birds. Or more precisely, crows.  I’ve fallen in love with crows now that I’ve moved back to Connecticut.  In New York City, they were noisy scavengers, who tore apart garbage bags.  In other words, a general nuisance.

But here, they’re beautiful.  They’re the only birds I could see that braved the snowfall.  Their flight is graceful, and their presence is formidable.

So, Windback Wednesday….here’s a visit to a drawing I made about a year ago, when I was coming to terms with winter in Connecticut.

Paradise Regained

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Er, Ump..sometimes I don’t know how to start.  All the coffee in the world doesn’t help.  Which reminds me, it’s time for another cup.

Anyway, between getting ready for the show, and doing my household chores (yes, I really do do some), I did some art.

Now talking about Paradise, you know the whole thing, I’ve talk, talk, talked about it.  I’ve realized anything that catches your eye and mind, is healing to the soul and mind.  However, there is one Paradise theme that I never got around to.

Whether it was a dream, my imagination, or something I actually saw, I don’t remember.  It was a small sapling on a hill, lit by spring sunlight and surrounded by dandelions.  I’ve thought about drawing that for a long time, and yet, somehow, I never came across the scene to draw in real life.  That is, with a sapling.

A springtime maple tree presented itself instead.  Surrounded by dandelions, like a starry constellation around the spiral’s center.

I must admit I cheated.  The actual tree I drew wasn’t on a hill in the countryside, it was in my condo complex, with a really boring brick wall behind it.  So, I fudged a hill, and a blue sky.  I also put in a horse for good measure.

 

Oops, I’m missing the horse.  I’ll take a better picture sometime later, but I’m getting hungry.  So, stay tuned!

A Winter’s Tale…

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This winter has been devoted to greeting cards, and gifts.  With my lack of energy in the winter, I’ve had a hard time being able to tackle much in the way of creative work.  Part of my brain hibernates, I swear, and lies dormant until March.

Looking at my previous winter’s output, there a lot of drawings I’m not proud of.  A waste of time and materials.

I also have another type of work I like to do.  I’m thinking of combining decals of my good, spring, summer and fall work, with the elements of Danbury rocks…and make objet’s d’arte.  Also, do the same with functional items…sorry of a Roxanne’s Shabby Chic.  So, I have plans not to waste another winter…..

And as we have this March blizzard outside, I feel more content and inspired than I have f0r months.