Bob Ross Quotations
“Let’s do a little cabinectomy here.”
“Maybe in our world there lives a happy little tree over there.”
“Shwooop. Hehe. You have to make those little noises, or it just doesn’t work.”
“That’s a crooked tree. We’ll send him to Washington.”
“The only thing worse than yellow snow is green snow.”
“Water’s like me. It’s laaazy… Boy, it always looks for the easiest way to do things.”
“We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.”
“We want happy paintings. Happy paintings. If you want sad things, watch the news.”
Orchids
Orchids
A.M. Otwell, 2008
12 x 36 inches
Original $450
This painting is based on this photograph by the very talented Dawne Olson, who graciously gave her permission for me to use her image as a reference.
In other news, Nick and Lark was featured in the Impressionist Art group at Redbubble. It happened a few days ago, and I was slow to report it, but it should still be on the front page of that group for a few more days.
There’s still free shipping (through October 30) going on at RedBubble for a few more days, so if you like this painting, now would be a good time to buy a print!
Art and Design Books and Reading Commonplace Book Creativity and Creating
by amo
2 comments
From My Reading
These two quotations are really one, but I stopped and thought about the first part for a while before I read on to see what followed, so I’m going to break up what is really one paragraph in a book:
“When I get to heaven I mean to spend a considerable portion of my first million years in painting, and so get to the bottom of the subject.”
Flowers in a Green Vase
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
“But then I shall require a still gayer palette than I get here below. I expect orange and vermilion will be the darkest, dullest colors upon it, and beyond them there will be a whole range of wonderful new colours which will delight the celestial eye.”
– from Painting as a Pastime
(While I was looking for an appropriate photo of one of his paintings, I came across this story, which I found rather interesting.)
Still Haunted
Still Haunted
A.M. Otwell, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
20 x 24 inches, gallery wrapped
Original $850
“While the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted.” —Flannery O’Connor
I was saving this for closer to Halloween, but the Halloween-related contests are already getting started on RedBubble.
In other news, I am delighted to report that Rose has been featured in the RedBubble Painted Florals group!
Descant
des·cant
(děs’kānt’) Pronunciation Key
n.
1. also dis·cant (dĭs’-) Music
1. An ornamental melody or counterpoint sung or played above a theme.
2. The highest part sung in part music.
2. A discussion or discourse on a theme.
(American Heritage Dictionary via dictionary.com)
If I had known I could hit those notes, perhaps I would have quit smoking long before 2006. That is not to say I sound good, just to say that I can make a sound several notes higher than I thought I could. Almost always the right note at the right time, even. And it wasn’t until now, the third day after my first successful descant experience, that I thought of shattering glass. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do it. Shatter glass, that is. But who knows?
I’m still thinking about it because it was SO MUCH FUN. That . . . and I have a sore throat. The two aren’t related that I know of, except I probably got exposed to a bug the same day I discovered that I could hit high notes.
So I looked up vocal ranges on Wikipedia, and I’ve got nothing special. But it’s special to me. I hope God liked hearing those alleluias as much as I liked singing them. . . and that He’ll clear up this sore throat in a jiffy!
I’m painting orchids. The orchids are not as much fun as the descant was. However, I think I see how the painting is going to fall into place now and just need to take the time to make it happen.
Every time I say I’m painting a flower, I get this mental picture of me standing in a florist shop with a paintbrush, surrounded by white flowers that need color. Anyone else get this picture or is it just me?
Good Days
Today and yesterday were good days. Yesterday, we went to Atlanta and had a lovely visit with the in-laws and came home with treasures: A bag full of old lace, books, a silver teapot and spoon holder, and other such delights, some of which I am sure will be featured in future paintings and other projects.
Then I found a not-overpriced bottle of wine at a convenience store on the way home. I was surprised, but I think maybe the mark-ups inside the stores have gone down as gas prices have gone up. I didn’t even know metro Atlanta convenience stores had drinkable red wine at any price, so it was a double surprise.
Today, my Dogwood Tree painting placed in the top ten in a “Trees in Bloom” contest at RedBubble. They only announced first through fourth place and then displayed the top ten, so I placed somewhere between fifth and tenth. You’re welcome to go look and form your own opinions, if you’d like. I’m just delighted to be on the page!
We actually had a high of 72 today, much, much lower than it has been, so I dug out my MP3 player and took a walk. I’ve missed that.
Art and Design Extemporaneous Miscellany Georgia Music My Creations Paintings: blooms dogwood tree
by amo
2 comments
Dogwood Tree
Dogwood Tree
A.M. Otwell, 2008
Acrylic on canvas
10 x 10 inches, gallery wrapped
Original $400
I finished this up last night. The square format and small size don’t really lend themselves to the types of prints available on RedBubble, so I’ve just made the original available; no prints this time.
This was from a reference photo I took earlier this year at Lake Oconee near Wallace Dam. The reference photo had a lot more white in it (the sky, the far bank) that competed with the blossoms, so I had to make a lot of changes. When I get this far from the “real” photo, it sometimes feels like I’m walking a tightrope and that I might lose my balance and end up with a not-very-good painting, but I’m pretty happy with the result this time around.
While I’ve been painting, I’ve been listening to a beautiful piece of music, Ave Generosa, over and over again, trying to learn it before the choir I just joined sings it Sunday morning. I haven’t been in a choir in a LONG time, and I’m really rusty at reading music, much less trying to sing in Latin! It’s so beautiful, though. Embedding has been disabled, but you can hear it on YouTube here. I’m not sure if the viewer can “see” any of the music in the painting, but I think this painting and that music are forever intertwined in my mind.
And, of course, it’s September 11. I was remiss in preparing a blog post for today, but I have NOT forgotten the day or those who died, and I am grateful for the heroic responses of emergency personnel that day and every day, as well as the soldiers who serve our country and protect our freedom. God has blessed this country richly with heroes, and I pray that He continues to bless the USA.
Art and Design My Creations Photography: bush flower lantana macro Photography
by amo
2 comments
Twilight in the Wilderness
Twilight in the Wilderness
Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1920)
Oil on canvas, 1860
101-1/2 x 162-1/2 inches
At that size, this has to be incredible in person!
More about Frederick Edwin Church:
Art Renewal Center
Wikipedia
Narnia’s Lamppost
Narnia’s Lamppost
A.M. Otwell, 1992
Pen and ink on bristol board.
Original not for sale.
Cards and prints are available on redbubble. The style shown is a laminated print and is $17.10 plus S&H.
I’ve just returned from visiting my family in California, and while I was there, I photographed this drawing that I did years ago.
