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Issue 27 is now available of Just Paint, a free 16-page PDF download published by Golden Artist Colors and available here.  This issue include an article that investigates the drying time of acrylic colors and gel mediums, another about Golden’s virtual paint mixer, which you can find here, information on “the color graveyard,” and more.  (I’ve no affiliation.)

Derry, Mike, me, Bob, MaryAnn, and Steven.

My brother Bob is visiting from San Diego.  After learning Bruce was playing at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ (which I still think of as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands, although those days are long gone), he quickly got tickets.  None of us have seen him play in a number of years, and we were excited!  Derry is here from the UK, and he was more than happy to come along.  It was a fantastic show! Wow!

I had my iPhone and was able to take some pictures and video.  The show started at 8:28, and he played:

1. “Living on the Edge of the World”
2. “Out in the Street”
3. “Night”
4. “Hungry Heart”
5. “No Surrender”
6. “Lost in the Flood”
7. “We Take Care of Our Own”
8. “Wrecking Ball”
9. “Death to My Hometown”
10. “My City of Ruins”
11. “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?”
12. “Jole Blon” (with Gary U.S. Bonds)
13. “This Little Girl” (with Gary U.S. Bonds)
14. “From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)”
15. “Talk to Me”
16. “This Depression”
17. “Shackled and Drawn”
18. “Mary’s Place”
19. “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day”
20. “Incident on 57th Street”
21. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” — which was fantastic, AND, I have about 2.5 minutes of it on a rocking video!
ENCORES
22. “Rocky Ground”
23. “Born to Run”
24. “Ramrod”
25. “Bobby Jean”
26. “Dancing in the Dark”
27. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out” (with Gary U.S. Bonds) — also incredible, and I loved the tribute to Clarence
28. “American Land” (with Gary U.S. Bonds)

The show was over 11:37.  I loved the new stadium and look forward to one of these days seeing the Giants play there.

I’m happy to announce that my new 106-page book is finished!

This was a true labor love.  It starts with work from mid-2012 and works back some 30 years in time.  I self-published it through Blurb, and I also created a downloadable PDF ebook that you can purchase for a fraction of the printed price.  The images are optimized to look great on a computer monitor, iPad, and mobile devices. You can learn more about the book here.

I spent a couple hours for the past three afternoon taking butterfly picture. While  have many that are very pretty, this one was pure good timing!

Today the weather is perfect blue skies as it was 11 years ago. I find myself reflecting on the horrid events of that day. I’ve written about them in past posts, and will not repeat. Instead, a few images from my second visit to the 9/11 Memorial in downtown NYC, which honors the victims of 9/11/2001 and 2/26/1993.

Above is the South Pool. I have mixed feelings about the reflecting pools of water. While beautiful, there’s something about the water that seems to fall endlessly down that chills me.  Maybe it’s the contrast to how the buildings once seemed to climb endlessly up.

The “Survivor Tree”

I learned from the guild book that this Callery pear tree was planted on the original World Trade Center plaza in the 1970s. After 9/11, workers found the damaged tree in the wreckage at Ground Zero. The tree was nursed back to health in a NYC park, and grew to be 30 feet (from the 8 foot stump)!  It nearly died a second time after being uprooted by a severe storm. In December 2010 the tree was returned to the WTC site. It now stands just west of the South Pool, a true symbol of survival and endurance.

Contemporary quilt artist Sandra Meech writes books for quilt and textile artists that focus on artistic growth. In the past, I purchased her Batsford-published titles while in England. Recently I was pleasantly surprised to learn her latest book is also published in the U.S. by C&T Publishing, and I rushed to get it.  Connecting Design to Stitch is another highly-recommended winner!

The book’s focus is on the elements of design and how to use its principles to create engaging compositions for textile and quilt art. There are six main sections of the book – Design; Design Styles; Design Elements; Design Principles; Abstraction; and Composition for Stitch.

Each section is further broken down. For example, in the first chapter entitled Design, Sandra discusses the textile artist’s design process, ten vital design considerations (such as finding an inspired theme, creating a dynamic focus, being original, and trusting your own judgment), and design essentials (such as using a design wall, a camera, and creating mixed media surfaces for design exercises).

The chapter ends with a “design class” (there are five design classes in the book) called Making a Bound Sketchbook.  In only two pages, Sandra crams in information on how to make a sketchbook and offers ten compositional exercise ideas to fill the pages of your book. These two pages alone could have been an entire chapter.

Sandra encourages you to work in abstract design, collage, fabric, and stitch.  Emphasis is always on good composition, and there are exercises throughout the book that push you to explore.

Sandra is a true gem in the world of design instructors for art quilt makers and other textile artists, and she pours her knowledge into the pages of this idea-rich book. I love how her emphasis is always on good design and color use, rather than using the latest trendy materials which can often get in the way.  And while I have a lot of books on design, this is already a personal favorite that I highly recommend.

If you don’t have Sandra’s other books, I recommend that you also check them out.  They include: Connecting Art to Stitch, Contemporary Quilts: Design, Surface and Stitch, and Creative Quilts” Inspiration, Texture & Stitch.  Amazon has some good bundle deals on her books, too!

I took this photo at Colonia Park in Franklin Park, NJ on September 1st. I just happened to focus and hit the shutter just as the butterfly took off.  This is one of my favorites from the season, and I plan on posting more.  I’m also thinking about putting together a 2013 calendar of butterfly pictures.  If I can find something reasonable, I may try to offer it through my website.  We’ll see.

It’s been a bit of a difficult summer for me, mainly because of ongoing back problems and health issues with my mother-in-law. As a result, I’ve not produced much artwork, nor have I taken on new clients or done much by the way of “work.” However, I am trying to keep myself focused by doing small things for myself, such as photography, short trips, and a recent Blurb book project that I’ll write about in another post.

Yesterday was a perfect weather day, and I thought a good time to go to Princeton. I live close by, yet I hardly take advantage of it. My mom came over, and I took her with me. The hour plus we spent at the museum, even with the bat that was flying around (and not part of any exhibits!) was a lovely diversion.

This a small sampling of photographs is from an exhibit called Bernice Abbott: Changing New York. The photos were taken during the Great Depression and “became a chronicle of New York city during this period of architectural and cultural metamorphosis.”

Another view, mainly to show the many pieces of this collection on display.

The exhibit called Encounters Conflict, Dialogue, Discovery is on view through September 23rd. It’s a collection of work in which every piece “embodies an encounter.” The 18th century marble statues in the front are attributed to the Flemish Jan Claudius De Cock.

The works above are by Yinka Shonibare, a British born artist, and the pieces are called The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.

The piece above is by Liu Guosong, a Chinese born artist, and called Full Moon. It’s made up of five hanging scrolls of ink and color on paper.

The piece on the left is by Claes Oldenburg, American, born in Sweden, and called B Tree (For Alfred Barr). It’s graphite with blue pencil and white gouache on white wove paper. The photographs on the right by American born Lee Friedlander and called Lake Park, Milwaukee, Tarrytown, NY, Middlesex Falls, MA, and Central Park, NYC.

These are works from part of the Museum’s modern art collection. The white plaster figure is called Woman on White Wicker Rocker by American artist George Segal. The collection of work on the wall is by American artist Jim Dine and is called The Art of Painting, No. 2. Yes, those are various tool suspended from the paintings.

Another view in the same room. The work on the back right wall  is by Joseph Albers.

This is from the Japanese, Edo Period, 1600-1868, and the piece is titled Tigers and Bamboo. It’s a six-fold screen with ink and gold on paper.

For Derry, who is a big Roy Lichtenstein fan.

This oil and enamel painting is by American artist (born in the Netherlands) Willem De Kooning and is called Black Friday.

A close up of Lee Friedlander’s work.

A close up of a sculpture attributed to Jan Claudius de Cock.

I love the pose and expression of this Chinese piece from the Southern Song dynasty, 1127-1279, called Guanyin Seated in Royal-ease Pose. It’s part of the Museum’s collection of Asian art.

Mom smiling!!

This Telsa wasn’t in the Museum, but parked nearby. It immediately caught my eye.  Pretty!

On Thursday, my mom and I took a train to NYC to meet up with my sister, her  childhood friend, Debbie (mom was also friends with her mom), her husband, and her husband’s mom.  Our eventual goal was visiting the 9/11 Memorial downtown.  However, first we walked the High Line Park (like I did last Thursday with Louis). We then stopped at The Ink Pad so I could buy a few things, and then we took a subway downtown.  The photo of the bird isn’t on the High Line, rather I took it at a park in the West Village. I have a lot of cool shots that I took while strolling of the park. I added a bunch on my Facebook page from last week. I may add more.  I will add photos from the Memorial later or tomorrow in my next post.

Louis Kettle is Derry’s very cool nephew. He is currently on a whirlwind holiday going to various destinations around the U.S. for the next month. He started his journey in NYC, and I had the pleasure of spending all of Thursday with him.  After a quick bite to eat, we walked to the start of the High Line on West 34th, which is a public park build on a 1.45 mile elevated area that was once a freight rail line.  It was a lovely stroll, lots to photograph and take in, and the weather was hot and felt great. We walked to the end in the meatpacking district.

From there we walked through the Flatiron district, eventually heading up Fifth Avenue where he had his first NYC pretzel from a corner vendor.  We went into the Empire State building, got a ticket for the NY Skyride, which was fun, and then continued along Fifth, making a detour at Rockefeller Center. Back on Fifth we carried on to the fountains in Central Park. Afterwards, we walked to Times Square, stopped for more food (and his must have “I heart NY” t-shirt), and then eventually made our way back to Penn Station where I said goodbye and headed to NJ.  He is already off on the next leg of his journey to California.

I do believe he is taking his first picture of the Empire State Building.

At the start of our walk on the High Line.

A great day for a stroll!

Farther along our walk.

Taking in the sights.

Me doing the same.

In the lobby of the Empire State Building.

Taking pictures of Rockefeller Center.

Fifth Avenue near Central Park South.

Near the foundations in Central Park.

In Times Square.

For the benefit of his family, I put an album of these and some additional pictures on my Facebook page.  I may add some additional scenic shots here another day.

A few of the water lily pictures I took while in Central Park with Louis Kettle, Derry’s nephew from London who is currently visiting the US. I have lots of pictures of our adventure, some that I’ll be posting soon.