Red Leaf Diaries – Sunday, November 22nd 2009


GoldenLeafNo1, originally uploaded by carolsLittleWorld.

It’s time once again to check in with the Red Leaf Diaries. In my “quest for red” I sometimes forget about gold, green, orange, and a few other colors. Today I went for a short walk-took the camera with the “red leaf” lens and did a bit of work, though not too much, in my hunt for leaves of red. Chase came along and he really enjoyed playing out in the grass while I was shooting.

Autumn is really here in Austin. Today the weatherman said it was going to be a high of about 75 but it’s been more like 60 all day. I’m very sleepy. I really need to go and get groceries, but I’m much more inclined to take a nap. I might get groceries in the morning, next week or, you know, just some other time. A good nap is more in order. It really feels like that kind of quiet, sleepy Sunday afternoon that I sometimes wish could just last all week.

As far as national blog posting month, I’d have to say it hasn’t really clobbered me yet. So far, anyway, blogging every day seems more “normal” to me than not, and I haven’t really run out of topics or felt the usual sense of dread I often feel over the course of the month. I think maybe not having a busy exhibition schedule this time of year has helped. If anything, I’m itching (now more than ever) to spend some quality time in the studio.

As a photographer, it’s a big hard to juggle things sometimes. We have shows and show schedules, travel and location shoots, studio time, time spent marketing and in the preparation of “marketing materials,” time spent printing, matting, framing, and all of that, opening receptions, and so many little things to do and get done. Sure, it’s great not having a traditional “desk job” in that regard, but a lot of time can get eaten up by these things, not to mention just thinking about how “un-fun” it is to prepare marketing materials or play with the framing materials really makes me want to take a nap.

The same is true for painting. We want to spend hardcore studio time, but often don’t get to because of commitments and other things that get in the way. Sometimes, it feels like studio time is a reward of sorts-after doing all the other cruft, we get to spend some quality time with our canvas and brushes. The trip down encaustic lane has been especially hard like this, as I’ve spent a lot of time setting up my studio to be able to work with the medium and very little (if any!) time actually getting to lay down some paint. I’m looking forward to changing that in the coming days and weeks ahead. I feel like I’ve turned a big corner recently, because I’ve pretty much stopped getting supplies and started sketching what will possibly become my first encaustic pieces.

Meanwhile, autumn quietly settles in for it’s turn at the seasonal helm.

Until next time…

Share:

4 Comments

  1. mythopolis
    Author
    November 22, 2009 / 9:48 pm

    Good luck with the encaustics, I may try the art povera version and melt Crayola crayons. Cool photo, looks like a drying Pin Oak leaf. Fall is pretty much over here. Scary naked trees are everywhere!

  2. Carol
    Author
    November 23, 2009 / 1:16 pm

    Thanks, Mythopolis! Encaustics, so far have been fun (what little I've gotten to do) but I look forward to more of it, now that I am setup.

    We have a splash of color here and there but, in typical Austin fashion, we don't get the vibrant reds and intense colors they get back in the northeast. It's a bit more subtle here, though you can usually see it if you look carefully.

  3. Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers
    Author
    November 25, 2009 / 8:09 pm

    Looking forward to seeing some of your encaustic work when it's ready, Carol.

  4. Carol
    Author
    November 25, 2009 / 8:50 pm

    Thanks, Postcards!

    I'll try to post some at some point, once the marketing bug hits me again and I get around to doing my copy work (and actually taking pictures of them!)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *