A Muggy Whirlwind

So the last couple of weeks have been an absolute vortex of painting and trying to let as many people know about WHY I was painting so much.

As I mentioned before I was a part of Zoo Atlanta's newest event, Art Gone Wild.  It was an absolute blast!  Aside from purposefully setting aside AN ENTIRE WEEK JUST TO PAINT (seriously, I NEVER have time to do that), it was an absolute joy to be at one of the nation's best zoos and painting animals you just don't get to see every day at the local dog park.

On Wednesday, I looked up from painting at the gorilla habitat and there is John Lemley host of "City Cafe" on the local NPR station with a giant fuzzy microphone asking if they can interview me!  The interview (as well as some photos including some of me) can be found here.  The local ABC station came down and filmed that day, too.  Here is the video from that segment.

Now then...on to business!  Here are the pieces which I submitted for the silent auction!

First up is Utenzi, the big male rhino.  (Listen to my interview to see why I liked him so much!)

Next is Zuberi (I could be wrong on this.  The giraffes move around a lot but I THINK this is the guy I was painting.).

Here is Taz, the guy I was working on when radio fame came a'knockin'...

I love warthogs so I had to go see the newest members of the zoo.  Along with Shirley (Mom) and Vernon (Dad) there are little Eleanor and Lex now.  They seemed to know I needed a good pose.

And finally is one of my all time favorites at Zoo Atlanta, Kelly the elephant.  She and Tara have been my muses and models for years (see previous entries about the children's book I've been working on.)

If you would like to purchase any of these or any of the other fantastic artists' work who participated, go here to purchase tickets to the event (Saturday, June 14th, 2014)!

It was a wonderful experience but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the part that made it all COMPLETELY worth being out and painting in the humid, Georgia heat for a week straight and that is the tremendous zoo staff.  From the volunteers who brought us all water and snacks to the docents who we got to learn from during our sessions (did you know that Willie B's ashes are in his statue?) to the staff people like Julia and Lauren who wrangled cantankerous and sweaty artists all week and made us all feel at home, I give a very big thank you and I cannot WAIT to come back and do it again!

Hope and Joy

I went to Young Harris today.  It was a complete coincidence that I had today off.  But once I realized what day it WAS...I wanted to do something positive.  I wanted to do something to make me and other people happy.  So I packed up the painting gear and headed out.

I got to the campus about noon and set up.  I worked for about 2 hours and in that time several of the beautiful, curious children stopped to talk to me about painting and the school.  (I am not using the term "children" in a condescending manner.  Quite the opposite.  I use it in the manner of wide-eyed children eager to take in everything.  They really were lovely.)  And during those conversations I realized something.  They are so proud of what they have.  They wanted to know if I liked the changes.  They were excited to talk about the changes and just as excited to hear about how it used to be.  And I told them truthfully that there were very few of us who would have gone anywhere else and we are actually a little jealous that they get to have four years there.  They seemed to appreciate that.

Then they went on to class and I finished up working on my painting.

As I left the school I realized that my day had been spent exactly the way I wanted...I went to a place that I hold very dear but it actually turned out better.  Change is inevitable.  But sometimes the best stuff stays exactly the same.

I finished my schooling at LaGrange.  I could've gone anywhere with a degree from Young Harris,  but it didn't matter where I went.  I am always a Mountain Lion at heart.

Grr!