Eye Glasses Difficulties

I have lens implants in my eyes because of cataracts. I have had them over 10 years. My vision improved so much after the surgery that it is amazing. My distance vision is 20-20. Because your eyes cannot change the focus, I need to wear reading glasses for reading and the computer. I have been buying the over the counter reading glasses which work fine, since my vision is steady and doesn't change. I have had a prescription pair of sunglasses for all this time and they were scratched and had lost their enamel color on the frame. They had gone from blue back to bronze. This pair of glasses has been the only sunglasses I have ever worn with no irritation or problems.

Gene decided to get a new prescription pair of glasses a few months ago and did so. He had also had a pair of glasses for more years than mine, I think. He decided to go with a cheaper frame and lens, since he wears them usually just for driving. Well, they became scratched and impossible to clean in just about a month so he decided to get another pair of the non scratch, flex frame glasses again.

I decided to break down and get new sunglasses as well. We went in together, had our prescriptions made and ordered the glasses. The salesgirl mentioned that reading glasses were on sale, two pair for $49.99. We said we just used the $8 over the counter kind and would forego the readers. Then I thought, that is only $25 a pair and it must be better to have all the astigmatism corrected and all and she said we could get a pair for Gene and a pair for me. When I picked up the glasses, I put on the glasses and could read the finest print on the page so came home, anxious to try the new readers on the computer. I put them on, sat down here and .....


This is what the computer screen looked like. :( We had to go to get Gene's glasses (to Austin, 90 miles round trip). I took mine back, they rechecked my eyes and said the astigmatism correction was too strong. The doctor corrected the prescription on the back, I took it to the glass makers and they said to pick them up last night. I looked at their computer and the glasses seemed OK.

Sadly, when I got home and tried them, my computer still looks like an upside down trapezoid. I think that the person that repairs the lenses, looked at the front of the prescription and didn't change anything. Drat. Back to the drawing board. Of course, now we are going on our trip and it will be out of touch with an eye glass place for almost two weeks. How nice is it that I can use over the counter readers in the meantime? What if I had to depend on the prescription glasses?

What does this have to do with art? With my perspective problems in sketching and drawing, imagine what kind of trouble I would get into with those glasses! Whew.

By the way, the sunglasses work great!

Paintings for Show

I finally got the web page set up for the show in Magdalena. I have a page for Peppers Art Gallery on my page and put my paintings all together there.


They always look so neat to me, together in one place Most of them are framed in black. I will take photos when we get them hung in Magdalena so you can see how they look on the walls. On the gallery page, you can click on them and surf back and forth and see each one with information and price. I have decided to put the price of my paintings on my page. I think that there is sooooo much art available that if anyone has to wonder about the price, they will go on to another place. They want shopping or looking to be as easy as possible.

My web site has grown so much over the years. I'm going to streamline it down like this gallery page, but it will take some time. I have so many images on my site. Let me know if you like this sort of slide show look. I think it is better than opening a photo and having to click back on the browser to return. I'm always closing the browser instead of clicking on "Back". But then I am old as dirt. This arrangement should be easier.

The deadline is approaching. I still have to do the lists, painting tags, door prize tickets, etc. Gene has finished the framing and is organizing the packing. We take most of my studio, I am so spoiled about that. Gene needs his bicycle and the things that go with that. Clothes for the warm weather and some warm clothes for the end of the trip. If we go to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque again you need coats, gloves and hats for that. And it could snow before we come back. Golf clubs, etc.

The flooding rains have been going around Bastrop for the most part. We haven't been to see how high the Colorado River is here. I'm sure it is very high. Lake Travis went up 7 feet in one night. They had 19 inches of rain in Marble Falls, about 80 miles from here. Our house is in no danger from the river, but there are many that are. So far there have been no lives reported lost, lots of rescues. An incredible amount of property damage, etc. We shall see.

Under painting and durability of pastels

The comment from Bag Blog, artist and writer, prompted me to expand a little on my under painting techniques. I like under painting technique. I prefer to work on a toned surface. White is a little intimidating, for some reason, and it takes much more pastel to cover the surface.

I first tried this in 1999. (The year that Sue introduced me to pastels at the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Convention in Albuquerque.) I followed a "how to" article from the Artists Magazine. I do not remember the artist's name. Sorry. Maybe the artist will see this and tell me. :) I used regular Mi Tientes paper and denatured alcohol. The paper curled a little when wet, but straightened out and is fine. The under painting was with complimentary colors in the large value shapes.


It is about 9 x 12 inches and is hanging above the closet door on my studio wall, just in a mat, no glass. This snapshot is taken without taking it off the wall, so not a great shot. The point is that after all this time, it looks the same and the paper seems to be fine. The painting is probably a little dusty, but shows no damage from the atmosphere. It was stored between glassine for a couple of years has been hanging on the wall for 5 or more years. :)

About that time, I took a class with Kathleen Cook. She used Wallis paper and turpentine for her under paintings. She just used a mottled background. She also suggested using black in your shadows under the colors when you did not have a dark pastel. She is very precise in her drawings and was a great instructor.


One of the first pastels I did back in 1994 is on a full sheet of Mi Tientes. I didn't have many pastels. You can see I used black to darken the areas around the still life. Little did I know, that this was a very accepted method! This pastel has been hanging in our bedroom since 1997 with no glass. It broke in the move and I decided the painting was not worth the expense to buy such a big piece of glass. It is still in great shape, don't you think? Pastel is not nearly as fragile as people think.

I have used regular alcohol when I ran out of denatured alcohol. It dries so quickly that it is my preferred liquid. Turp gives me a headache and water is slow to dry.

I also had some paintings at a restaurant where there was a kitchen fire several years ago. The oils melted and looked like leather that had been heated. The acrylics just melted away. The water color paper was singed from the heat and discolored. All the glass broke on the paintings. The paint on the frames, curled up and peeled. The pastel paintings were fine. A little smoke odor for a while. The pigment protected the paper. I reframed them and they have been fine as well.

Bill Creevy said at that same IAPS Convention, to try anything. Watercolor, acrylic, etc. He uses acrylic medium and more. He uses a metal pallette knife or spoon to push the pastel into the paper. He used Gamblin PVA Size to fix pastels in one of his techniques, to frame without glass. His book, The Pastel Book, has so much information on techniques and equipment for pastel artists.

Old Pets

Pastel on canvas, fixed, framed without glass

This is a painting I did with Bill Creevy's technique. It looks just like an oil painting in real life. I think this would melt because of the PVA size on it.

To sum it up, you can try almost anything with pastels, they are almost pure pigment and very durable. Under painting is fun and looks great. A big savings on time and pastels to cover the surface. You can let it show through the painting as a compliment or cover it completely. Don't be afraid of messing up, you can wipe it off and start over. Time spent on a "wipe out" is not wasted. You learn something each time you paint. Comes down to practice, practice.

Sorry I got off track, it is a way to procrastinate and not work on my web page and paper work for my show in New Mexico .. only 10 days away. Ouch!

Reading Assignment

No reading assignment, not really. I don't have my photo display ready, too much fun playing today. I went to Austin, dropped off my new reading glasses to have them repaired. They had too much correction and my computer screen looked like an upside down trapezoid. Then I went to pick up my paintings at the North Hills Gallery.

This afternoon I went to Regina's and we played in the dust. Pastel dust, that is. A break that we both needed. It is so fun to paint with a friend. You get energized and cheered on. I forgot my camera so don't have a snapshot of Regina's. She was painting a sunset. I worked on this.

Chimenea
9 x 12 inches, pastel

I had to name it. When I showed it to Gene, he said, "What is that? Oh a bottle." And it does look like a bottle at first glance. So the name must be there. Maybe I will finish it sometime. It is about half done. We put in about two hours work and had some break time, too. It is on Wallis paper, so if I don't finish it, I will clean it off and do another painting there. That paper will take scrubbing. I wish I had done it in the portrait format, it would have looked better, a better focal point. Nothing lost, each painting is practice and a learning experience. Thank you, Regina!

Leslie D'Allesandro Hawes is giving a colored pencil lesson/demo on her blog. I cannot do colored pencil drawings, I have zero patience. Check it out, a fun learning experience. Her drawings are exquisite ... and fun.

Maggie Stiefvater is back from her horse show and has some great advice for people that do shows. She can help you have a successful show. She has a sense of humor, so you can learn with a smile on your face.

I wanted to mention for those of you that don't know. F & W Publications bought the wetcanvas.com site. They are the Artists Magazine bunch. They bought the Pastel Journal a couple of years ago as well. The many, many artist members of wetcanvas are wondering if it will stay the same. We shall see. You can read the welcome or introduction of the new editor here. I do enjoy the site, I stick mostly with the pastel forum, the plein air forum and the Scavenger Hunts. When I have time to spare, I look around a bit more. There is a forum for any art itch you have. It is huge. These are the statistics on the home page as I type this.

Members: 108,848 Online Now: 2004 Posts: 5,767,395

The Doldrums

I think that is what is happening. I'm not interested in doing anything to make progress. I will post this, however. Ha.

I worked on my web page, invitations, paper work, thinking about what to take to New Mexico, etc. The brain is on automatic. I couldn't even enjoy the last two games of the College World Series, baseball. Oregon State won. Back to back. Very hard and unusual. It is getting harder, I think, with the draft rules. The teams can only count on players for two years. Hmmmm. You can check it out on the NCAA page.

Anyway, back to the art stuff.

Almost Tea Time
Pastel, 11 x 14 inches on Colourfix paper

I'm going to take this painting. I did it several years ago, but I like it a lot. It has not been to the show in Magdalena so it is about time. I painted it from life. The creamer and sugar bowl were tossed out by an antique shop owner and they were so nice. How many times had they been used? Had they been on a shelf somewhere unused? Interesting. I did an underpainting in purples and it shows through in many places.


Here is my invitation and you are invited to my show. It is a postcard and I print the other side with a return address including my web page. I will have a preview up tomorrow night of the paintings that I am taking along with the ones that are there. They always look so neat together. It will be on my web page and a photo here on this page. Right now I'm going to just go to bed, watch a little Bob Ross to have the calm soothing voice put me to sleep. :) More tomorrow night ..