Pears in Bloom, Acrylic painting, Baseball note

I have been trying to adapt to acrylics. They seem to have some great qualities:

• dry quickly
• frame like oil with no glass
• bright colors
• clean up with water, no fumes
• use like watercolor for washes, wash over when dry without affecting the previous layer
• use in a style like oil, opaque
• you can paint over anything you don't like
• finish can be dull or shiny like oil

I still have a problem with them. I paint so brightly then when it dries, the painting is much darker. Regular acrylic artists advised me to use less water and use acrylic medium to thin the colors. I tried this. I'm having to paint several layers to brighten/lighten the painting. This is not good for me as I tend to loose the fresh look. Many strokes give an overworked look to a piece.

I keep working at it. I like the finished paintings. I suppose it is just something that I will get accustomed to. I truly haven't painted many acrylic paintings.

Pears in Bloom
Acrylic on board, 9 x 12 inches

Other art news, I met Regina Burchett in Austin on Thursday afternoon. We visited the Davis Gallery, had dinner at Houston's, and went to the Austin Pastel Society meeting. The gallery was interesting and helpful, the dinner was great and the meeting program by Jeri Salter was about plein air at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. A great day off from baseball and being with Regina energizes me for art. After working on art, usually on your own, it is good to be with other artists and especially good friends.



Baseball note:

Score from game Wednesday, February 27. A much better day for the fans. Comfortable in the stands and Texas won. The game ended unexpectedly, for the fans, after seven innings. The teams had agreed to end because of some time restraint on the visiting team. They didn't announce the decision so we were a little surprised when the teams walked out and started shaking hands.

Friday, February 29, the Horns were in Houston for the Houston College Classic at Minutemaid Park. The Horns lost to Tennessee, 5-4, in their first meeting ever. UT vs UT. Read about these games on Joanna's Hook-em page with a blow by blow description and on the official Longhorn page. I signed (paid money) us up for the Houston College Classic to be shown on the MLB.tv site and watched the Houston-Texas Tech game and the Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers on Friday. Very nice reception and picture. We hooked Gene's laptop to the TV to have a large picture. However, today the site is not responding and I am irritated. The Longhorns play Rice tonight and it will be on TV, but I would have liked to watch the other two games and see the games tomorrow. Hmmmm.