“Painting is about more than spreading material.  If you think for an hour and push paint for two minutes, you have painted for an hour and two minutes.”

- Bob Farlow (from David’s sketchbook notes during a critique with Bob in 2004)

Bob Farlow and David, 2002 Winchester, IN

Bob Farlow used to say ” the most valuable tool in your studio is your chair. ”   He’d encourage me to get back from the canvas and think–  What am I trying to say?  He’d challenge me to paint it in my mind first.  Over and over he’d say, “We make 90% of our mistakes before we ever put the brush to the canvas.”

Girl Scout Brownie troop 1439 from the Indianapolis area came by the studio this afternoon.  We had a great time together talking about art and children’s books.  They asked lots of good questions.

Then it was time to make a little art together.  We invented a character, gave her a problem, and a mood.  They chose a fairy ballerina (human), arguing with her brother, and feeling angry.  I drew it and we all colored it together.

Alyssa, Dani, Emerson, Isabelle, & Abigail – Thanks for coming!  And thanks to troop leaders Melanie and Stephanie for bringing them.

Authorities are questioning a suspect about his part in what has already come to be known as the “Yellow Incident.”   At about 3:45 pm Monday afternoon, an eyewitness says he saw a middle-aged white male place a back pack next to the passenger side of an old Toyota van in a local parking garage.  The suspect then entered the vehicle, started the engine, and backed right over the backpack, exploding a tube of cadmium yellow paint inside the backpack.     A motive has not been determined, although pure stupidity has not been ruled out.

“It could have been worse,” said Rusty Green, a first responder to the scene.  “Just imagine if this had been tube of blue, or, God forbid, ochre.”

Authorities say no one was injured in the incident, although several witnesses were laughing so hard they had to be admitted for outpatient treatment at a nearby bladder control center.

The plan: paint 20 x 24 canvases in Dubois, Wyoming.

The vehicle: Ford Escape SUV from Thrifty Rental Cars.

The problem: How to transport wet canvases and gear without making a mess

The solution: It came to me in a dream the night before we started painting….

My friend Greg, who lives in Dubois, had scrap wood in his shed, a circular saw, a hammer and nails.    He also has a big heart and let me use all his stuff to make this.

Next time I go someplace without a friend in town, I may just try buying stuff at the local hardware store.

It took less than 20 minutes to bang together.  If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it.

Made of 1 x 6′s and  1/8 ” OSB fiber board.  That’s it.

I was so thrilled I almost composed a song about it.  Almost.

Here are a couple of shots of the hills around Dubois, Wyoming-

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover for 10 Turkeys in the Road (acrylic, and charcoal on illustration board).   I hand-lettered the the red circus poster type face, which is based on vintage Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey posters.    The rest of the type was designed by Anahid Hamparian at Marshall Cavendish.  I had a great time on this book.  Haven’t seen the interior press proofs yet, but will post some of them when they are available.   Scheduled to be published Fall 2011.

Work Boots 10 x 8 oil

My friend Ed Orebaugh.    One of a series on this subject, painted this week.