Dead End Power
oil on canvas
16" x 20"
I just finished cutting my grass...got the mower stuck in the drainage ditch right beside the road. A passerby yelled from the passenger window of a very large pickup truck, "You're Stuck!"
I've been in New Harmony, Indiana for the past few days. If you're reading this, there's a reasonable chance you already know, but the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association and the Hoosier Salon put together an annual gathering of plein air artists from all over the place...it's called "First Brush of Spring" and it's sort of like the state fair for Midwesterners who like to paint pictures outdoors. The fine folks in charge of the event and the kind people of New Harmony do a good job at making abnormal behavior seem novel. Painting pictures is as dumb as it's ever been, but I'm sure glad there's a place where dummies like me are welcomed with open arms.
I didn't paint many pictures while in New Harmony, but I greatly enjoyed the little break from my normal routine. I managed to squeeze out the painting above to the sound of frog songs and intermittent carp splashes. I sun burnt my face and lost a contact lens too...such are the perils of plein air painting. At least I didn't hit my head. My pal Larry hit his head.
And that contact lens I lost...found it stuck in my beard later that evening. It's good as new now and where it should be.
