Help the Economy.....Make & Buy Art!

In our present society, where people stand in line overnight for the latest electronic gadget, its pretty easy to ignore the artists and their work in this country. That's kind of sad. Art is a talent - it can be honed and perfected thru hard work but the spark has to be there...within the artist. It's what makes a true artist - not a scribbler or a paint dripper who are touted as genius in the artworld but the true artist who enjoys creating for the sheer joy of it. We have literally thousands upon thousands of them in the world and their talent is mostly ignored. A sad fact.

Artists can be so ignored in our society that a good one can be found most anywhere and most do not even know they have this talent. People always come up with the same stale old line "I can't even draw a straight line" - well...neither can I but I have the patience to pick up pencil, brush, chalk or whatever and to let my mind wander to what I want to put on paper.

After awhile, the hand learns to draw what the mind sees and creating art becomes a joy, and the soothing of the act of creating art becomes a calmness and a euphoria!

Some artists stick to a single theme or medium. I seem to enjoy all themes - all mediums. #1. The Lesson, pastel. #2. The Biker, watercolor. #3. A Walk in the Rain, Acrylic.

So, grab a pencil or brush and some paper and give it a try AND have a bit of encouragement for that artist in your neighborhood or your family or among your friends. Art needs to come into the sunshine once again and it needs to gain the respect and be recognized by our society once again.

Last but far from least....go out and BUY some REAL art. I don't mean prints from Walmart. I mean something an artist has taken his time to do and to put down for posterity. Places like Ebay, Overstock, Etsy, etc. are full to the rafters with original art - most selling below the price of prints you will find in stores AND you don't even have to move from your computer. SUPPORT artists by encouraging them and by buying real art.

Now, for listening to old granny's rant.....have a cupcake :-)

We Needed A Super Horse...We Have One, ZENYATTA!

People close to me know that my hobby has always been thoroughbred racing. I'm not a bettor nor a gambler but I love the horses...love to draw and paint them and used to love going to the track. Before I moved to Orange County over 9 years ago you might find me at Santa Anita...Box 68 was my favorite spot. I don't go anymore, but thanks to TV and youtube.com I can follow the important races.

Back in 73 a Super Horse came along...named Secretariat. He was truly a wonderhorse and one appreciated by many - even those who never followed the races. Times were kind of tough back then and the coming of Secretariat gave the public something to latch onto and root for. Then came Seattle Slew, Affirmed, the tragic Ruffian and now another Super Horse, the undefeated Zenyatta. She comes to us at a time when the country is in recession with many out of work and losing their homes - and a country tired from fighting two useless wars! She deserves more press time (reporters? journalists?)

I must confess that I knew little about this horse. I've had some illness that kept me from being as active as I like and most things just fell by the wayside...BUT, if you ever want to see the most intense couple of seconds in sports then youtube Zenyatta's 2009 Breeder's Cup Classic and pay attention to her in the last few seconds when she does the impossible! She came from dead last and ran against the boys and kicked dirt in all their faces.

I also did not know that Zenyatta is quite a big girl and at 17 1/2 hands (a hand is 4 inches and a horse is measured to the top of the shoulder or "withers". She is bigger than most, if not all of the fellows she ran against...she's even bigger than Secretariat himself.

We're all privileged to see such greatness in a racing thoroughbred. There are so few of them....maybe a couple a century. They are quite rare. Well, Zenyatta just finished her 16th win and so far is undefeated. If she does nothing else, she has already proved herself as a Super Horse and one that demands respect for being the top of her breed!

Grannygoodpaint

Create Some Art - It's Good for the Soul

Luminous Red Poppies

Yeah....I know, "I can't even draw a straight line"! Might interest you folks to know that I can't draw one either. Very few straight lines in paintings and even then, there are rulers...so no excuse! They say petting a dog or cat is very tranquilizing - well, so is creating some artwork...even if that artwork is in needlecrafts, such as crochet, knitting, tatting, macrame...whatever!....and you don't have to feed artwork or take it for a walk. What I'm trying to say is CREATE SOMETHING - it will do you good!

Art has always been a part of my life, I was born that way. That is still no excuse for you not to try some on your own. Pick up a cheap tin of watercolor paints, a brush and some paper and give it a try. Youtube.com has many demonstration videos in painting all mediums. A cheap set of acrylics and a couple cheap brushes will do miracles for you. You can while away hours and pleasantly too. Take a couple of nightschool lessons in painting - here, we have them at our community center. Inexpensive but could open up worlds for you to explore. Can't afford paint and paper....pick up some crayons or colored pencils and a pad of cheap drawing paper and have a go at it. If you can't afford that then go to http://www.ratemydrawings.com and paint digitally - its FREE! Give it a try...that's all I ask.

My painting for today is "Luminous Red Poppies" recently sold on Overstock.com