More from the garden

Fairchild Tropical Garden

On Sunday before I dropped Matt at the airport we stopped to see Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami. We got a real treat because as soon as we arrived we discovered that Matt's flight was canceled so instead of one hour we had as long as we wanted. It's a beautiful garden with many inspiring plants!!!

Walgreens Epic Fail

These are the photos that I took for you in Miami Beach. Also cool photos of the sunset from the plane on the way in. Gorgeous shots of the clouds, Christmas lights, art deco, etc, all gone. Thank you Walgreens!!! Good thing I bought an index print with my CD's. If you have a photo loop you might be able to see these. Otherwise use your imagination.

Studio

I got a last little bit of painting done before Christmas.

A little bit of everything

Having fun with my camera testing the best exposure for Christmas lights!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Amazing

On the way home from the studio today I was listening to an interview with Sam Phillips on XPN. She mentioned Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden which I looked up online when I got home. This looks like a place I need to go visit! Also, it has me wondering what I can do with the evergreen out front. It's hideously ugly but the powers that be won't let me remove it. I've threatened to trim it into the shape of a bunny. Only thing stopping me is skill...

Robert Goodman

Great looking new works on Robert Goodman's website!

Homework

Working from home today. Yes I dragged the kitchen table into the living room. I've gone through two boxes of staples making this latest piece. (that's 5,000 staples per box) Can you blame me for wanting to listen to a little TV while I do it?

And my most important reason for working from home...processing all of those images and donations!!! Thanks to all my supporters!



That's the dog under the table trying to pretend like she wasn't just on the couch. Note the kitchen chair on the love seat.

Loving Ducks, A Thing for Pintails

I'd never seen a Northern Pintail until my first trip to Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in November. In fact it's only been a little while since I realized that all ducks were not the same. An exciting discovery that I haven't been able to develop much, until now. Because at this reserve I can actually SEE the ducks. (It seems like they are always hiding out of site everywhere else.) I was so excited to see my first Pintail. Each time I return to the NWR I see more of them. They are so beautiful and funny.

Loving Ducks, Part 2

I drove out to Edwin B. Forsythe NWR again yesterday and spent at least two hours looking at ducks. Maybe it was three, I can't remember. I'm still trying to learn my camera-ok that's my excuse. I just really wanted to see the ducks. But look at them:


He's a Green-winged Teal. Check out the beak on the Northern Shoveler below:



And then this Hooded Merganser having wind/hair problems.


Seriously?? What's not to love?

I Love Ducks

I love ducks. First of all they taste delicious. And then they are so much fun to look at. I think these are black ducks but I can't tell for sure.

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One Week Left!!!

This is the last week of my kickstarter fundraiser. That means this is your last chance to buy a print of my work. After this, no more prints. I'm very close to my goal! Thanks so much to those of you who have already supported me!!

These are some of the options of the rewards (prints) you can choose for supporting my project. But if you've seen other images of my work or even photos from this blog you can choose those too. Thanks for your support!

Sally Thompson

I visited Sally Thompson's studio this weekend. She has a huge, very cool space over a small town grocery store in Michigan. She's just getting settled in the space and already has some exciting things going on!

Thanksgiving

Visited the flat lands for Thanksgiving and saw a great tree.

The Culprit

This is the monster that killed my machine and motivated The Great Wissahickon Project! Only 14 more days to go to the site and buy a print!
Go here or here to choose images for your reward!

Christian St. Mural

I'm not a big fan of a lot of the murals being painted lately. I'm especially turned off by the very digital seeming murals. But the old, weird, quirky murals, like this one on Christian St., make me appreciate the art form.

Goodbye Nathan Oliveria

When I was a young artist, stranded-I mean living- in Fremont, Ohio, I poured over the works of the Bay Area figurative painters. In 1994, before the internet made any image I could want to see available, I scoured bookstores for painting books. Probably on one of my trips up to Ann Arbor, which had a Borders with a large selection of art books, I found:



I spent hours looking through this book. I loved Joan Brown instantly.



It was also my introduction to Richard Diebenkorn, Elmer Bishoff, and David Park. And of course, Nathan Oliveria, who died last week.



Looking at these artists in the book was NOTHING compared to seeing their work for real. I didn't get that chance until maybe 1999 when I visited my sister in San Francisco. The reality of the paint, the tactility of the surface, paint thinly dripping and thickly applied with a trowel, these painters did it all. And it is knock-you-on-your-ass beautiful.

The SFMOMA website has a number of videos of Nathan Oliveria speaking about his work including a segment on his Windhover Project. To which, if you've been looking at all my bird photos, you can imagine I relate. A little reminder to revist mentors from the past.

Happiness

I learned some new things about my camera tonight. I figured out how to adjust the aperture. Now I just need to learn how to use the tripod while aiming straight up while still looking through the view finder. But considering my first pictures were a ball of light with no detail, I am happy.

Project Update

My Great Wissahickon Project over at Kickstater is going well. Not quite half way through the time period and I'm already 66% funded. Very exciting! Please check it out, buy a print, & lend your support! You only have until the morning of Dec 8.

Memory & Inspiration

I need to start this post by saying I love the internet. And I especially love people who put things on the internet. It took me the better part of an hour to figure out how to remove a still image from my imovie9 footage-no thanks to imovie's "help". ANYWAY, now I can actually write my post!



Since I made the movie for my Great Wissahickon Project I've gotten my video camera back out. More importantly I've gotten all of my video footage back out. I've always wanted to do something with it, especially the video I shot in Cameroon. (Most of which will make you sick to watch because I can't seem to hold the camera still.) Today I was putting together a clip (see it here) and was struck by the correlation between these feathered costumes and the scale pieces I've been making.



It's been 7 years since I visited Cameroon. I had forgotten about those costumes until today. Or at least I THOUGHT I'd forgotten them, because obviously I had not.

Monday Morning

Monday was one of those mornings I just have to run off and take pictures. The foggy gray sky made a beautiful backdrop to the last of the fall leaves. It's been such a mild fall. The leaves have been changing for months. I think we had our first snowfall by now last year.

I just love how the textures of the trunks show up in these photos- especially the second one. Gotta love the new camera!!

Around Town

Another interesting place I drive past on the way to the studio. It seems to be an ever changing landscape of sorts.

I've decided not to move this blog. I'll keep it going here and use the tumblr one as well. Each space seems to have unique characteristics but I do like what I have going on here. So keep coming back for more. But also check out colleenstrailblog.tumblr.com which will be more visual (not much text) and more about my art.

Getting It

Sometimes you don't quite get it. This picture cracks me up. Look at the flash of tail on the far left. Remember the first digital cameras? The ones that wouldn't take the picture if something was moving?? Do you know how many photos of empty slides I took???? Seriously, Olivia would be way on the other side of the park before the picture took.