this week's Substack Gideon Or The Wary Eye. Having finished the commission and craft fair projects, I’ve noticed the two recent paintings I did for myself, Atticus from a few weeks ago and Gideon, above, are not nearly as angry as expected. Wary and distressed, yes, profoundly so, but definitely not angry. Perhaps I’m still too stunned. I’m also struggling with how differently I see out of my left eye since the surgery. It’s nice to focus on things in the distance, but I can’t see a damn thing with it close up. Not my laptop, phone, a crossword puzzle, and most importantly, my artwork. The right eye, which still has a cataract, is the reverse so my eyes are not doing the same thing at the same time. I’m told they will work together better if I have the right eye done too, but then I will be completely dependent on reading glasses. What if I end up not being able to see well enough to paint? I have worn glasses since I was kid, but I could futz around the house and read or make art without them. Luckily, I have a few weeks before my surgical follow up, so maybe by then I’ll know what to do. Meanwhile, I had a great time at the holiday market at The Commons yesterday. I brought original pieces as well as the usual merchandise, and I think that helped a lot with sales. I’m there again today and hopefully it will be a big success too. Then it’s back to The Crown and Anchor, where I heard they were inside yesterday. Fingers crossed that holds for the next two weekends, it’s far too cold to be outside all day. And changing the subject, I had an encounter with a coyote Thursday afternoon in town. More accurately, it was one of those wolf/coyote/dog hybrid coy-wolf creatures that has chased off the raccoons and foxes I used to see all the time. I still see the occasional bunny, oddly enough since it would seem they would be easier prey, and I hear the coy-wolves howling in packs at night but I’ve never seen one up close. It was big and feral and very wary as it trotted off after staring me down. There’s that word again. Wary. Vigilant, or hyper-vigilant work too. So, not angry, yet. Onward. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/gideon

This week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/yet-another-craft-fair-location

This week's Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/craft-fairs-inside-and-out

Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/atticus

Here's this week's Substack "https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/laluna"

 

Too Marvelous For Words

October 30, 2024

Quick check in since I'm still sick but on the mend. Mostly I'm just coughing and sleeping and watching PBS reruns. I am also painting and hope to have the loon I was asked to do ready next week. In the meantime, here's the announcement for an exhibition I have five pieces in at the Maiden Lane Gallery in Kingston, NY. The opening is Thursday, November 7th from 6 to 8. The address is 51 Maiden Lane, Kingston, NY 12401 and they are open Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 3. If you get a chance to go, please tell Melanie I sent you.

 Here's my latest Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/esperanzo

 today's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/esperanzo

 Here's my latest Substack - https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/home-again-home-again-jiggety-jig

 Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/home-again-home-again

 Here's the link to this week's Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/newcastle-upon-tyne-and-beyond

and here this week's blog from the website. https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/somewhereover-the-rainbow

 Here's this week's Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/vestibule

 This week's blog from the website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/avis-a-commissioned-piece

 Here's this week's blog from my website. https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/meanwhile-in-the-studio

 Here's this week's Substack about my show. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/provincetown-the-commons

 Here's a link to the Upcoming Events At The Commons, my work looks great! 

https://www.provincetowncommons.org/campaigns/view-campaign/7b-UfBccVfrxKuuNe9nOK8mXmA7HM9FC19vaUbVJU9C3Voc5vNu_AIpBB4LOKeaWsarPKFjTg7TD0Q7vaNuKcY6D-sWVDNDI

 Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/ruckus

 Here's another new Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/postcards-and-painting

 Here's the card for my show in September. Hope you can come by.

 Here's a new Substack - please join me as a free or paid subscriber. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/admin-work-and-an-auction

 Here the latest Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/elvis

Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/isis

 

Here's what's currently at the top of my Instagram page as well as this week's Substack https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/pacino-and-isis-the-kite

 I'm going to cut back on how often I post but here's this week's blog on my website. https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/pacino

 Here's this week's Substack, please consider joining me as a free or paid subscriber. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/tosca

 Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/tosca

 Here's this week's Substack - please consider joining me as a free or paid subscriber. 

https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/sherlock

 Almost back on schedule, here's this week's blog from my website. https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/marisol

 Here's this week's Substack, please consider joining me as a free or paid subscriber. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/spiro

 Oh dear, I forgot to post last week's Substack, so here it is. There will be a new one tomorrow, hopefully. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/odile

 Here this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/communion---another-collage

 Here's the link for this week's blog from my website - I be posting this week's Substack shortly https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/odile

 This week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/divine

 And here's last week's Substack, a few days late. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/a-traveler-returns

 Here's this week's blog, I'll be posting a new Substack as well shortly

https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/a-day-in-durham

 Here's this week's blog - https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/outside-activities

 Here's this week's Substack, please consider joining me as a subscriber. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/heathcliff

 Here's Sunday's Substack - please consider joining me as a free or paid subscriber https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/sparky

 Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/heathcliff

 Here's this week's blog from my website https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/another-collage

 Here's this week's Substack, please consider joinging me as a free or paid sucscriber. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/pavlova

 Here's a link to today's blog on my website. Let me know what you think.

https://maureenmccarron.com/blog-1/f/pavlova---a-vulture-redone

 Here's another Substack post, please consider joining me there as a free of paid subscriber. 

https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/galahad

 Here's the link to this week's Substack, please consider joining me as a subscriber there. https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/vincent

 Here's the link to this week's Substack post, please join me there as either a free or paid subscriber.

https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/craft-fairs-and-sea-serpents

 I've started Substack account as an experiment and in hopes of reaching more people, so instead of a post today, here's the link. Let's see what happens.

https://maureenmccarronart.substack.com/p/for-flaco

Last week when I posted Sherlock, I mentioned I might titled the vulture I was working on Moriarty. Well, I did and here he is. He went through a few frustrating changes but I do love how he turned out. I even rearranged my studio wall to accommodate him in his frame. He's quite dominating.

 Meet Sherlock. Why Sherlock, you might ask. Because I'm binge-watching Elementary, and why not? Maybe I will call the vulture I am now working on Moriarty so he will have a companion. Although I'm not sure is it possible for a nemesis be one's companion. I certainly thought so when I was young and driven by hormones. Which, of course, is Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes' problem. It never ended well for me back then, and no doubt it won't for Jonny Lee either.

Happy Valentine's Day - here's a collage from the pre-vaccination days of CoVid that I did for a challenge site I was involved with on Instagram at the time. The heart was theirs and I used the tree and hands from the picture below that I found on a deep dive into occult symbolism. I downloaded several hundred such things I might use someday. Usually I reverse the source image but this time, I flipped it upside-down. I called it The Tree Of Life, although I'm sure the Freemasons or whoever this is from have another name for it altogether.

I popped by the Provincetown Art Association Museum this week, which has mostly been about tedious things like taxes, and saw that my greeting cards were on display. I really liked that the boxed set they created with them is next to a boxed set of Rothkos. One could do worse when it comes to shelf company.

This is Edgar, who I ruined and then rescued while he reminded me how hard it is to paint with black. He also started out facing the viewer but looking over his shoulder, which created an illusion of his chest and wing swapping back and forth. But I totally ruined him when I tried to to finish the piece with pen and ink details. There was so much paint and colored pencil and fixative on the surface, the pen kept skipping and splattering. I wound up wiping away as much as I could and made a big mess. Then I started again in the morning with a wash of Paynes Grey (one of my secret weapons) and my trusty silver colored pencil. This time, I took the opportunity to change his position so his whole body is in profile. Maybe it came out not as beautiful as it once was, but I think it's better.

Phew!

This is Juno, a new mixed media piece on paper that is twice the size as what I've been working with lately. I'm about to enter her in a juried exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. The prospectus doesn't say the sitter has to be human, and when questioned about my subject matter, I'm known to say I paint people who happen to be birds. Wish me luck!

In other news, the Provincetown Art Association Museum is going to carry my greeting cards in their gift shop. I dropped off 100 cards on Tuesday as an opening order so they can see which ones sell the best before they get more. They bought the birds to sell individually as well as the collage series, which they may make into boxed sets. Looks like I'm in the greeting card business.

Being trapped inside because of the weather and not having a gig to go to, I'm getting a lot of work done. I finished this seagull, who is titled Gabriel, yesterday. I'd thought it was finished months ago but the beak was way too small. That's the danger of having pieces still in the studio, they might get a huge makeover.

The second piece is Gaspar, who may or may not be named after a notorious pirate instead of one of the Three Wise Men, wasn't immune to my makeover impulse and went through big changes too. My birds are only safe if someone else owns them, but I can always print up a giclee and totally rework that too.

 

 Here I am in one of the two fabulous hats I bought from the woman whose table was next to mine for the craft fair. The other one is a black pussy hat which she knitted for me and I sewed two mother-of-pearl buttons on it that look like cat eyes. The last weekend was a rollercoaster but I beat my goal for the six weeks by $48! The cardinal was the best seller in each category, followed by the yellow barbet, which is on my banner, and the emu. My favorite moment was on the last day when this boy who was barely tall enough to see what was on the table fell in love with the emu giclee and his father bought one for him to hang on his bedroom wall. And if that's not enough good news, I just heard from the Provincetown Art Association Museum that Titiana, my piece that I wrote about several weeks ago being accepted in their juried exhibit, just sold. Yay! How’s that for a great way to start 2024?