it wanted to rain today

i don’t blog here much, obviously. that could change at any moment. the thing is, the blog is extra… in a life full of extra. so, it gets lost in the pile on most days, and when it is not lost, it is swept aside. i am juggling the other extras the best that i can, and i have found that blogging here usually gives little to others, and it does little for me too. i have been hosting a lot of studio visits lately, as i am still seeking funding for my Civil War memorial… as i have recently begun calling it. the four year painting project is in full swing, and the business of finding an investor is a treacherous and tiring adventure. i am not in the least bit experience in this field, and so the lessons come with big impact. i still dance with the experience, and except for a handful of days, i have weathered the storms with enough grace to have pleased myself some, and maybe even surprised a friend or two. there have been a dozen leads or so, but nothing has grown fruit yet, and i am eager to harvest. in the meantime, while i chase and wait, i am working on a variety of pieces in the studio. the first assemblage of Shiloh images was put together for thirty-nine and one: endbeginning, the open studio/party that i held for my 40th birthday (it is pictured below.) i will keep investigating this format. i have a show next spring that will be built completely around the images from Shiloh. i recently began the twelfth painting in the large series, and it is a complex image: four women, one man, one boy with a blurred head, a house, four trees, and a landscape… it will be a good challenge. i have approached the painting process a little bit differently for this painting, and it caught me by surprise, as it was not a conscious intention. it is exciting to witness these happenings. this is the last month of loan money, so, come july, if funding is not secured, i will be working some other sort of job to bring in the necessary income. it will be an uncomfortable path, like running in the woods with one dress shoe and one running shoe. i am in the middle of the process of building a Kickstarter campaign, and i hope to launch it in mid-july if funding doesn’t find me. it will be another extra on the pile of extras, but an extremely important extra. so, it has been exactly two months since my last post here; we’ll see how long the next one waits. thanks for stopping by.