BLUE RIBBON
RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION (PINK ROSETTE)
This painting is the first I did of aspen. I set up in one of the front rooms of our house in Cripple Creek, near the window where the light was good. Later on I discovered that our neighbors were keeping track of my progress on the painting, glancing up as they walked by. One of them wanted to buy it but I said no. It now contentedly resides in one of my sisters' homes.
BLUE RIBBON
GRAND CHAMPION (PURPLE ROSETTE)
This is the most recent of my aspen paintings. It's happy in the home of another of my sisters!
Both of them (the paintings, not the sisters)will be hanging at the fair this year. The last thing I remember entering in the fair was a VERY long time ago, for 4-H.
The past couple of days have been kind of busy and kind of fun; tomorrow will be more of the same, maybe more so.
I've gotten some of my own photographs printed and prepared for exhibition, with a few final steps to do tomorrow before I haul the whole works to the Women's Building at the fairgrounds.
I was focusing on the photos because a friend from where I work did some computer work with one of my full circle sun dog photos, got one that wasn't all there into a FULL circle. Then he took it a step further and made a series of six different colored sun dog circles - and THEN put them all together into one piece.
Because there are things he can't do, I did them for him. I got the seven pieces printed; the big one is an 8x10 and the singles are 4x6. After trimming them up a little, I made foam core mounting pads for the small ones and used spray adhesive to affix them. Since the only mat I had that I could use was some blue or other, and I wanted black, I painted it. While that was drying I dug around and found a clear plastic sheet to put in front of the big print to protect it, then taped it in place on the (now black) mat and taped the print in place. Once everything was ready I glued all the small prints around the outside of the big one on a black foam core board, the colors opposite from where they are in the big piece.
He also had a photo he really liked, of an ice-coated willow tree with the sun shining through it. As that photo didn't take well to getting blown up, it was with tremendous relief to find yet another use for those sun dog circles. I printed the grey one onto a sheet of transparency film and used it in front of the tree. It's an impressive effect, and the center sun matches up with the sun coming from behind his tree in the original photo so it looks darned good. When I put the display together, I left the two prints in the protective sleeve I had put them together in to see what they looked like. A dark green mat with black foam core board finish it up nicely.
Since I am anxiously waiting for my poppies to bloom, they were on my mind and I dug up some old photos just to play with them.
Holy Cow.
As a test of how well a photo will adapt to enlargement, I use the zoom feature to find out far I can go without pixelating.
I was totally amazed and thoroughly excited to find one of my best shots could take a zoom right into a very close-up view! Needless to say I got a nice 8x10 out of it.
RED RIBBON
While I was in the flower mood I went once again into my files for a stunning white rose. I had a black velvet backdrop and from the upper left corner a shot of sunlight came in from a window I hadn't covered well enough - hit that white rose and when I looked at the photos it looks like the rose is glowing from the inside. Pure serendipity, that. I had already cropped the rose photo but just out of curiosity I checked the zoom - and took it in until the rose almost fills the field. That one, the white rose with black background in a 5x7, I left with a white border and mounted it on black.
By the time I was done printing out all the photos I plan to use AND the ones that didn't make the cut, my color cartridges (two of them) were dead and gone. But they got the job done.
My entries consist of the poppy, a sunset moonrise, a farmyard gossip set (horse seeming to whisper to another horse, second horse seeming to give a big haw haw, bunch of geese and other fowl running in the yard, and a quizzical goat), a series of my best tree shots, a nice landscape where the clouds and shape of a hill are synchronized, the rose, a pastel on fabric circle seashell, and one of my small rock wall paintings which is already framed.
WHITE RIBBON
RED RIBBON
WHITE RIBBON
RED RIBBON
Yes, this was framed. No, it didn't win.
I kind of want to see if I can borrow a couple of the paintings I gave away, just for these few days, but haven't asked anyone yet. Tomorrow is entry day, so if I'm going to use any of those I have to get up early so I can go get them from wherever they are.
Some of my paintings are at my sister's shop but I can't even remember which ones are where.
The one I REALLY want to enter is out at my other sister's farm, the big landscape. But I think I can probably snag the first aspen painting I did from my in town sister, and/or the snakes which are also pretty impressive in their own way.
Like I don't already have enough to cart over to the fairgrounds, right?
And like it's not three in the morning here, with a full and busy day ahead of me.
All I can say is we shall see what we shall see. I can always lug a few cedar shakes over, mount a collection of them onto one of the big foam core boards I have left ...
But for now - sleep I think.
UPDATE: I did go get the paintings from my sister's houses - and they WON! I also grabbed one of my cedar shakes with a painting on it, and it got a red ... the last minute things are the ones that did well; go figure.
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