Monthly Archives: January 2015

Homer’s “Wine-Dark Sea”

Heavy Weather, done for now. Occasionally, scholars get themselves tied up in knots over Homer’s “wine-dark sea.” The Aegean is just as blue as any other sea, and there are many theories about what Homer (or whoever actually wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey) was thinking: it was discolored by red marine algae, Homer was […]

The sad truth about obscenity

My pal Stu Chait and I did a show at RIT last year that ended with early closure because of my nude figures. I’ve long since moved on, but Rob Curry made a video of the opening and I just got a copy of it. Despite its abrupt and ignominious end, it was a great […]

Having some ‘work’ done

Most celebrities are chary about admitting they’re having plastic surgery. I’ve decided to bore you with all the details. It’s called ptosis, and it can be fixed with crutches or surgery. Years ago I decided that I’d never have plastic surgery. I didn’t want to take a chance that my daughters would one day have […]

Heavy weather

Heavy Weather, underpainting, by Carol L. Douglas For this painting, I am trying to envision a sailboat being hit broadside by a large wave, with the question of whether it will capsize or right itself left unanswered. My own sailing has been seriously curtailed for decades. That means that if I have questions about what […]

The Linchpin

Girl falling into fountain while texting, 6X8, oil on canvas Years ago I had a large brush-pile in my backyard, left over from clearing trees. I would have burned it where it sat, except it was too close to the woods for safety. As the greenwood decayed, it slumped into a solid, stinking mass. I […]

Hand over fist

Unfinished, by Carol L Douglas, 16X20, oil on canvas. (The color is distorted because it was dark when I shot this.) Over the past three years, I have become enamored of the luminist paintings of Fitz Henry Lane. That doesn’t mean I want to paint like him, but I love the space and light in […]

An interstate runs through it

Delaware Water Gap, by Carol L. Douglas. This is almost the only paintable vista left since US 80 was built. Rumor has it that I’m going to New Jersey on Friday. I love New Jersey, but I’ve seen an awful lot of it this month. All this travel is cutting into my painting time. However, […]

Paint what you love

Daddy’s little helper, oil on Belgian linen, 14X18, by Carol L. Douglas When I’ve laid off painting for a while, I “play scales” to limber up. Usually that’s in the form of a still life, but yesterday I decided to paint my grandson, Jake. Jake is three months old, and painting babies is decidedly out […]

Consistency

I’m taking an online marketing class from Jason Horejs. It’s free* and so far I think it’s been pretty good. In today’s lesson he spoke about consistency. He’s interested in it from a marketing standpoint: it’s easier to sell work that hangs together, that’s instantly recognizable as being from one artist. This, he points out, […]

Don’t knock it until you try it

Baby Jake, tiny sketch by me while he slept in my lap. There is a meme panning ugly Renaissance babies. Every time it pops up, I’m reminded that the posters have most likely never painted a baby from life. Most of my successful artist pals are childless. This makes perfect sense in the modern world, […]