Mom's Passing

 

This post is a very difficult one to write. Not because I don't have much to say...but because words wouldn't do justice. This past November 10, 2018, my Mom, DeLeath Ludwig, passed away at the age of 85. Our family is still in the middle of processing it all, dealing with the huge loss. But we were so blessed to have had her in our lives, and readily acknowledge all the good that she passed on to us. 

My Mom was one of my favorite "Sketching Buddies". For the last several years, I have enjoyed trips to my hometown of El Dorado, Arkansas, to spend a few days wandering around town to various locations to sketch. Often we'd just stay at her house and set up a still-life. Mom's health was in decline for some years, and she was hooked up to oxygen much of the time. In fact, in her final days, she and I had talked about how she could have died many times over in the last 15 years, with all she battled with. But on the days that she felt good enough, she'd be sketching and painting watercolors almost every single day. We have a legacy of many, many sketchbooks that she filled up.

I will miss you, Mom...and I look forward to sketching with you again, when I meet you in Heaven!!

BCAW 2018-FIRST PLACE

This post is quite late...I thought I had already put this on my blog. Back in September of 2018, I once again participated in the Brush Creek Artist Walk in Kansas City. I was fortunate to win one of the first place ribbons for my painting of one of KC's famous fountains down on the Plaza. In the photo above I'm flanked by our judge, Mark Alan Anderson, and Alex Hamil, BCAW Director, who is holding my blue ribbon.

Below is a close-up of my two submissions...a Sycamore tree and the Indian on a horse battling with an alligator.

The surprising thing about my first place win was that the original painting was a "nocturne" that was a complete "bust", because the fountain lights that were usually turned on, were NOT on for some reason. But my Mother had suggested that I use that work as an underpainting and to head back to the same location during the daylight. I did that...and Mom's suggestion paid off!! You can see the two phases of the painting below.

The next photos are of one of the "quick paints" that we did during the weekend. I'm in the middle of the crowd below.  I decided to tackle a painting of a big sycamore tree with the sunlight coming through the branches.

Below are two other paintings I did that were not entered into the show. The first was an early morning attempt...other two locations were done in late afternoon.

It was fun to hang out with some artists I have not seen in a while, and to make some new friends who had also come to paint.

SCULPTURE: "Grandma Puppet"

I'm so happy to have creative friends to collaborate with! I spent the month of December 2018 working on a large puppet for actor/dancer Karen Lisondra and her husband, multi-instrumentalist Amado Espinoza. This puppet is a bit of a caricature of Amado's 102 year old Grandmother in Bolivia!! We all were inspired by the works of master puppet maker, Amelia Madeline. I studied a lot of videos on YouTube online about the process of making a puppet out of soft polyfoam, fabric, and latex rubber. It was a blast to work on...my first ever using these materials. Karen is working on a story to perform with Amado in the future using "Grandma". Stay tuned!!