Your Weekend Calendar

On my calendar this week – and hopefully yours as well:

You’re invited to a fresh new exhibit of oils and pastels opening Friday, July 1^st at The Burkholder Project in Lincoln, Ne.  This collection of paintings is titled “A Larger View” and reflects my travels up and down the gravel roads of south central Nebraska. 

©2011 Patricia Scarborough  Summer River 9x18 oil 

 Joining me in the Outback Gallery will be metal artist Mary Kolar.  Her creations are beautiful and delightfully quirky.  Take a break from lighting sparklers and lady fingers, and join Lincoln for the First Friday Art Walk in the Haymarket District.  The Burkholder will be open from 7:00pm to 9:00 just for you.

The town we’ve called home for the last long while will be hosting a good old fashioned Independence Day celebration called "Discover Geneva-Patriotism"  starting on Saturday, July 2^nd. 

Join us in the shade of the Fillmore County Courthouse lawn in Geneva, Nebraska on Saturday, July 2nd from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm for Art on the Green.  We’ve got a great line-up of artists and artisans who will be glad to visit with you about their work.  You’ll see an amazing array of art, including: Nancy Fairbanks - ceramics;  Leroy Von Glan – ceramics; Diane Beir – melted glasswork; Pixybug Designs – lampwork and jewelry; Helen Waring Johnson – photography; and painters in an interesting collection of styles and media including Susan deWit, Suzann Johnson, Jean Cook, Janet Butler, Carrie Marx and myself.  Keep your fingers crossed for blue skies and cool temps.

In addition to our Art on the Green, the Courthouse Square will be abuzz with lots of activities for you and your family including quilt shows, inflatables for the kids, a dog show, lots to eat and tons more throughout the entire weekend. 
Stop by and say hello!

On Safari

Greetings Dear Reader, it’s so nice to have you stop by.

Lately, with the changing of the season (here in Nebraska it’s like a locomotive coming down the tracks at full speed) I’ve felt the need to refresh my stack of reference photos.  Trees grow, split and tip over to reveal new compositions or spark fresh ideas.  Plus, it’s a good reason to go for a long drive on a lovely spring day and hang out with Handsome Husband.

With a full gas tank, charged camera batteries and no time frame, we headed out to find photo-worthy scenery. 

It appears at first glance that my corner of the world is a fairly flat, cultivated place. Mostly farmland, there aren’t many – or any – wide rushing rivers leading to dramatic waterfalls crashing down mountain cliffs.  No dizzying hills looking out on blue oceans.   However, with an eye toward what lies just beyond that field of freshly tilled dirt, in the shadow of an old cottonwood with its roots buried deep by a muddy creek, there are jewels to be discovered.  And so we set out on a safari of sorts with eyes tuned in to whatever might be lurking just around the corner. 

We drove miles of country road, squaring the leveled fields neatly at 90 degrees.   I’ve got bed sheets with more interesting contours.  It wasn’t until we missed a turn, literally taking the road less travelled, that our first treasure was revealed.   

As we crested a hill (one of the few around) the earth dropped away and the world suddenly got much larger.  Spring rains have renewed this old creek, and the pastures have responded as well.

Further down this same road we noticed a low area, a ditch really, still holding water from a downpour the day before. 

The sun was rising higher in the sky causing deep shadows.  The lush response of wild grasses and flowers to water puddling in the undergrowth revealed a corner of Eden, a mere 50 yards long and 30 yards wide. 

A few miles further a glance down an impassable dirt road brought us to the edge of another slice of paradise, smaller than the last but a treasure nonetheless. 

These tiny gems don’t have a long shelf life. They’ll disappear, go dormant, and re-appear unexpectedly.

The trick is to be aware, to be ready, to anticipate not where they’ll be, but that they will be, somewhere right under our noses, just beside the road we’ve driven down a hundred times before.  I've done my homework and I'm ready, excited really, to get to my easel and paint.

 ©2011 Patricia Scarborough  County Road, Heading South   16 x 20 oil

Painting with Napoleon

"A picture is worth a thousand words."
                                                          - Napoleon Bonaparte

Not one to argue with small men carrying large cannons, I leave you with these new pieces.

©2010 Patricia Scarborough, Beyond the Mill  6x6 oil

©2010 Patricia Scarborough, Early Evening, November 6x6 oil

©2010 Patricia Scarborough, Autumn in Fillmore County 8x10 oil

And a little hellow! to those of you who stopped by last week from Alyson Stanfield's Art Biz Blog.  Thanks!