Ode to Green

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was entirely, totally, completely sick of green.
Nebraska is a beautiful state, and despite chants of “Go Big Red” heard at every University of Nebraska sporting event, green is its natural color. But not "just green" like the green out of a tube, unnatural in every way.

To name a green in Nebraska is to name a thousand different colors. Elm trees are a very different green than the green of cottonwoods. Trees down by a river are a different green than trees standing in a pasture providing shade to cattle huddled underneath. In fact, for every kind of tree there is a separate green, which separates again into sunlit and shade, interior and exterior, early spring and late autumn.

@2010 Patricia Scarborough  Refraction  7x5 oil

  Available here

There’s a particular shade of green provided by the acres of lawn watered unnaturally by underground sprinklers. It’s different from the yards swept by sprinklers leashed to the house by miles of rubber hose which leave corners of sparse dry grass near the street.

garden hose green

Acres of corn provide a relentless blanket of green for miles and miles. Dry land corn, slightly less robust than its irrigated cousin, provides relief, but only of a duller sort.

Call it chartreuse, jade, lime, pea, pine, sage, verdigris, viridian or whatever, in the end, it’s always yellow and blue, with a dash of orange or red for relief. Cadmium yellow and ultramarine with cadmium orange; lemon yellow and cerulean blue with alizarin crimson; any combination of yellow with any combination of blue, with any combination of red in tiny but precious amounts to keep your teeth from grinding together from the sheer green-ness of it all.  After months of painting green my stomach got queasy at the thought of one more verdant summer landscape, regardless whatever clever combination of pigments I came up with.

Then winter set in. Chlorophyll vanished. Whatever was green dried, fell, was swept away in winds from the Arctic Circle. Months passed and all memory of my impatience with green dissolved and disappeared.

@2011Patricia Scarborough,  December, 5 pm  8x10 oil

A few weeks ago, spring came, sneaky at first but more recently like a high school marching band: loud, brassy, twirling batons and flags flying. Did I mention loud? Leaves of every kind unfurl, wave, salute, catch the sun, reflect and refract; green in all its glory.

work in progress, 30 x 40 oil on linen

Welcome home old friend. I admit now that I missed green just a little, proven by the piles of yellows and blues and crimsons on my palette.  I'm refreshed by winter, ready to take on the challenge again.

Inaugural Art on the Green

Yesterday, July 3rd, was Geneva's very first Art on the Green, held under the shade trees on the beautiful Fillmore County Courthouse lawn.  It was a new addition to the usual festivities held annually in Geneva to celebrate Independence Day. 

As the go-to gal on this endeavor, I was pretty nervous. I've participated in art festivals before, but that's a whole 'nuther animal than building an event from the ground up. The devil's in the details, y'know.

And to add a bit of excitement,  80 mile-per-hour winds whipped through the center of our little community just a few days before, flattening several beautiful old trees and lifting a few roof tops. As Saturday morning rolled around the weather report called for some clouds, some wind, some sun , maybe some rain, maybe not...anything from soup to nuts. Which is pretty much what the weatherman called for the week before when we got it all. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of artwork flying over the rooftops or melting into the grass. 

More importantly, though, I felt a huge obligation to both my community and the artists who agreed to come. I had all my digits crossed for a successful day for everyone. 

As it worked out, the community of Geneva supported our first Art on the Green in wonderful ways.  And participating artists gave visitors something to appreciate and in lots of cases, take home.

Huge thanks to sculptor Sally Jurgensmier, painters Jean Cook of Grand Island, Janet Butler of Wichita, Kansas, and Sue Johnson of Shickley; photographers Max Miller and Helen Johnson, both of Geneva; potter Nancy Fairbanks of Grand Island; and Chris & Steph Haussler, the Pixybug Designers from Lawrence. I am honored that you put your trust in me and in Geneva.

  

Deep appreciation also from all of the exhibitors for the gracious support we received from the community. The meal provided by the Masonic Lodge #79 was a real pleasure, and the crowds for Art on the Green were wonderful.  Thanks also to the Geneva Art Association for supporting this project.  I needn't have worried.

Of course, I can't get away without mentioning - once more - the support I get from Handsome Husband.  What a peach.  He spent the day loading and unloading, visiting with patrons and babysitting art booths. What a guy.

All that's left to do is scratch mosquito bites and look forward to next year.

4th of July Add On

Hot Diggity! Look what showed up in my mailbox this morning. Max Miller dropped off a cd full of photographs taken at our 4th of July exhibit here in town.


Opening night, and we packed the house!


















Gosh, we were even visited by Millard Fillmore, our county's namesake. Now there's someone who doesn't stop by every day.

All in all a huge success. Thanks Geneva!