Shadows and Other Delights

@ 2009 P Scarborough Square 10 12x12 pastel

Greetings Dear Reader-

This is the 10th in a series of square paintings I'm doing based on a single square mile north of my town.

I am fairly inspired by greys. Look closely and you'll actually see a universe of color in the subdued hues of green, blues, violets and yellows in the trees and shrubs and grasses in fields nearby. I prefer to think of grey less as a lack of light as it is an allowing of subtlety to rise unencumbered from the wash of the sun. There's alot of loveliness in the shadows.

Speaking of shadows...

It is said that behind every successful person, there is another soul standing behind them. It's a good day to honor Handsome Husband. Today he calmly peeled me off the ceiling after I got tangled up trying to keep too many plates spinning. (I know it's a slightly mixed metaphor, but if you had been here, you'd understand.) Everyone needs a cheerleader, that one person who helps them believe they can do anything. I've got mine, and I'm very, very grateful.

Who's in your shadow, and do they know you know they're there?

Christmas Letter

@2009 Patricia Scarborough 12x12 oil

It's that time again!

Tis the season for the Christmas Letter. (Cue the theme from Jaws.)

Like the Boogie Man at Halloween (in my neighborhood it was the Hairy Scratch), or your neighbor at the back door with her arms full of zuchini in September, it's the time of year our mailboxes fill up with long-winded missives from those dear close friends we didn't know we had.
Shiney as a new Sears catalog, these perfect families and their charming escapades, vacations and championships dazzle us with their, well, dazzling-ness.

I surrender.

The only cruise I've been on is up Highway 81 to hit the Walmart store.

The only gold I've received is the gold cap I got for the tooth I broke on last year's peanut brittle.
I did find treasure. It was the last piece of pumpkin pie hidden in the fridge after Thanksgiving. Too bad it was 2 weeks old. (At least I think it was pumpkin pie.)

So, my Christmas Letter to you, Dear Reader, goes something like this:

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for your comments. It's always nice to hear from you.

Had a great year painting. Snagged a couple new galleries, taught a few classes, made tons of friends.

Hope you had a good year too.

Happy Holidays my Friends-

Oh, and come back next week. I'm going to reveal a very cool project initiated by a very cool fellow. Consider it your Christmas gift. You're gonna love it, I promise.

Giving In

@2009 P Scarborough, Square 7 'Morning' 12x12" oil

Well lah-di-dah for me! I've been selected as Favorite Artist by Elena of Springview Nebraska Elementary School in beautiful Keya Paha County, Nebraska. I am tickled to pieces!

Thank you so much, my young artist friend.

Elena is working on a writing project and has asked a few questions of me that I've been thinking about for several days. They seemed so simple at first, like all good questions. They're really got me thinking.

Such as...

What inspired you to become an artist? Hmmmmmmmmm. What did inspire me?

Gosh, I tried drumming up memories of a grand moment, a time in history when I got goosebumps and whispered, this is it. I worked hard at dredging up memories of long quiet visits to museums to study and commune with Van Gogh, Picasso, Sargent. Was there a grown-up who said, Good Golly child, you're a genius! Hm, no, I really can't remember anything like that at all.

Honestly, I think I just gave in.

The art room is where I always felt comfortable. I knew the language in that country. There was no worry of losing something in the translation. (Unlike that foreign land, algebra.) To use lines to communicate texture or weight or an emotion was as normal to me as burping after chugging a soda. Doesn't everyone do that?

Some people take jobs to pay rent, buy a car, feed their families. I did that too. Eventually the jobs were about buying art supplies and art classes.

And one day I gave in completely. I surrendered to the feeling that painting daily was the most important thing I could offer this planet.

So I did, and I do. Giving in to this life is the most rewarding action I've ever taken. I'm me, in my own country speaking the language I know.

Thanks for asking the question Elena. It was good for me to answer. Good luck with your project, and stay in touch. Maybe one day I'll be seeing your lovely artwork in a gallery or museum, and we'll talk about the days in art class where we felt so much at home.

Happy International Artist's Day!

Gosh, the day nearly got by me without so much as a 'woo-hoo'!

It seems that 3 short years ago some energetic folks decided that artists needed a day all to themselves. International Artist's Day is also Picasso's birthday. Amazing coincidence.


So, how did you celebrate?


Yeah. Me neither.

I spent a bit of time digging around in my pile of frames and other Important Keepsakes (yes, pronounce it like it sounds. IK.) My new organizing theme is "If it's not a definite yes, it's a no". Sounds simple, but it means giving away all those almost good frames and almost good supplies and almost useable anythings to someone, anyone who is more interested in them than I am. It's a cinch that if that stuff hasn't been used in, oh, say 2 years, it probably isn't all that important to me. I've got a big box full of IK that will go to the 2nd-hand store soon. It feels great, because now there's room for me in my studio. And that's a good thing.


In place of all the IK, in the shiny new spot with nothing in it, I prepared a stack of square foot canvases. It's an exciting new project I'll be working on for a few months. I've selected one-square-mile north of where I live to use as inspiration for one-square-foot paintings. My goal is to have at least 15 by March. 30 by July. After that, who knows? I'll either have it all figured out by then, or I'll be having so much fun that 50 or 60 may look good.


What's the point? By limiting myself to one square mile and one square foot, I suppose I'll learn what exactly a small tract of land is comprised of. Vistas, close-ups, flora and fauna, so much of it subject matter I probably would never have noticed. It'll be a challenge, of course, and an exciting challenge to be sure.

Now that I think of it, I celebrated International Artist's Day by beginning this project. Twelve canvases are primed and ready to go.

I'll keep you posted, of course.