April07

Woody's Blog
April 2008
woodyduncan@comcast.net
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Click Here To See Where Woody's Watercolors Are On Exhibit in 2008

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April 2008 Blog:
I've been adding to this blog for over a year now. The subjects will vary with the changing interests of this old retired middle school art teacher. I hope you continue reading my blog and will send me any comments you have via e-mail to: woodyduncan@comcast.net

if you want to inquire about me doing workshops for art teachers
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Watercolors
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Blood and Thunder (4/29):
I mailed back my borrowed copy of Blood and Thunder, by Hampton Sides, this morning. It's was such a good read that I went out and purchased my own personal copy. It's the epic tale of the young United States taking the west from Mexico, from the Native tribes, from the elements, etc. The central character in this vast story is Kit Carson of Taos - formerly from Missouri. The author, Hampton Sides, weaves the reader in and out of adventure after mis-adventure with Carson popping up everywhere. This wonderful book, while accurate, is not written like a history book. The marvelous writing style holds on to you throughout. I suspect this book is by far the best account of the American west ever written. Here are some links to help give you a taste of the work.

NY Times Book Review Excerpt: 'Blood and Thunder' NPR

Q&A with Hampton Sides bookreporter.com

If you love the west, if you like history, if you just want to read a book that's hard to put down - this is the book for you. I highly reccomend Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides.

Ground Cover

Growing Things (4/28):
Even with Blossom's digging there is still some beautiful ground cover left in the back yard. The carpet of blue flowers is a great way to start the spring. My roses are just starting to bloom. Soon the back yard will be full of flowers. An early dash of color comes in bright yellow from our desert broom. We have one in the front yard too. I fear I'll be back in Kansas when my poppies decide to burst forth - but they will be here when we return. I love to photograph my poppies to paint in watercolor later.

Blossom Outside this Morning

Desert Broom

Barbara Lohbeck

Bravos Awards Last Night (4/27):
Awards were presented, last night; to artists, dancers, musicians, writers and art organizations for contributions to the community. Albuquerque is a community quite full of those sorts of people. That's another reason to be here. Last night, the best of the best were pointed out for recognition. The Bravos Awards program is run by the Arts Alliance. This is it's 24th year being started in 1985.
Last night, I joined several of my fellow docents at the awards dinner. Among the winners was Barbara Lohbeck for Outstanding Arts Volunteer because of her ten years of work organizing MasterWorks of New Mexico. The Docent program at the Albuquerque Museum was also awarded a Bravos award for our contribution to art education. All of the 2008 award winners are listed here. Not only do the Bravos Awards celebrate the best art creators of our city, but the awards themselves are works of art. Here's a link to so of the past artistic award objects and the local artists who created them.

This years winners are listed below:
Suzanne M. Johnston, Excellence in Dance
Max Evans, Excellence in Literary Arts
Michiko Masuda Pierce, Excellence in Music
Salomé Martínez-Lutz, Excellence in Theater
Alan Paine Radebaugh’s Exhibit “Mass: Of Our World,” Excellence in Visual Arts
Barbara Lohbeck, Outstanding Arts Volunteer
Albuquerque Museum of Art & History’s Docent Program, Excellence in Arts Education
SouthWest Writers, Outstanding Arts Organization
Ann Lerner , President’s Award

A video interview was shown just before each award was presented.

Texture Demo
click on painting
for larger image

Nice Surprise & New Painting (4/26):
When I checked my PO Box this morning, besides orders for my CD's, I found a delightful package of letters. Hand written letters from the Taos middle school students I taught watercolor to back in Feburary. What a nice surprise. I realize a teacher required them to write these letters but It really made my day. It's a good habit for them to learn at an early age as well. They were spending a few days in a cabin at the base of the mountains near Albuquerque. So, I took advantage of the mountains just outside their cabin for inspiration. We did torn paper collages of the mountains and then painted over the collage.

Texture Demo:
Today I did a demo for our NMWS Paintout. I worked on a painting which I started a week ago. I was using this painting to demo "Molding Paste" to create texture. I also included some torn paper collage for foliage in the trees. It's a textured paper I picked up in Taos last week. The painting has a good start, but there's lots more to do to finish it. I should keep painting, but I have a 22 page final paper to write for my class at UNM, so research and writing, and re-writing is my major job right now.

Collage Landscape
click on painting
for larger image

click on photo
for a movie

Pow-Wow (4/25):
We really enjoyed the Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow at the Pit today. Native-American dancers and drummers from all over were there to showoff and compete for awards. They even gave awards for the longest hair. One lady that won - her hair easily hit the floor. The beautiful regalia worn by the dancers was unbelievable. The hours of work and the care that went into these creations could not be fathomed.

click on photos for larger images

I saw a great t-shirt at the Pow-Wow, but you have to look Native-American to wear it.

"I'm Part White - But I Can't Prove It"

click on photo
for a movie

Run - Run - Run (4/24):
All I did today was drive around and get little things done. But I mapped out a careful route so as to not waste too much gas. When one fills up at $3.37 a gallon - it makes you plan for even your short trips around town. My first stop was to sell frani's five sacks of aluminum cans. At 60 cents a pound she made $17. Then I stopped at Artisan's to buy Winsor Newton watercolor paper. I hate working on anything but Arches, but our next workshop instructor (Jane Hofstetter) insists on only Winsor Newton. Next I stopped to have the tires rotated on the Oldsmobile, then another stop to get the oil changed for our drive to Kansas City next month. There were several other stops, including of course a stop at Wells Fargo for some cash. They take "cash only" tomorrow for the Gathering of Nations PowWow Frani and I plan to attend. It's at the "Pit". We took Sister Mary last year and we all loved the colorful event.

Good Friends (4/23):
Today, nine of my fellow docents from the Albuquerque Museum served as a trial audience at the UNM Art Museum for both Robert and I. They were our audience for a "museum experience" Robert and I were doing as a class requirement in the course we are taking at UNM. It's called "The Art of Teaching in the Museum". The course is being team taught by Sara Otto-Diniz and Beth Maloney. Sara observed both of us, today, working with the audience of docents I recruited. How well did it go? That's difficult to say because it's so hard to judge ones self doing something really new. Even though I've served as a docent for years now - this time it was truly different. This time we spent 45 minutes to an hour on work by one artist. At the Albuquerque Museum I move my audience from object to object, never staying more that perhaps 5 to 7 minutes on any one piece of art.
Our assignment was to tightly narrow our focus. Robert worked with four black-on-black pieces by Maria and Julian Martinez. For me, I chose four beautiful prints by Gene Kloss. Both artists were funded by the US Government to create art during the WPA. Their art is part of a larger exhibit currently at UNM called "For the Greater Good: New Deal Art in New Mexico, 1933-1943." Because this is the 75th Anniversary of the New Deal, the Art Museum at UNM has a major exhibition of art created by New Mexico artists from 1933 to 1943.
In two weeks, we both have a final paper due. So now we both need to develop 15 to 22 pages covering both the theories we covered this semester as well as our experiences in the museum itself. This will be a challenge for me at least. Sara says I can't turn my final in on a sheet of arches. It's due in less than two weeks so I've got to work quickly. Robert and I will get together to debrief each other on how it went. Working in a collaborative fashion is also part of the course.
If today was any success at all, I owe it to my friends an fellow docents who took their time to be part of our "museum experience". It is really good to have such good friends.

get an i-pod

Music and Art (4/22):
Today I had a new Radio/CD player installed in my old Oldsmobile. The original CD player went out and is no longer being manufactured - so this was the cheapest way to get things working. Driving 15 hours back to Kansas requires music. I can't carry on a conversation with Frani for that long - 2 hours tops on a good day. The new unit has a slot to plug in my i-pod - so much the better. They said the switch of units would mean I'd loose the cassette player. That's no loss - who has tapes anymore ? So we can listen to great music now, as we travel.

Art students:
Our tour group, today, consisted of middle school art students from Sorcoro (76 miles south of Albuquerque). It was a delight to have these alert older students and to be able to spend 90 minutes discussing art with them. My group consisted of 4 young ladies and their art teacher. They were shy at first, but I was able to engage them. It became apparent how informed they were as they opened up. It was refreshing to explore art with these bright young ladies. Thank you Ms. Bone for bringing your students to our museum.

Ready for Grade Four

Beautiful Triplets (4/21):
Third grade is almost history and my triplet grandkids are chomping at the bit to move on to the fourth grade. I put their new photos on a web page this morning. It's amazing how fast they grow when we only see them 3 or 4 times a year. Frani and I will be driving to Kansas in less than a month to give them each a big hug. They are each talented in their own way as I mentioned on the web page I created using the new photos. Blossom will be traveling to Kansas with us. I wonder if she remembers Tim, Tess and Tiff.

<<< Blossom's New Haircut

Taos Mountain

Back From Taos (4/20):
It was a very busy two days in Taos. The docents seemed satisfied with all the visits to the various museums. I was especially impressed with the Blumenschein Home and Museum. Not only was it restored as it was when the artist and his family lived there - but it was full of original art. There is art, on the walls, by several of Blumie's contemporaries as well as his own paintings. Click Here for pics from our trip. On our second day in Taos, it snowed - nothing stuck - but it was beautiful to watch.

Drawing Class:
My figure drawing class, taught by Dan DiMaria, met again yesterday. He uses the Reilly method of drawing the figure. I know my skills improved over last weeks session. Drawing from life is the best way to train the eyes and the brain. It's training yourself to see much more than learning to draw. We meet again, for the last time, on May 3rd. It was the foreshorting that gave us the most trouble. I remembered that my students who spent hours drawing from comic books understood the concept best. The action comics employ foreshorting a lot. It's been many, many years since those figure drawing classes at KU and the KC Art Institute. I'm re-learning how to look and how to draw from observation. But severe foreshorting requires more than drawing what you see to make a believable drawing - exaggeration of some features is necessary.

Bus to Taos

House We Sold in KC
found on Google

Street View via Google (4/15):
Did you know that a car with a camera on top was photographing your house and putting the images on Google for all to find. Scary, isn't it. I knew that Google had ariel views of my house - but this is new. Try it - go to http://maps.google.com/ and then click on Street View. Pick a city, then pick any location where the street is outlined in blue. Isn't technology wonderful. Google has lots of features (perhaps too many). This morning I got an e-mail from a girl I knew in high school in 1960. She simply goggled my name. Of course women change their names. Now that I know her new name I can google her. And I did - Hi Karen from Wyandotte - Thanks for looking me up and sending me a sweet note.

<<< Rear View of Our House in Albuquerque

House in Albuquerque
found on Google

"Superstition"
Ernest Blumenschein

Summer Exhibit (4/14):
If You plan to be in New Mexico this summer - please do not miss the Ernest Blumenschein exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum. I'll be up in Taos painting watercolors when it opens on June 8th where I'll be sure to remind everyone at the Adams State Watercolor Workshop to not miss this opportunity. The exhibit called "In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein" will continue till September 7th. This Blumenschein exhibit is a major reason we (docents) decided to go up to Taos on our overnight trip. Of course we are taking in several other sites beside visiting the Blumenschein Home and Museum. I'll be sure to post a page about our trip to Taos when we get back. I may post tomorrow - but then not again until Friday.
This is a major exhibit on Blumenschein (1874-1960) should be quite a show. He was one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists and perhaps the most accomplished of the group. For a list of other members of the Taos Society - Click Here. The Blumenschein exhibition will have about 60 major paintings on display, as well as several illustrations and sketches. Do not miss this one.

Who Did This ?

Bad Dog (4/13):
Yes, I'm talking about Blossom. When she's in trouble - we use her full name "Lotus Blossom Duncan" to get her attention. Since we don't fully trust her in the house, we leave her in the backyard and puppies must play. So, she digs up my ground cover between the flagstone. We repaired the damage today and then sprayed the flagstone will some kind of pet repellent. Only time will tell how well it works. I'll spray every day or so till she gets out of the habit.

click on "Lotus Blossom Duncan" for a larger image

Flowers:
I can tell that it will be a good year for my poppies as well as my roses. I fed all the flowers while I was working in the backyard today and even planted a new one in Frani's pot. When my poppies start to bloom, I'll get lots of new photos to paint from.

Blossom Did It

Full Day - Drawing & More (4/12):
My day started with Dan DiMaria's life drawing class. He uses the Reilly methodof drawing the figure. It's been many years since I drew from a nude model. We began with two minute poses, then worked up to four and ten minute poses. The method we are using should give us a complete drawing in twenty minutes (with lots of practice). Even though I left class early, I think I was able to learn enough today to be able to jump right in next Saturday. We had a professional model today, which made the drawing go easier. Randy Orwig, from Florida, was in New Mexico on assignment so we were able to hire him for the class. Besides being an artist's model, Randy also works as a living statue. I posted a pic, from the web, of Randy at a Texas art festival. But then, I had to leave class early to be at the NMWS new members tea.

New Members:
Doe, BJ and Eleanor did a wonderful job of hosting a tea for new members to the NMWS. I attended as president of the NMWS. Fifteen of our new members attended to learn more about the society. But, mostly this was a social function, an opportunity to meet and learn more about each other and the watercolor society. It was a great afternoon of exchanging stories about life and why we love watercolor. Many of the new members shared personal stories about how they began as artists or re-discovered it later in life.

New Painting (4/11):
My newest painting will be of a gate next to the Mable Dodge Luhan House in Taos. That's only appropriate because next week I'll be in Taos. Forty-five docents from the Albuquerque museum are making an overnight trip up to Taos. We will visit lots of locations including the Mable Dodge House.

drawing for watercolor

Cold in Here:
When we left town for New Orleans, three weeks ago, I turned the heat off. I never thought it would get cold again. But the snow on the mountains says I'm wrong. That's why it's 62 in the house and I'm wearing a sweater. 62 degrees is not bad and it's sure enough better than writing a check to PNM.

click on sunrise
for a
larger image

Morning Sunrise (4/10):
I arose this morning to see the sun trying to peak through the clouds over the Sandia mountains covered with last nights snow. I just had to grab my camera to capture the moment. My photos of this mornings sun also shows off our recently finished park behind our house.

click on our new park for a larger image

Recent snows in the upper elevations means that next weeks trip to Taos should provide some beautiful views. Forty-five docents from the Albuquerque museum are taking a bus to Taos on Wednesday to visit several museums. We are staying overnight at the Kachina Lodge. Any excuse to visit Taos is a good one. This trip is to study New Mexico history and to learn more about an important early Taos artist - Ernest L. Blumenschein. Our museum has a large exhibit on Blumenschein in June.

Meeting FDR (4/9):
This evening I listened to Franklin Delano Roosevelt discuss his decisions as he took the presidency in 1932. He also talked about how his New Deal programs like the WPA came about and why. In reality the person speaking from the wheel chair was Richard Marold a Chautauqua performer. His portrail and especially his vast knowledge of Roosevelt was truly amazing. This was all part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the New Deal. We can thank FDR for Social Security, Bank Savings Security, Rural Electrification, the GI Bill, etc. Makes me proud to be a Democrat.

<<< Richard Marold as FDR

Snow in the Mountains:
As I drove home, this evening, I watched the snow build up on the Sandia. Luckily we live down here (at 5000 feet) so we can be warm yet still look at the snow up there where it belongs.

Fans in Lawrence

Rock Chalk Jayhawk - KU Wins (4/8)
Last night - my Jayhawks pulled it off, in overtime, with a little help from Memphis when the Tigers missed those late free throws. It was a great game. It was also good to see Roy Williams with a Jayhawk sticker on his sweater. Jayhawk fans have been waiting 20 years for this. Thank you coach and players alike. Click here for a video of downtown Lawrence.

1988 National Championship Team

My Mood:
I'd be in a really bad mood if KU had not won last night. Not that it was really so important but it sure helped raise my spirits after my computers address book came up blank yesterday. What a bummer - hundreds of address files gone to who knows where ??? Apple Care was not much help. There seems to be no magic hidden file anywhere to recover my addresses from. I did have a backup - but it was from last July and very out of date. So here I am - rebuilding my life - one address at a time. I do have the e-mails from the last couple of months to steal addresses from. Also, I save many old e-mails in folders which have the addresses with them. But the process is quite slow. Still KU won so that helps elevate my mood.

Party in New Orleans (4/7):
On our first night at NAEA in New Orleans Frani and I attended the annual Binney and Smith party. It was a blast. They rented out Mardi Gras World. That's the big warehouse where they house all the parade characters used each year in Mardi Gras. It's also where they build new characters and repair the damaged ones. Thank you Binney and Smith for a wonderful time. That's me in the hat next to the big green fellow - click on the pic to watch us party.

<<< Click on woody to see art teachers party down in New Orleans

Sorry Roy (4/6):
You can't blame Roy Williams for being down for the loss his team took from Bill Self's Jayhawks last night. It was a delightful game to watch, especially to be able to watch the changing expressions on Roy's face. Sorry Roy, but it's what you deserve for deserting Lawrence.

KU To Go - All The Way:
On Monday night - KU plays Memphis for the national championship. Jayhawks everywhere will be watching. "Rock Chalk - Jayhawk - Go KU"

Crowd in Lawrence After Beating North Carolina

Basketball Tonight (4/5):
The morning starts off with painting watercolors with my friends. Afterwards, we go out for lunch to celebrate. But the most important part of this Saturday is watching KU play North Carolina in the first round of the final four. Sorry - Roy Williams, but you left the best school.

Watch KU on CBS Tonight

Reilly Drawing Method

Back to Painting (4/4):
I went to my Friday morning painting group but, all I got done was to clean out an old palette and get my new colors into it. It's a small palette that fits in the case I carry around. Now I'll have a palette for plein-aire work. I'll need it for the Adams State workshop in Taos this June. There are lots of workshop opportunities coming up quite soon. In a couple of weeks I'm taking a Drawing workshop (Three Saturdays) from Dan DiMaria. He uses the Reilly method of drawing the figure. Dan did a demo of this method at a watercolor meeting and this got many of us excited.
Next month, I'm taking Jane Hofstetters week long watercolor workshop. It will be the first week of the NMWS spring show (May 5th - 9th). Jane was our juror for our spring exhibit. In June, right after I return from Taos, I'm taking a week long monotype class, here in Albuquerque, from the New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery. That will make a total of four workshops in two months. I should be well educated by the summer.

MasterWorks Opens Tonight:
My entries were rejected from this year's MasterWorks of New Mexico. It's a very tough exhibit to get into - although, I did get two watercolors in last years show. I don't mind getting rejected from such a quality exhibition. Tonight, as president of NMWS, I handed out the awards for the watercolor portion of the exhibit. Below is a photo just as MasterWorks opened. An hour later there were hundreds of art lovers packed in the exhibit.

Barbara Lohbeck
and
Cameraman

Lower 9th Ward
New Orleans

Big Easy Memories (4/3):
New Orleans is truly a tale of two cities. The economic engine of the city is back in full force, hotels, shops, sporting events, etc. All the tourist stuff is going on as if there never was a disaster. But if you travel to the seventh or ninth wards - it's a whole different world. The harbor is busy, the French Quarter is full of tourists, so - if one never left downtown you would not have an idea of how real people are hurting. We took a long tour on a small tour bus - from good areas to bad areas and back again. We saw the upscale homes in the Garden District - miles of them. We also saw miles of empty lots in lower sections of the city. Those new homes that Brad Pitt spoke about on Larry King were never built. Seventeen of Twenty-three neighborhoods were under water after Katrina. Little has been re-built.
There was one bright spot. Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr and Habitat for Humanity are constructing a neighborhood for musicians. These little houses in all different hues are a real bright spot of hope. There is hope yet, but lots of work yet to do. I've posted three photos here, on my blog, from our trip to New Orleans last week.

Musicians Village - New Orleans

View from Hilton
New Orleans

click on pic for
Collograph Workshop
at NAEA

Return from New Orleans (4/2):
Frani and I were on the road for eleven days. We arrived home exhausted. We spent the first couple of days in Fort Worth, Texas. We took in a Creedence Clearwater concert at Billy Bob's Texas on the first night. The next day we shopped in the Stockyards District of Fort Worth. After Fort Worth, we drove to Jackson, Mississippi for a couple of days there. Frani's sister was our tour guide in Jackson. We visited the Mississippi Art Museum in Jackson before driving to Vicksburg to explore some Civil War history. Our day was completed with a bit of gambling on one of Vicksburg's Riverboats.
Our real destination was New Orleans. We drove down so I could do two workshops at the NAEA convention. We stayed at the Hilton for four nights because it was the convention hotel for the NAEA. We were within walking distance of the French Quarter which made for good shopping adventures and lots of walking. Frani and I also took a bus tour of the city to see what the rest of the Big Easy was like after Katrina. It really is the tale of two cities. I post more about the conditions there in a few days.
I created one web page about my Collograph workshop. I created a second web page about my Kaleidocycle workshop. I'll post more pages about the NAEA convention later, as I get to more of the photos I took while in New Orleans.

click on pic for
Kaleidocycle Workshop
at NAEA

my painting below
will be entered in
Taos National

click on painting
to view
larger image

Watercolor Accepted:
My watercolor of Tim and Tiffanie digging at White Sands was accepted for the NMWS Spring Exhibition. Of course that means my other two entries were rejected. You can see all my rejected and my accepted watercolors for 2008 by clicking here. Now I can decide which paintings to enter into the next exhibition. That would be in Taos. The Taos National Exhibition of American Watercolor XII will open August 16th at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico. Anyone interested in a prospectus for the Taos National can download one at http://www.taoswatercolor.org/

Recycling Entries:
Again, I am recycling my rejected paintings to send to another juror. Perhaps I'll find one that appreciates my watercolors. I'm quite sure that my painting of Tiffanie at Whitesands is real quality - but perhaps the juror can only see the technical portion when it's the emotional impact that's most important, and only a proud grand-parent can feel that.

click on pic to see
Blossom's New Haircut

my painting below
was selected
by the juror

click on painting
to view
larger image

click on headline above
for the rest of the story

April Fool's Day (4/1):
I've been reading lots of strange things in the newspaper lately - or was this story only in my dreams. We should be so lucky !! Click on the headline to read the rest of the story.