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Just Left Of Tradition

by Cooper on 9/26/2009 6:34:38 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, where we are all packed to go to the Octagon Art Festival in Ames, Iowa, tomorrow, bright and early!

But. That's not what this post is about. Rather, I think I mentioned in the title something like "just left of tradition". You might remember I have been thinking about parades lately, probably due to a series of photos I took at Spencer, Iowa's Flagfest parade this past June, and the first painting resulting there of. A parade, marching band complete, has to be one of America's best traditions. Load one onto "Flagest" weekend, and what more can you ask for?

But have you ever seen a painting of such an event? Let me guess, the "flagfest parade" in your painting had rosy cheeked, blue eyed babies with curly blond hair all tied up in pink ribbons, right? I am pretty sure that's why I was so drawn to the sight of this family sitting across the street of the parade route from us. Not your typically painted American family at the parade, but ever so much more interesting, in their determination to build on the age old tradition.

Thanks for stopping by.

Oh, I guess I'd better add the photo :)

I Love A Parade, acrylic painting on a 30 x 30 inch gallery wrapped canvas, available in my portfolio, of course. Don't you just hope that lots of paraders threw candy for the little girl to catch and that her bag got really full?!

Later, Cooper

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Slo-ooow Parade

by on 9/24/2009 9:23:41 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio, Jefferson, Iowa, on the second day of fall. Regarding fall, so far, so good :)

Today's daily paint again landed on the "parade" canvas. I vaguely remember this parade that happened last June was kind of a slow one. The Shriners in their silly cars did lots of rev'em up manuevers. The politicians shaking hands along the parade route, lagged way behind their respective convertibles. Heck, even the goof driving the Bikes, Boards and Blades truck down the parade route stopped in front of us for several minutes. And he didn't even have any candy to throw at the kids! (yes, it's legal for me to say that--the owners were of course riding the parade route on bikes, their employee (Cooper-the-younger) was driving the shop truck.)

Anyway, slow parade. Even the painting of it is moving along pretty slowly. There have been a few personal trials (did you know when you react to an antibiotic it can take 2-4 days for the itchy red rash to go away?) (by the way, today is day 4, I still itch but it is getting better) But. I painted most of the day today, and it felt good. And most of the paint landed where it was supposed to. Sort of. After dinner tonight, I came back out to the studio to "assess" and discovered that the window right next to the easel has a multitude of white splatter. Darn. Would you like to see where the painting is so far?

It's got a ways to go yet. Like what is that glaring white triangle doing right there on the dad's shoulder? And the little girl really needs a face lift. The background is mud. Ha! At least I won't be at a loss for what to do in the morning! Thanks for stopping by.

Later, Cooper

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What About A Parade?

by Cooper on 9/17/2009 8:52:53 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. So what about a parade? Does it smack of the traditional for you?

And what is it about a marching band that can bring tears to your eyes? The good kind. Happy tears. Maybe I'm the only one with the problem? Can't be.

Does it happen because of the history of the parade? And has there ever been a good parade that doesn't have at least one marching band? I am admittedly one of those people who has to wave back when someone on a float waves. I clap for the flag corp, and I cheer for the band. Yeah, and my eyes mist over too. If it happens to be one of those parades where people throw candy for the kids to catch, I make sure I catch a couple, too. I love a parade. I know, that's been said before, and to music even.

In fact that music has been running through my head while I'm working out the current easel occupant. Spencer, Iowa is host to Flagfest every June, and it comes with a very nice parade. This past June we sat right across the street from the most interesting family. I had the camera with me, of course, got multiple shots, and now they are coming together for a great painting. I can already tell---sometimes you have to work with the canvas before it starts to feel right---no bragging---but this one felt right the moment I put the brush on it.

Nope, I don't have a photo of the canvas yet, but I have something to put you in the mood! Isn't it grand?!

Later, Cooper

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10am-ish

by Cooper on 9/11/2009 4:56:59 PM1 Comment

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. Regarding yesterday's promise for an image about 10am---well, I'll bet it's 10am somewhere. Just not in Jefferson, Iowa, as we speak.

But here's the work:

We are temporarily calling it geranium study. With my glasses off, it looks ready to sign, but I had to put my glasses on for the camera and decided otherwise :)

Regarding the (ahem) model, it's one of my sanity geraniums. While we were still at Spencer, Iowa, wondering when the house was going to sell, and when the great relocation to Jefferson, Iowa, was going to happen, there were some dubious moments where I was ready (almost) to walk away from it all. The alternative was to go out and pamper my pots of geraniums. On really dubious days, I made a trip out to buy a new one for the collection :) And when the time came, we moved the WHOLE collection. They seem to like living in Jefferson, and there are multiple good windows in our new/old house where they can overwinter. Have I mentioned we bought a 1901 craftsmen bungalow? It's a charmer and will be even more so once we get rid of the 70's vintage carpets! Avocado and rusty gold shag---woohoo.

Later, Cooper

ps. Tomorrow I am at Artapalooza in downtown Cedar Falls, Iowa. Stop by if you are in town!

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Stepping Out

by on 9/10/2009 9:18:39 PMComment on this

Greetings,

Welcome to the Cooper studio. What a beautiful, and unusual day. I painted a still life today. Me, the person addicted to painting people, painted a still life. Wow. See, I told you it was an unusual day. In reality, purists would disallow it as a still life. It's a pot of geraniums that I cropped the view of pretty seriously. I wanted to paint it at eye level so I actually put a shelf up by my easel, at just the right height for that. And yes, the shelf does look a bit odd from a decorator point of view, but it's functional. Sometimes we must make sacrifices :)

I couldn't quite go cold turkey. I also started a little 12 x 12 canvas of a musician I saw earlier this summer. Her swingy green dress is turning out to be red, so it should be fun :)

But the day got away from me, and it's already dark, and with that, the photo opportunity of today's work is gone. We'll see if that can happen tomorrow. Check back in at about 10am-ish.

Later, Cooper

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