Added Feb 20, 2020
What's on the Easel, September 2019
What’s On The Easel, September 2019, Vol. I, No. 6
A monthly newsletter from Jim Fischer
Procrastination (again)…
…Or, at least that’s what I thought when I started this edition. But, compiling a list of topics indicates otherwise (although not all art).
On the easel is the third of the series of ten paintings of Savannah, Georgia and, in a last minute situation, I received a call for art from the Monmouth County Museum’s holiday exhibit, “Pets.” So I decided to do an oil painting of Io in a somewhat compromising pose to submit for consideration.
The two Savannah paintings that I finished this month have been scanned for prints (not that I have a clue what I will be doing with them).
A Friend Stops By
So, I bought this high end printer a few months ago. Recently I invited my friend Lisa to come buy and scan some of her work. It was a good test run on making the equipment available to others. She was thrilled with the results.
Of course we then had dinner in the garden which is at it’s peak.
Our Own Little Woodstock, A Road Trip and An Annual Pilgrimage
I don’t know how you might feel but I found the media coverage of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock a bit over the top. I was reminded of a skit in a 1960s play, The Mad Show, where reporters are following a candidate at an event even into the men’s room where the last reporter announces, “And this is your reporter, John Doe, in the bowl”. Of course this is all sour grapes as I wasn’t there (my sleeping bag was and that’s another story). But my brother Rick was there and the NYTimes re-published a famous photo of the crowd with him right in the front. This time I was able to download it from their website and print a large 30” version for Rick to frame (this is a cropped version).
(A trick should you download any photos from the NYTimes site: The dpi will come up in photoshop as 92, not good for prints, but if you change the dpi to 300 it will hold up and be greatly improved).
Rick and I also took a road trip to visit the Martin Guitar factory. They have a very impressive operation. The tour of the factory is thorough and both it and the museum are interesting (I didn’t know Gene Audry played a Martin). They impressed us with numbers that I actually found problematic. The factory produces 200 instruments a day, about 40,000 a year, with each selling for $3,500. It was definitely a factory operation, not custom in any way and that bothered me (although one section specialized in custom decoration, for a price, of course).
And, finally, we did our annual trip to visit the family in Iowa where the big event was the return of our niece, Cody, from two years with the Peace Corp in Africa. There, but for fortune, would go you or I. A very brave young lady. This is a picture of Slater, the town where Steph was raised. I believe it’s population hovers somewhere around 1,000.
That’s all for now.
Everyone be well.
Jim