Painting on the porch in the rain

There's something about porches, don't you think?  When you are able to let go of the critical "I should be elsewhere" mindset and just hang on a porch doing whatever.  If you're like me, you find it liberating and reinvigorating.  To me it's the ultimate "Hominid's revenge" where we who stand on two feet and have opposible thumbs and think and plan and scheme, can come in close contact with the great outdoors without ... you know ... really being out there!  Where mother nature can rain down in all her splendor but we stay dry.  Where mosquitos and other bugs of all kinds swarm around hoping to feast on our fleshy skin and red blood.

God bless Lucilla!  That's all I can say... Despite her cosmopolitan ways she had the foresight to add on a splendid and expansive porch to her Sylvan Park home, complete with screening, high-end ceiling fans and a bug-proof flooring barrier too.  So outside on the porch we of the Collaborative Artists Network (Nashville) who were in town painted. Judi has commenced her journey back to Geneve, Switzerland where we are hoping she'll establish a CAN Chapter.  Margot is in the xenophobic state of Arizona babysitting children this week and recuperating from what sounds like a huge cold and laryngitis.  Lynne was recuperating closer to home after two exhausting weeks of setting up and arranging her show at the Gas Lamp in Nashville.

And so it was that Barbara, Lucilla and I found ourselves enjoying the splendor of her porch, some great food she prepared (but wasn't supposed to), and one another's company.  We didn't so much paint as talk and learn and plan for the future of our group and more.  In the end, I set about playing.  One of my paintings took on a "Georgia O'Keefe-ish" style, according to Lucilla and Lynne who showed up late to grace us with her presence.  They claim it was because I had today's afternoon gynecological appointment on my mind.  I put dots to represent cave dwellings on the hillside, but it definitely needs more work before I post it here.

I'm exhausted now, having gone to the doctor (just an annual checkup and all is well, in case you're wondering) and gotten stuck in commuter traffic.  My BFF from New Jersey claims we could never live there, given the amount of commuter traffic they endure daily. Even though it took me a full hour to get home from downtown, Nashville's nowhere among the worst cities for traffic. Well, the microwave's buzzing and my chicken chili's done. The dog's pouting and hoping for a walk too, so signing off.

A grand day with fellow painters yesterday

Barbara with a painting from more than 20 years ago!

The Collaborative Artists Network (C.A.N.) is getting geared up!  We painted at Barbara Rembert's studio in her home yesterday inspired by some glorious instrumental music, great, great food, and the artistic and creative energy that flowed like a bubbling stream.  Barbara has a tremendous learning library of books to borrow, and we were treated to a private show of her collection of works.  She has some brilliant work over the years, and happily, we got the up close and personal tour, including explanations behind some of the loveliest of paintings.  Her methods are so varied, and yet all convey so beautifully what message or meaning she is trying to illustrate.  Pure wonderment!

Another surprise treat was a painting Margot pulled out that she had done back more than three decades ago!  And to our joy and amazement, it was done using the same strokes, colors, and style she uses today.

We didn't talk much about our organization today, preferring just to paint, but the idea behind it is to organize as a non-profit, obtain grands or other funding to provide a safe, comfortable place to paint, the resources to do so, the opportunity to teach others less fortunate, and to sell our works to self-fund our endeavor moving forward. It will surely be a long road, but with we five, I think we C.A.N., no pun intended.  We recognize women typically give up so much to raise children, care for family, or meet other challenges that typically come from lacking that second X Gene, particularly economic ones.  And each of us has faced tremendous emotional, physical, or monetary challenges, or a combination of all three, to get to this point in our lives, and we feel it is time to put our experience to good use, identify a forum, and ultimately, give back.  Down the road, I hope to write more about our organization's progress.