We have now reached deep summer, and I will soon be sharing some city views I've seen on my recent excursions.
But first I thought I would share this oil painting I completed back in 1991. What a long time ago that was.
The following photographs are of a few of the drawings I have recently been making of the tiny plant I showed you in my previous post.
Good news is that I have been able to keep the little plant alive, and will continue making more portraits, as I try to rekindle my drawing mojo.
Meanwhile, I would like to share a little anecdote that shows what a small world we live in.
During my years of employment in the retail fashion world, many of the garments I helped to sell were what could be called tunics, designed to be worn over slim trousers or even leggings. The length of the tunic shape helped some women to be more comfortable in the slim trousers or leggings.
I often wore this combination myself, and would joke to the clients that the tunic provided a "bridge over troubled waters." The clients would laugh, and would usually also buy the silhouette I had recommended to them.
One evening when I used that description, the client really laughed and said she would have to tell this to her friend who was an assistant to Paul Simon. My client said her friend would find it very funny, too.
Just a few minutes later, the client's friend came into the shop and was told the Bridge connection. She laughed and laughed and said that she would be sure to mention it to Paul Simon. Then we all giggled a bit, thinking that perhaps in future performances of his famous tune, PS would be thinking about middle-aged women solving their clothing dilemmas.
Well...let us flash forward to the recent Democrat Party's political convention at which H. Clinton was nominated for U.S. President. Paul Simon, who has announced his plans to retire from music, appeared to entertain the convention delegates one evening and performed...Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
I cannot tell you how much I giggled during the song while wondering if Paul Simon was thinking of the candidate's outfits.
Thank you all for indulging me this story. I truly appreciate your visits and comments. More city views will appear soon.
That was a great story Frances! The world is small and we are all connected in one way or another, and there was your connection to the candidate and the singer/songwriter!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for exploring your interest in and gift for drawing. I think you are going to have a very rich retirement.
Glad you like the Bridge tale, Pondside.
DeleteRetirement continues to be a very rich buffet. xo
How lovely! It's amazing how things go around.
ReplyDeleteYour painting is delightful.
Thank you so much for your comment, Elizabeth. I think that song will always make me smile. xo
DeleteGreat story, Frances! Will certainly keep that expression in my collection :-).
ReplyDeleteLove your paintings, you are really a talented lady!
Bayou, your kind words are much appreciated. I do think that smiling is like sunshine. xo
DeleteYes, a most amusing anecdote and certainly one I appreciate as a big fan of the tunic solution to clothing dilemmas!
ReplyDeletex
Let's raise our glasses to the worthy tunic! xo
DeleteI have bridged the troubled waters for years with a tunic/trouser combination and Paul Simon is one of my favourite musical artists. I found your story very funny indeed.
ReplyDeleteYour oil painting and drawings are just beautiful. I especially love the coloured drawing on the trio of plants.
Hugs from The UK-x-
I'm glad you liked that story, Sheila. Long ago, I say Simon and Garfunkle perform many times at various outdoor concerts, but I think the Bridge performance will be the one I'll always remember with a smile.
DeleteThank you also for art compliments. xo
From now on I shall think of you whenever I hear that song. I think you have already found your drawing Mojo and congratulations on keeping your muse alive. Your oil painting is delightfull, you should do more. x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment, Val. Glad that you liked the anecdote. Your kind words re the painting mean a lot. Hoping the mojo sticks around. It's funny how one little plant can be the catalyst. xo
DeleteI really wish that I could find my drawing/painting mojo, it left me a long time ago. I like those pictures that you have made.
ReplyDeleteI like your story too since that song has been special to me for many, many years.
Hoping that some unexpected spark will catch , and you will return to drawing and/or painting. I really love the feeling of getting lost in the process...realizing that hours could pass by and only the change in natural light signals an afternoon is departing. Knitting is also a pleasure for me because of the opportunity to play with color.
DeleteI've liked Bridge since I first heard all those years ago, and now having this strange twist on its meaning doesn't keep me from still liking the original intent.
I appreciate your comment very much.
I would guess that Paul Simon liked the story because his assistant laughed so freely and must have been pretty certain what his reaction would be. It is a nice story. The buskers here still play it regularly in the street and it is one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you, Rachel. I think that Paul Simon has always been quite playful with language and am pretty sure he liked my Bridge interpretation.
DeleteOh, as another Annie Hall fan, you probably remember Paul Simon's role in that film.
xo
Very good your draws...nice and funny your story...about tunic and Paul Simon...I wait to see new views from NY...and news about election time!!!Hilary with a tunic...hi hi!!!Have happy week!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gabri. Glad that you liked the pictures and the tunic tale. I'll be posting those recent Park scenes soon. xo
DeleteI loved that story Frances, but I loved your painting/drawings more. You are doing very well and I want to see more (and hear more tales of the city.)
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks so much, Donna. When I do get around to getting out my sketchbooks, and pencils or pens, or even watercolors I sort of go into a trance. The moment and I become one. Even as many minutes or even hours pass by.
DeleteI used to do my oil painting during the summer months when I could open the north-facing window in my bedroom open and not be bothered by the turp fumes.
Somehow, this year, that particular space in the bedroom has been overtaken by knitting supplies.
I do dream of a studio! Sometimes my dreams do take me back to that large, but primitive SoHo loft I lived in back in the 70s. The space that appears in the dreams does not always match my waking mind's memories, but I still recognize it.
Did that make sense? xo
Like Donna, I loved your story too and also loved your painting and the drawings. You are so talented. Incidently, while you were producing your lovely painting, I was occupied with producing my third son. Obviously a creative time xx
ReplyDeleteBTW, I am sure you have heard that the real Marianne died recently. As her life obliquely touched mine (I borrowed my blogging name from the Leonard Cohen song as you probably remember) that is particularly poignant.
ReplyDeleteDear Marianne, thank you so much for both comments. Very interesting to learn that my 1991 painting and your third son are the same age!
DeleteI'm also interested that your blogging name is connected to the Marianne from the song we know so well, and I was sad to learn to have learned of her death. xo
Beautiful painting, Frances, and I also like your recent drawings. Such an interesting plant!
ReplyDeleteI laughed heartily over your "Bridge over troubled water" story. The world is small indeed. ;-)
Thanks, Merisi. I guess that I am enjoying playing around with various ways of expressing myself.
DeleteI hope that folks who visit here will also have the pleasure of visiting your poetic posts. xo
Dear Frances, I'm so happy to see you painting again. Your oil painting is very charming and reminds me of the French school of painting. Hope to see more.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gina! I'm not sure I will be doing any oils soon...that pictured painting was from way back in 1991. Currently, I've got my knitting supplies taking over the space where I used to paint at my easel.
DeleteHowever, watercolors are underway. xo
I love your artwork! That new little plant is being honored and appreciated and elevated by you.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking about that Paul Simon song takes me back to the bedroom of my teen years where I would listen to the Simon & Garfunkel album over and over.... your use of the title phrase is apt!
Oh Gretchen, thank you so much for your compliment. I am trying to get back into the daily drawing habit.
DeleteI couldn't resist sharing that Bridge anecdote!
Your oil painting of flowers and your colored pencil and graphite drawings of the little plant are so lovely, Frances. And I got such a kick out of your story about the "Bridge over Troubled Waters." I will now think of that every time I see someone in a tunic. When my son and daughter were in junior high school, they wanted me to play the Simon and Garfunkel album from their live concert in Central Park every day as we drove to their school. I heard that music so much in those years that it is a part of my consciousness. One of the best albums ever.
ReplyDeleteCarol, thank you so much for this comment. Glad that the tunic story seemed as funny to you as it does to me.
DeleteI actually went to that S & G Central Park concert...all those years ago. My friend and I were so looking forward to it. I'd seen them perform several times at the old Forest Hills Tennis Stadium.
However...., although the recording doesn't reveal it, Art Garfunkle was way, way off key for most of the tunes. Folks sitting on the Great Lawn around us were, like us, just amazed at the sounds that he was making. So. There is a little insider info about a very famous concert.
I am so glad that Paul Simon continued solo with his marvelous song writing and performing. xo
What a brilliant story! I'm a great fan of that style of dressing too. Your oil painting is fabulous
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Gina, for both compliments. Yes, tunics are a wonderful way to go.
DeleteMaybe some day I will return to oil painting. I really do like the medium's possibilities. xo