Progress on the tree....

...is not really visible today, but I did get a coat of primer on it. It took me a long time to try and get the paint in all those little nooks and crannies, and when I was done my paintbrush was pretty much done as well. Tough stuff, that plaster. It's going to take me even longer to do the real paint, because it's looking like I'm going to have to use a small brush to make sure I get in all the nooks and crannies. So then I went back with my little sea sponge and sponged on some light blue paint around the branches. I tried to make it not look like sponge marks, because I think that looks tacky, and I think I succeeded. Probably you won't see much of it when the leaves are done, but I thought a little blue would give the whole thing more depth. It almost sounds like I know what I'm doing, doesn't it? Well I don't. I'm making all this up as I go along and hoping for the best!! It's going to look a whole lot better when I start to paint the trunk and branches, because what you can't really see in this picture is that the branches extend beyond where the plaster is, and some of them cross over each other. The plaster extends beyond where the screen is, in the hope that the transition from dimensional branches to flat leaves would be as smooth as possible.

Tonight we go see Decorus Mens at the URI coffeehouse...doesn't "coffeehouse" bring to mind a picture of acoustic music? Not so, not at all. Not tonight, anyway! Tonight's lineup also includes Animals Among Men, who are about as far from acoustic as you can get, and Seven Suns, who are also pretty heavy. I was not really able to get good pics at the Bobby G's show, because of the lighting and the way the band was set up, but I'll try again tonight.

Greetings from a strange and foreign land...

...called Charlestown. I am sitting on top of the raging volcano known as Decorus Mens; the band is downstairs rehearsing for their show this Thursday, and Preston is messing with their sound system so they'll sound like pros. How many up-and-coming rock bands have their own professional sound man who they don't even have to pay? They'd better remember this when they're famous!

The tree project has stalled once again, poor Deb....she's so patient. I am going over there tomorrow to prime the tree (as it turns out, you have to use primer on plaster.) and maybe put a little blue on the wall near the top to sort of suggest a sky. After that is when it starts to actually look like something; I already have the paint to put the base coat on the trunk, it's sort of an ugly greenish-grayish-brownish color. Of course, not being an artist, my first instinct was to paint the trunk brown, but if you look you'll realize that the bark of most trees is not actually brown at all! Plus it will have all sorts of other colors on there, greens for moss, etc. so the base coat is going to mostly be covered up with other stuff.

The Tree Project Resumes!

After a lengthy absence from Deb's house, I have begun work on the tree again. Actually finished all the plaster, so now there is a creepy white tree on the wall. Should have taken a pic, I'll have to do that next time.

Boy, it sure feels like fall here! I so love fall, I wish it lasted a lot longer. I'm always so happy the first time I see that one red leaf on a tree in August. Then when you hear the night bugs singing while the sun's still up, you KNOW it's coming! There are so many wonderful things about living in the country (well ok, it's not really country, but we have woods behind our house so compared to a lot of places, it's country). My mom has a veritable wild kingdom right outside her picture window...chipmunks that eat out of your hand, birds at the feeder, squirrels that chase the chipmunks, bees that chase the hummingbirds, it's a never-ending drama over there! Over next door here we have our own dramas...like having to rescue the fat little toads (some not so little!) who seem absolutely fascinated with my dog and come out after dark to get as close as they can and gaze adoringly at her (the other theory is that they are all over in the bushes daring each other to see who can get the closest without becoming a midnight snack).

In other news, our son is moving out this week. He's a grown man, and I'm sure it's time he left, but I'll still miss him even though when he lives here he hardly ever is here anyway. His band just finished recording some of their music (which you can hear if you're interested, www.myspace.com/decorusmens) and are starting to get more local exposure and it's looking promising for them. I'm looking forward to seeing them perform, only seen them once and they were just amazing live and got a very good response from the audience.