I entered four paintings in Renton Annual Art Show and this afternoon I went there to pick up paintings that are not selected for the show. To my big surprise just one was not accepted and that was already more then I expected.  Then something unbelievable happened, I found out that I got first prize. I am out of words, here is the painting, Spalted #1. This phone picture is not  the best, but art show is really good so go and see all the paintings live. Renton Community Center this Friday through Sunday and always lots of fun Renton River Days festival in the park near by.

 

 

When painting with watercolor top of the paper is usually supported in some way so it allows paint to flow toward you. If you want paint to flow any other direction you need to move the painting. Most of the time paper is stretched on some kind of waterproof surface (I use acrylic sheet)  so with larger formats becomes heavy and awkward. My plan was to try to modify camera tripod to support the painting and allow movement in all directions.. It looks like it will work.

I made a plans to convert two cribs my grandson is using into rocker cribs. I have seen people did converted cribs into rockers before, but not like this. This is affordable, easy to make and it works. With small modifications it can be used for any crib.

I built this corner raised garden box in the front yard where it gets a lot of sun. Right now we planted some vegetables we got from a friend and few alpine strawberry plants we bought on farmers market. Eventually it will be all alpine strawberries. I added a simple watering system.

With this wind mobile sculpture I tried a different design. I am also experimenting with different configurations to see how I can get the best movement.

New painting is completed (I think). I was experimenting with some new colors to see how they mix and flow. Here is the result, I hope you like it.

I also started work on an interesting picture frame. I have seen something like this on the web, don’t remember exactly, some German website I think.

 

My paintings are showcased at Tukwila Community Center Art Wall through June and July. Come and check it out.

I just assembled new mobile. The one I made last year was pretty much destroyed by strong winds. This one will probably have the same life span. It is made from very light wind spinners I picked up at dollar store, some casters from Harbor Freight, aluminum rods and collars I ordered form McMaster-Carr.

I entered three of my paintings in Tukwila Art Commission Art Show last Saturday. It was really nice show with a quite a few paintings i liked. No prize for me or anybody from my painting group this time.  It was really tough competition and I enjoyed seeing what other artists are working on.  This was my first show and now I have a better idea what to expect.

Other news is that my paintings will be showcased on the Art Wall in Tukwila Community Center during June and July. Here is most my painting group at he Art Show:

Finally finished new boxes for raised garden. That was a lot of soil to transfer back and forth. Inside of the boxes is lined with landscaping fabric to prevent roots from surrounding trees to spread in. Each box got 4″ layer of compost mixed in. I had just enough in my compost bins to do that.

 

A few photos from the yard. New project is replacing raised garden boxes with new ones.