Hopefully soon....

Hopefully soon I will finish the two paintings that I actually began several months ago, but real life sometimes demands more attention than some of us really like to give it, and that is presently where I find myself.

I know that I am certainly not alone in my predicament, having at once children who while mostly grown are still just on that cusp of adulthood, and also an elderly parent who is now flying solo after many decades of having a copilot.    It's sort of a strange place to be, truly.   You become a sort of trusted friend role to your children, while becoming a sort of parent to your parent.

I'm adjusting slowly to my roles, and so are they I suppose.   But it does all take time and there is only so much of that to go around.   However much I may enjoy painting, it is the people in my life that matter above all else.

Another thing that I have perhaps been devoting too much of my remaining time to lately is trying to understand my DNA test that I had done a short time ago.   Confounded thing....really it seems like the more I pour over it and try to understand, the more confused I'm getting.  I do think it is time to stuff it in the closet for a while, though I do suppose in one way it has been good for me in giving me a "spare time" distraction in the middle of the night, when I'm too exhausted to drag out the painting stuff.   For the price of $99, you too can do it at 23andMe.com  - but be forewarned, if you really want to know more than the rather skimpy (in my opinion) information that they give you, it will take considerable time, effort, and many other sites "tools" to do that.   Even then, there is no guarantee that you will really understand it.  I do believe that the day will come when it will be more helpful, just not quite there yet.

But anyway, hopefully by this time next week I will have at least one of my paintings done......I hope.

Everyday Beauties

Friends along the way - This little butterfly accompanied me on my walk this evening.

Sneaky, isn't he?  Do you see him?  It's the same one - he was the only one about. 

And here is where I left him, enjoying the purple coneflowers.  Isn't he beautiful!  

This was actually the picture I was wanting to take, when I found my little friend.  The bee balm is beautiful this year!

Apples too!

One of the most gorgeous things in the world must surely be the sun-dappled leaves...This is just at the edge of my little woods.

Back up near the house to the coneflowers....and that's the end of my walk today!

**All photographs taken on my own property by C Caton

Accidental Artists Like Me

I've often thought that I should perhaps seek out places around here to "do something" with my art....Seems sort of strange to me somehow, that I've sold as many as I have, yet they've all gone all over the country and even crossed the ocean - yet I've not even mentioned that I paint to most people around here. 

A couple of days ago, I happened to stumble across an ad  for the Richmond, Missouri Mushroom Festival, which is an annual event, held every year just about this time to coincide with Morel mushroom season.   They have a carnival, a parade, a tractor pull for kids, live entertainment, and of course mushroom contests.

And an art show....

An art show.  Three words, just enough to strike pure terror into an accidental artist like me.     With the deadline for submissions today (April 16th), and having only just learned of the art show 2 days prior, I really wasn't sure if I could get 'em framed and down there in time, especially since I'd have to do it myself if I were to make it in time.  And I really wasn't sure if I had the nerve.    

All sorts of people have purchased my paintings, all over the place.   I like them.  The people who buy/like my artwork are almost like trusted family friends, for lack of a better way to describe them.   They see my artwork somewhere - likely Ebay - and decide that they like it well enough to buy it.   They've never met me, never even seen my painting in person, yet they take the time to look, buy, and often correspond.  I like it.   I live in a rural area, and truly don't go to "the big city" Kansas City very often,  so it's worked out well for me so far. 

But - there really is a part of me who would like to have at least some of my paintings remain in the area.    And that's where we get back to the nerve part...I don't really think that I'd "fit in" in alot of art venues.   I'm my own me, you know - never went to art school, never studied anybody else's art, have no idea how they do theirs, didn't even know that I'd like to paint.  It just kind of happened.  

I was pleasantly welcomed to the Friends Gallery in Richmond by the people running the Mushroom Festival's art show, and I really can't tell you what a relief that was.    They didn't run screaming from the room, and neither did I, so we were off to a good start.    I told the lady there that this was my first time at doing this, and apologized to her for my "framing job", but she took it all in stride.    They were all friendly, helpful people, and I really am thankful that I chose this place close to home to stick my toe into the waters of "art shows".  

I ended up taking some of my favorites, and if you're in the area between now and May 4th, do stop in.  It's right behind the Farris Theater on Main Street.

"An Evening Stroll"

                                                             "At the End of the Day"

                                                       "The Yellow Ribbon - Coming Home"

"Abstract #9"

I would have loved to take my big new painting "The North Forty" - but I have no frame large enough yet!  Maybe next time.    In the meantime, I may not have too many on Ebay for a while, while I decide what to do with it next.  

"The North Forty" By C Caton

I've just completed this one - April 2013 - and it is the largest I've done to date 24"x36".

"The North Forty"  Who doesn't long for a place to "get away from it all"...This farmer has his very own paradise to escape to flush with wildflowers, a fishing pond with cattails, trees and a lush green carpet, just on the other side of the windbreak. 

(As usual, I've had some glare issues here...It really isn't as easy to take a picture of a picture as you might think.)

"Springtime Prairie Cabin" by C Caton

"Springtime Prairie Cabin" By C Caton

Just completed, April 2013 -  A beautiful Spring day at the little prairie cabin...The trees have leafed out, the wildflowers are blooming, and the grasses are coming out of their winter doldrums!

I can't really tell you how other people paint, but when I do it, it's pretty much a "paint-as-I-go", unplanned thing.  I've never sketched out anything ahead of time, as there is usually a quite elaborate story going on through my mind as I paint, much of which I actually leave out of my paintings so that you can imagine your own.    In a sense, I suppose that most of my paintings are just a backdrop...Here is a beautiful day - for a picnic?  Flying a kite?  Reading your favorite book under the tree, surrounded by wildflowers?  Children running about?  Taking a stroll down the lane?  Collecting a basketful of flowers for your vase?  

Abstract #9 - "Who's Got the Blues?" By C Caton

Abstract #9 By C Caton, completed March 2013

Who's got the blues?  I do...I don't really know how I came to have so many tubes of blue paint, but they are each represented here all at once!    I wish that you could see it in person, as some of the colors don't really come across properly in the photo - it really is quite eye-popping!  

"Maple Valley" By C Caton

"Maple Valley" By C Caton, Completed January 2013

A peaceful country home tucked in among the hills, wildflowers, and trees - just a quiet, simple life.  SOLD