"banana hat"

this painting is called "banana hat" - she is not exactly carmen miranda, but i like her hat.
let's see what have i been doing lately - everything has become a smear on my calendar - so many things going on. i was about to write up an updated bio so that i can get a new website up, but i got stuck rethinking about the impact my college education made in my development as an artist. why? because it suddenly hit me, i was trained in abstract expressionism...of course i KNOW i was trained in abstract expressionism, but i only now realize --- what a different starting of point i have from most other artists. yeah, i know, i don't know why it took me so long to figure that out. i did get traditional training as well, but that came later. i had the cart before the horse. it wasn't just me, everyone going to college for an art degree at the time in the *ahem* 70's did it much like me. the reason? i think it had to do with the 1950's pop art culture and the abstract expressionists and the color field artists were finally understood and accepted in the fine art academic world. they were fully recognized in our text books and taught as 20th century art history. there were also studio class studies in abstract art. a few years earlier in art schools, these now well established movements were mere subjects of debate - mind expanding debate.
by the early 1970's they were history to be studied as part of the total curriculum and fully and excitedly explored in the classroom and studio.
so while writing my updated bio, i had to stop and ponder on these long ago things. it caused me pause....to reflect.
most of the time i hate that i'm getting old, but for this moment of personal reflection, i am nodding...it all makes sense - i see the growth from my foundation on up. i have always approached my personal history timeline in a "first i did this, then i did that"- segments that happened in my life that only marked the passing of time. but now i am approaching it this way: "first i did this which caused me to become that".

then, after all this serious reflection, i went on facebook and started playing a silly game called farmville - which has taken over my life and mind. which reminds me---- i gotta go soon because i need to check if i have full grown crop of squash that i need to harvest.
BUT FIRST, i think i will pop this red hot jawbreaker in my mouth. i love these things but my husband hates to hear me crunch....which is strange because i am downstairs and he is upstairs. i guess i'm THAT loud. my philosophy is, i might as well enjoy jawbreakers while i still have teeth.
anyway, none of this has anything to do with "banana hat" (at least intentionally) - except i painted her the other day and that was part of the smear or blur of events on my calendar this week.....
OH and by the way, today is my husband's birthday. i bought him a coupla ammunition boxes. no, he doesn't have ammo - he has cigars! these boxes (from the army surplus store) are air tight and will keep his cigars fresh. so why 2 boxes? one is for his cigars and the other one i am going to suggest he uses for his socks.