Donald Trump Talks to Paintings of Past Presidents

From The New Yorker, by Barry Blitt:

Dogs Playing Poker…Um, No…Republican Presidents

This fantasy painting is actually hanging in the (very) White House and was seen in the background during Lesley Stahl’s interview with Trump on 60 Minutes. It was given to Trump by Darrell Issa, Republican Bootlicker, and Trump liked it A LOT because it made him look slim. Notice he’s drinking Diet Coke while the rest of them have some form of booze.

If you look at the misty background of the painting, you can make out President Taft (who, unlike Trump, was not slimmed down for this artwork), Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, and it appears to be an uncharacteristically sober Ulysses S. Grant there off to the left. Trump REALLY likes him, as evidenced by his shout out during his last campaign rally.

What I find intriguing is the woman to the right of Grant. It sure looks like Jackie Kennedy, given the flip of her hairdo. It can’t be Melania because she has her arms in the sleeves of her jacket. She seems to be marching in a determined fashion toward the table, ready to rip them all a new one. You go, girl. 

More Fun With Virtual Paintout

Costume department of the Dutch Opera and Ballet

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

 

And Now For Something Completely Different…

The Virtual Paintout is back after a long hiatus this year.

(Check out the link in my blog roll on the right of the page.)

Each month Bill Guffey, the wonderful artist who runs the whole shebang, picks a spot somewhere on the planet for artists of all stripes to convene and travel the streets via Google Street View and then submit their artwork of the spots they find interesting.

The choice this last month was the U.S. Virgin Islands.

My husband of 42 years passed away in June. He always encouraged me in my artwork and had been after me to get back into it, but his months long illness and radiation treatments took their toll on both of us and I just didn’t have the will to do that.

So when Bill started up his website again in August, I thought I’d give it a go. I didn’t have quite yet what it takes to do a full blown painting, so I found this rooster strutting his stuff in front of a house and did a quick sketch using color markers. And here it is.

I call this one “Funky chicken.”

It’s a Van Gogh! (Sam Van Gogh)

My daughter really loves Vincent Van Gogh’s art, as do I. Recently she asked me if I would paint three acrylic copies of his work for her birthday. She gave me a book of some of his paintings and marked the pages of the ones she particularly liked. This is one of them. Only two more to go. Oy.

I’m reminded of the episode of “The Addams Family” where they think Morticia is getting art lessons from Picasso.

Turns out it was Sam Picasso.

That’s me, Sam Van Gogh.

Headstones and Queen’s Crowns

Here’s another little painting I did of a place across the street from our library that creates granite memorial headstones. Some are the usual gray and some are the polished pink granite that we see a lot of around here, mainly in WPA era buildings like our courthouse.

I like this site mainly because of the vine growing unchecked up the telephone pole in front. The locals call this vine “Queen’s Crown.” Here’s what I found when I Googled it:

Queen’s wreath (Antigonon leptopus), a buckwheat-family member also known as coral vine and queen’s crown, is a fast-growing Mexican plant that has become a prominent Lone Star resident. This tuberous perennial bears delicate heart-shaped leaves and copious lacey clusters of hanging radiant pink or white flowers throughout summer and autumn. Virtually pest-free, except for enthralled bees, it thrives in heat and withstands droughts in zones 8-9. In fact, too much water will impede blooming. Perfect for sunny fences or arbors in well-drained sites, this easily-grown tendriled tropical can reach up to 30 feet and can become territorially aggressive.

This one has definitely claimed its territory.  More power to it, I say!

 

 

My Other Cat Demands Equal Time

Our sole remaining cat, Culvey, found out about the tribute I posted to TLC the other day and he’s demanding equal time. So here’s a sketch I did of him today. It took me a bit longer than the 15 minutes the last one did—more like 45—but I think he approves of the outcome. I hope you do too.  🙂

 

Time To Cleanse The Palate

I’m suffering from “BNF” (bad news fatigue) today, so I thought I’d post one or two entries from my little 5″ x 8″ sketchbook that I’ve been keeping lately.

Every day I walk my little Chihuahua, Kelso, at our local park or sometimes the library, like I’ll have to do this weekend when Oktoberfest mania has taken over our usual haunt. If I find something of interest, I’ll snap a photo of it and do an ink, watercolor, and marker sketch from it later when Kelso isn’t tugging at the leash to get going.

This one is of an antique shop called The Farmhouse across the street from the park.  It’s in an old limestone building with a standing seam metal roof.  I like to do these sketches quickly (maybe 15 mins.) so I won’t agonize too much over the details, which I’m prone to do. Besides BNF there’s always OCD.

Enjoy.

 

Pfun—Day Four

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More Pfun with Smartphones

I cut all the silhouettes, except for the two on the bottom row of me at ages 5 and 13 which were done at Farmer’s Market in L.A. and Disneyland.

My daughter gave me the framed poster by Cheret, one of my favorite French advertising poster artists.

I think this reminds me of Vermeer….if he were into purses.

The old radio came from the chicken ranch of my husband’s grandparents. They lived on Lover’s Lane. Aww.

My husband has the Green Thumb. When we met, I had the Tomb of the Unknown Plant on my dresser.

This is another great poster from my daughter. Good to know someone in the decorating “biz,” no?

The plant is often called “Mother-in-law’s Tongue.” No comment.

 

Pay no attention to the dog toys on the rug. Ahem.