The Worst Thing

I have been removed from my painting since the end of November. I took my painting to Ehlmann photography to get it shot for the competition I planned to enter for the Smithsonian a day before the deadline. I tried to shoot the piece myself, but thought it best to try to get someone with more photography experience to shoot the piece. 

I took the piece to a photographer in my neighborhood at the last minute, as she said she could shoot it when Anton was in school. I dropped the piece off, and she worked on it a bit, and she was having some difficulty shooting the piece (as I was). I left the piece with her, and went to pick Anton up, and run some other errands. 

I went to pick the piece up and she said that she dropped the camera on my piece, which in turn scratched the hell out of it in several integral places. I was as anyone could imagine, despondent, and in shock. A month or more later I can finally write about it. 

There were some good parts to this mess however: 

1. I immediately called Tim Liddy from Fontbonne, and he told me to bring it in right away. He assessed the damage and said it could all be fixed. I ended up bringing it in to work on it the following day at the school studios. 

       2.  Tim and my friend Jen said there was no excuse for not knowing about how to modify my image (i.e. digital imaging) to 1920 x              1920 pixels, etc. etc. for the competition requirements. They were right and I realized I needed to take digital imaging. 

3. In going to the registrars office to find out about digital imaging, I noticed that Victor Wang was teaching Oil Painting Techniques and that this class runs at the same time that the kids will be in school. On a whim, in an effort to look for the deeper meaning behind this  catastrophe, I decided the real reason the painting got all messed up was so that I could go and take oil painting techniques again. Essentially, I went into the office to sign up for Dig. imaging, and ended up taking oil painting techniques. What does that tell you? They don’t offer Digital imaging in the spring by the way.


4.  I decided the painting wasn’t done anyway. Tim pointed out several things that I could do ‘better’. I haven’t however, worked on the painting since that second day I met and worked with him. Getting ready for Christmas and the kids being off school, and celebrating Andreas’ birthday, while all great things, kind of kept me from working in the studio AT ALL. 

As far as entering the competition, I Alex helped me to enter the competition with the image that I took which my friend Jen Neuhoff helped me to modify to meet the competition requirements. We entered one image that Ehlmann took as well, now whether that was before or after it was scratched, I am not sure. I left her studio in shock without saying much to her. I hope to never re-live that moment again, in my mind or otherwise. 

I took the pictures posted in a rush, and there is a shadow in the upper left corner, however, you can see the scratches in the landscape, through the shoulder, and in the face, and also in the transparent cloth which goes over the shoulders. Shuddering as I look at that....this may be why I haven't gone to the studio in a while...need to conquer my fears.