Blog

An early spring hatch of wood termites was certainly a memorable event. First one, then ten, clouds of tiny little flying insects came pouring out of an old log and flying off into the Canyon. Those of us who were painting along the rim picked dozens of them to of our sky and the blue and white paint on our palettes. The problem was when we picked them out, their tiny wings stayed behind. My entomologist friend advised me that once they've mated, the males easily lose their wings. There must have been a whole lot of lovin' going on in that dead log!

They always go for the sky--even in my studio.  This fellow, unfortunately for both of us, landed sometime during the night on the protective coating I apply to finished paintings.  Next morning, he was permanently stuck to the sky.  I flicked off most of him, but had to mix a little more paint and simply cover over his remains.  

During last year's Celebration of Art, I decided to spend the whole day painting at Shoshone Point.  I set up my gear at the top of the narrow point that allows a broad view into the Canyon.  I painted for a few minutes, then sensed a little movement  to my left.  There he was, leisurely flowing through the grasses, then stopping just three feet behind me.  I knew it wasn't a rattler-far too thin for the chubbier crotalus family, and likely a garter snake.  We both observed one another and silently agreed we would keep a respectful distance.  I don't mind being watched while I paint.  I returned to painting, but cast a glance his way from time to time. I marveled at his great length, and rather came to like his company.  I turned to look again after a few moments, and he was gone!  

There are signs warning everyone at the Canyon to never feed the wildlife--especially the rock squirrels. They are insistent and wily little characters, and cute as a bug's ear!  Here's one I caught stealing something from my pack.  I've caught one inside my pack rummaging for a snack.  Years ago while I was painting near Lookout Studio, I had one keep making forays at the muffin I had balanced on my pochade box.  After waving him off several times, he finally made a last ditch attempt, grabbed the muffin, and ran through my blue paint and leaving little blue footprints all along the wall.  And there is one rock squirrel  out there somewhere sporting a smear of orange paint on his butt.  He kept running around my feet as I was doing a demo at Mather Point.  My friend Terri Cook tried to discourage him and chase him away.  I finally gave him a poke with a loaded brush and he disappeared for good.

I've had a bumble bee land right in my white paint. I flicked him out, but I'm pretty sure it didn't go well for him after that. One winter day, a Stellars jay flew directly onto my palette and nabbed a bite of my burnt sienna. I'm sure it looked like a delicious brown nut. Rude surprise for that bird!

And then there was the little bridled titmouse intent on emptying my bag of almonds.  Probably the dearest little thief I've encountered.  Painting along the west rim at Hermit's Rest, I became aware of a small bird repeatedly landing in a branch over my head, then disappearing behind me.  A moment later, the same bird would return to the branch, then fly away.  It appeared he had something in is bill.   I watched for him to return, and when he did, I turned to see where he was going--and it was right to my pack behind me and an open bag of almonds!  You really can't get angry at such a diligent and determined little creature!  However, he'd nearly cleaned out my supply of nuts!

And finally, there was  the time some years ago when my old painting buddy Bob and I were on the Canyon's east end, each of us about 10 feet on either side of a large rock.  When finished, Bob jumped on top of the rock and there was the unmistakable hissy rattle of a peeved rattler who'd been awakened from his nap.  A very strange feeling to be reminded that we'd been obliviously painting so close to that fellow!  

For this hike, we'll do a two-car shuttle, leaving one car at the end of the trail and dropping our other car at Ashhurst Lake road, where we'll get on the trail.

Get ready to find out how I manage my website.  Let's start by looking at the homepage:

I can choose to have either a slide show, or an individual  photo.  In this case the slideshow for Cowgirl Up! is active.  I can add or delete photos from the array by going to this page:

And don't forget to hit "Save".   I can spend a huge amount of time making adjustments and adding images, then forget to hit "save" and everything is lost.  

When I want to add new painting, this is the "Artwork" page: 

I click on "Add New Artwork"

And I am taken to this page:

Then I'm taken to this page where I fill out all the details of a painting:

I fill in all the information and hit "save".  When I do that, the painting is not only shown on my Landscape page, but also FASO automatically sends the image to "Artful Alerts" and the image and relevant information go out to the Universe--well, to anyone who has signed on to Artful Alerts and apparently many of you do.  After I release a new painting, I often get responses and inquiries.  Signing on to Artful alerts is one of the best ways to be first to know about new work.  You can do that on my homepage, by the way.

That's all a lot of clicking--something I wasn't accustomed to with my old Apple-supported website.  All I had to do was click and drag, so learning my way around this was a challenge.

Funny story-I learned very quickly to be careful to NOT accidentally upload photos from hikes or other non-art images onto the Artworks page.  It has happened more than I'd like to admit.  Much to my chagrin, a hike image will go out to the Universe in Artful Alerts announcing "Dawn Sutherland has new work", and there's a photo from a trail.  

There are a lot of other features with this web design program.  I can change the overall look and color of my site.  I can dig deep into statistics and analytics, and if I cared to, I could set up to receive PayPal payments.  That would simply take too much work keeping track of what paintings are available and which to take out of circulation. 

Finally, since you're probably reading this because you received my newsletter, here's a look at the template page on which I develop my epistle:

I select the content blocks from the left and drag them to the right. There are infinite choices of background colors I can use.  I quickly learned to create links, and to change the font.  When I feel the newsletter is complete, I can "send a test" to my email address.  That's where my husband Stan comes in.  He is my proofreader.  He'll catch little glitches, sometimes suggest slightly different wording, and fix my comma usage.  Stan says I am apparently comma-disabled.  The truth is, I know the rules, but when I'm in the throes of writing, I just don't pay attention.  

I also can get an idea of the number of hits on my site each day.  As you can see by the spike in the next photo, there is always an increase after my newsletter goes out:

So, now you've had another look into the exciting behind-the-scenes life of a landscape painter!  What will it be next month?!