A few weeks ago I visited a church and noticed that there was almost no art work visable. It wasn’t always that way. I got this idea to paint angels. Not your typical “DaVinci” type angel. 
“Blue Angel” (c)
By Bob Martin -06
This must mean something!! We have all gone to the movies and watched those trivia questions and thought that we were smart because we knew the answers. As they rolled by we would mumble the answer quickly, pretending we were on Jeopardy. One of the questions recently was a true or false:
"Was the real Mona Lisa used in the filming of the DaVinci Code"?
The answer will surprise you.
"False, the crew was not allowed to shine lights on the Original Print".
I am big fan of Robert Altman and I think Garrison Keillor is brilliant (I listen often to APHC, so there), I love Ms. Streep and of course the great Dina Goldman, Cybel's good friend. I totally enjoyed, I think to the amazement of my fellow movie goers.
I am finding that I like to see movies that don't have people all dressed in black with slick hair and where nobody gets shot 200 times, nor do they get blown up or cut in half with leasers. No I've not lost my identity nor am I getting old. Its just more fun laughing these days.
I am determined to understand the magic of painting outdoors. This is as close as I have gotten ever, but it still looks like I painted it in my studio.
I confess, that I started it outside but had to continue working in the studio. I am uncomfortable with having nature dictate how quickly I need to paint. ( I must think I'm special).
Outdoor Painting by Bob Martin 2006
Here is a drawing by one of my buddies (LJ) 
which reminds me of the work of Gwen John. There is a lot going here and it would be real easy to over work each area.
Like Gwen John there are understated suggestions. For me it has a gentle contemplative sense about it. There some questions here. What am I going to wear? What did I do? Where am I?
When that horse (I am not into racing) was hurt after winning the Kentucky Derby the thing I learned was that there are ways to repair a horse’s broken leg (no problem, modern medicine) but that the horse would be doomed if he/she didn’t stand and stay standing. That’s what horse do, they stand and they run. I had not understood this before.
Painting has become like that. I am doomed (maybe to heavy a word) if I am not painting. Some of my painting buddies and I have begun doing one small painting a day taking a cue from Duane Keise I am noticing with the objective of getting something done vs. getting something right, I am much happier at the end of the day. So Keep on Painting.
