Howard Russell Butler and Me

A very satisfying moment on my Facebook Profile (with the clutter blurred).
I see a lot of synergy between my “I-10W x 110” and Howard Russell Butler’s Eclipse painting.

Howard Russell Butler is my Great Great Uncle. I never met him, but he is a huge influence on my art.

[I wish I could add images of the two paintings mentioned below but I can’t find them]
I grew up with this painting. It still hangs in my mom’s living room, many houses later.
This is one of my favorites, it hangs in the family cottage on Martha’s Vineyard.
[Will add whenever I do].

My great uncle (his son) gave me this pastel in the early 80s

Howard Russell Butler, Desert Landscape [not officially titled, not dated], Pastel on paper, 6×9″

With it, came the story of Howard Russell Butler taking the train from New York to Santa Barbara and sketching live from the train window. The story goes that he would work from the sky down, filling in the foreground details when good ones appeared.

I tried this method from a car. It did not go well, I got car sick.
The chalk pastel was awfully messy as well.

Anne M Bray, I-5, CA, 1982, Pastel on paper, 11×14″

It just so happens I’m accompanying a friend on a road trip up I-5 in one week.
I had already been thinking about the possibility of doing some sketching, since I won’t be driving (unless he gets a migraine). My Instagram @annembray will tell what transpires!

This post inspired by:
1) a Facebook post by a friend showing some solar eclipse art
2) remembering seeing HRB’s eclipse painting the same visit that my great uncle gifted me the Desert Landscape pastel
3) finding an article via Google about a current exhibit of HRB’s eclipse paintings!
4) the Daily Post’s weekly Photo Challenge, this week’s challenge is Satisfaction

#June1-30Challenge Day 19: For Dad

Day 19 Nineteenth Letter? No!
June 19, 1989. The movie Batman premiered. My Andrew thought Batman a great hero.
Can you be a blogging hero without utilizing the 19th letter of the alphabet?
Do not utilize the nineteenth letter of the alphabet when writing your article to be made public on your blog today. The topic of the article may be anything you like. It can be any length. But it cannot contain the nineteenth letter! 

Day of Dad

1982, Providence, RI

Hi Dad,
I now have your hairdo, though I go more trimmed on the lower part of my head. You’ve been gone for twenty now. We all yearn for you.  Have a great Dad Day!
xxox
Anne

#June1-30Challenge Day 18: Eighteen!

Day 18 Photo Challenge
June 28, 2016. The White House News Photographers Association “Eyes on History” gala takes place tonight.
The photo challenge is getting harder as the number increases!
Post a picture representing the number 18. It can be eighteen items, eighteen people, or something showing the number 18. Maybe even an 18-year-old!
Alternative: Post a gallery of 18 photos that have a shared theme. Or post three galleries each with six pictures having a shared theme.

I’m eighteen and just graduated from high school.

I sewed my dress out of bed sheets because we were told not to.
Bwhahahaha.