Ars gratia artis

Quote of the day: He had a number of pictures on hand; most of them were too large and ambitious for his skill. He was the sort of painter who can paint leaves better than trees. He used to spend a long time on a single leaf, trying to catch its shape, and its sheen, and the glistening of dew-drops on its edges. (Leaf by Niggle, J.R.R. Tolkien)

We had the first meeting of "The Gainesville Sketchers" yesterday and it was grand. The enthusiasm is there. The lack of egos is (mostly) there. We had a great time and talked and laughed a lot. Support was there and advice and ideas. We're meeting again next Monday, again at two, this time at Kanapaha Gardens. Dottie might bring some friends along. Without any drama or coaxing or fill in the blanks, just by consensus, we're fixed on getting together once a week. This is so cool.

I tried sketching the room we were in (the art gallery at Books, Inc.) and had problems. Why was the length of that line wrong? I knew it was. I knew it. Well, duh, it came to me after. I had moved my pencil (for measuring) out of the correct plane. Duh, duh, duh.

I'm hoping the herb garden at Kanapaha will be in semi-decent shape. We've had some harsh weather, so some empty spaces are more than to be expected. But I hope it doesn't show the kind of neglect it did that spring the Herb Society came up on the field trip. I might be moved to volunteer and that way lies madness.

The Cherry Red Roadster is off to Dave May in the morning. I'm hoping it will go easily and smoothly and the clutch issue will (eventually) get diagnosed and fixed.

It will be brrrr in the morning, though. Oh, well.

The "Jewelry Only" exhibit is up in the President's Hall. I haven't had a chance to get in to see it. Probably not tomorrow, what with the trip to the mechanics. Maybe Thursday. And they got my name right on the website. Isn't that cool? I'm not Smith this time.