Bert on a High Wire 6/30

Bert on a High Wire, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6

Elizabeth W. Seaver
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Has this ever happened to you? You get out in the middle of something and then make the fatal mistake of looking down. That's exactly what happened to Bert.

He was doing fine, stepping to the music, enjoying the gasps as he danced on the wire. But there were more gasps and whispers than usual. He got curious. Not that he didn't think he deserved all the excited attention, but something just didn't feel right.

Maybe Alphonse who sold the peanuts and popcorn had fallen down the stairs again. Alphonse was one of his best friends, so he thought he'd better look and see. He stopped and peered over the ends of his toes. OMG! He'd done it again! He'd gone to buy the latest Jennifer Cruisie novel before the show, and he'd forgotten to change his shoes when got back. He was going to hear from the ringmaster for this.

At least they matched this time.

Belinda on a High Wire 5/30

Belinda on a High Wire, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6

Elizabeth W. Seaver

Today, Belinda is thankful for good insurance.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Don't forget, tomorrow night from 5-7, 30 x 30 opens at The Workhouse. There will be artists there all day demonstrating in their various media. It will be the place to go for a local, cozy Black Friday shopping experience and entertainment. Click on the link to read all about it. Hope to see you there!

Beach Babe, 4/30

Beach Babe, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6

Elizabeth W. Seaver
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"Oh, no, not another one," you say to yourself while you sit on your tricycle, or balance marooned on a scooter with sand-clotted wheels, or worse, stand flat-footed holding a lame beach ball. There she goes, riding elegantly by, another of those gorgeous creatures, the beach babe on bicycle. 

They barely sweat as they pedal lazily up and down the crowded shore, breeze blowing through feathers which never frizz in the humidity. The sun shines a little brighter on them and gulls and boys trip over themselves to buy her ice creams and lollipops to curry favor. Perhaps she will descend from her mobile throne and allow one to ride in her stead, and they may feel what it is like to be so blessed. But for now it is enough just being close to the queen of sand and surf, the goddess of the two-wheeler,  an empress in golden suit and orange tights.

Balloon 3/30

Balloon, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6

Elizabeth W. Seaver
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This is the first of five in a subtitled series (under the main series, What Birds Do When People Aren't Watching) "Ingredients for an Ostrich Birthday Party." I'll bet you never even thought about ostriches having birthdays. Shame on you! If you are ever invited to one, and invitations are as rare as hen's teeth--by all means, go. But be sure to take a present, and wear your best party hat.

Argh, Matey! 2/30

Argh!, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6, Elizabeth W. Seaver

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Avast! Here is me second painting of thirty, which now joins Archibald and 28 "Mateys" on the wall in the McGuire Woods Gallery in W-16 at The Workhouse at Lorton, VA. Please go by and see them. Don't be afraid. All walkings of the plank have been suspended for the duration of the show.

But here is something to ponder...What would you do if you came back to your pile of clean laundry to find a filthy pirate in possession of it? Would you run away screaming? Would you don an eyepatch and fight along side him? Or would you engage the scurvy swab in a duel for your dresses, a swordfight for your socks, an ferocious undertaking for your underwear, or give him a pounding for your pants? Are you a man, woman or mouse? Leave your responses below in the comments section. 

(Truly, I won't judge you because yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum -- I'm already into the eggnog!  See you tomorrow with painting number 3.)

What Birds Do When People Aren't Watching

 Archibald on a High Wire, collage/acrylic, 6 x 6

by Elizabeth W. Seaver

What Birds Do When People Aren't Watching is the theme of my 30 x 30 installation in W-16 at The Workhouse in Lorton, VA. I and twelve others have accepted the challenge of painting 30 paintings in 30 days on 6 x 6 Masonite panels. I chose to do mine in collage with acrylic, leaving some of the paper under painting showing on each one. They sell for $95 each. I go to hang my work tomorrow.

The show opens on the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 23rd. I will be demonstrating 4:30-6, during the opening scheduled for 5-7 in McGuire-Woods gallery upstairs in the main building, W-16. (Note: I belong to the Workhouse Associates Gallery which shows monthly in the downstairs gallery in that same building, so there is even more of my work to see!)

In addition to the show opening, The Workhouse is hosting a big blowout November 26 all across the campus 9-7. You will find wonderful artworks in all media, and each building will have activities, food and fun for the whole family. Anyone in the NoVA area, please stop by.

I plan to blog for the next 30 days, publishing one of these new pieces each day for as long as they (or I) last! They will come to you in alphabetical order.

Dancing Turnips

Turnips, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24

Elizabeth W. Seaver

Maybe Disco Turnips is a better name...anyway, more in my purely vegetarian series. They join Rabbit's Delight II and Dahling You Look Radishing! No telling what might pop up from under ground next.

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I am showing up at National Institutes of Health in Bethesda as part of a program which puts arts in health care facilities. My husband and I delivered ten paintings up there early this morning, and they will remain through the first week of January, 2013.

Lillian Fitzgerald and her sister, Gretchen, are responsible for the shows at NIH and for buying art to place in area hospitals in Virginia. They purchased a work of mine for Charlottesville's new Martha Jefferson Hospital in January, 2011. Gretchen and Lillian decided to place it in a pediatric area, which was the perfect setting.