digdougsart blog

(At the end of the month my second daughter will be one year old.  A couple of nights ago I was looking at baby pictures from over the course of the year.  It’s hard to believe just how much has happened in a years time.  That reminded me of this post that I wrote earlier in the year.  Therefore I thought I would re-post Art without Stop lights because I am always thinking about my free time! )

So the other day when I left work I managed to not hit any traffic lights. And no I don’t mean “crash into”. You know, I flowed right on through without having to stop. And no I am not color blind nor did I run the traffic lights. Ok so with that said, it got me thinking. “What would my ART life be like with no stop lights?” I think it would be mean no interruptions when I’m painting.  No getting up to let the dog out and then back in. No shooing the cats off the dinner table. No answering the phone only to find out that ” this is your 23rd second notice that you car warranty is about to expire.” No daddy I need to go potty. No second child crying because she loves to be held. Or at least no spitting up on canvas while I paint with her in tow. No honey can you please get me some water. No cleaning up the mess from the cat being on the dinner table knocking over a glass of water(insert eldest daughter into this category as well). No having to get up and go pee due to drinking heavily to reduce stress from having to daddy this honey that. No having to fix i-pod after deleting all songs except the same 22 songs that kept repeating over and over again. No having to go to bed because I have to go to work the next day and pay the bills!  No being lazy or worn out from day job and whining about being tired.  Life with without stop lights would be less stressful but, then again would I be living in a real world or just a fantasy land that I created. Sometimes we need the stop lights to keep us grounded to this earth and learn to appreciate them. As I typed the proceeding line, my daughter of 3 1/2 yrs came up and gave me a hug and told me that she liked my shirt. Wow, I think someone above is listening to my thoughts and the words that I am typing. Did I mention that as she walked away she told me “I love you forever daddy.” So with that said, thank you God and thanks to my family who is allowing me to pursue my dreams of being an ARTIST with or without stop lights.

I just watched an episode of CBS Sunday morning.  They had a story about an aritst whouses push pins to create massive portraits.  Using only five colors might I add.  While they look really cool I am not sure how I feel about it.  I say this because he uses some sort of photo-shop to break down his digital images into pixels.   Let me back up a bit, he takes a digital pic of a family member or friend and then pixelizes the image to break it down into colors.  Then using that image he prints colored dots onto paper upon which he places onto a wood background.  Then by pushing thousands of pins into the wood, you have an interesting piece of art.   It’s almost more science than art when you think about it.  It caught my interest but I’m not sure how I feel about it overall.  I know one thing I’m getting carpal tunnel just by typing this I can’t imagine putting thousands of little push pins all day long, then again I have been known to paint small lines for hours on end.  Now whos crazy?   Here is his website!  http://daigh.com/

Heres a few pics from the Vineyard.

Doug Naugle--Artist---The Vineyard at Florence Winery

Went to the Vineyard at Florence Winery today for their Nouveau party. 

The Vineyard at Florence

Today they launched their new wines.  I even had a glass myself. 

Wine glass(The Vineyard at Florence)...photo by Doug Naugle

 I could have hung out all day and drank but thought it would be wise to come home and paint.  However I did take some pics of the winery and my art which is currently on display.   If you want to get away for the day or weekend I highly recommend the winery.  It’s beautiful and you feel like you in a another place and time.   Hard to believe its just eight miles off of I-35 and about 40 minutes from Austin.