11-17-13. A 2013 tractor sculpture by James Angus.

11-16-13. "Egg Roll Hut", a watercolor by Dallas artist Peter Ligon.

11-15-13. Confetti.

11-14-13. Maxwell's otter bath toy.

Van Allen (408)

"Van Allen (408)", oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. For sale on Etsy.

The Van Allen radiation belts are composed of charged particles held in place around the Earth by its magnetic field. These radiation zones can endanger satellites. In this painting, three satellites have been damaged by the Van Allen belts and are falling out of orbit. They are small and spherical and drifting down like balloons running out of helium. The three satellites are based on three online photos of Greg Allen's 2013 sculpture "Beacon Inflatable Satellite". Each photo has different reflections of people viewing the artwork. The sculpture is based on a 1958 model satellite which was never actually launched into space. 

Behind the satellites is an abstracted image based on a still from my Vine video of a Vimeo video of the aurora borealis over Norway. The Van Allen belts might influence the auroras, according to some sources, but I'm not sure what the latest scientific opinion is about this. 

In the foreground is a stylized rendering of my son's Global Glowball globe toy, which I had sitting in front of me while I painted. Like most of my oil paintings, this is part of a series meant to portray all of the colors in Naomi Kuno's Colorscape book. This one is Aurora Pink, color #408.

The soundtrack for this painting is two different Pandora stations, played on alternate days. One is based on the song "Satellite" by the Dave Matthews Band. The other is based on the 1962 instrumental track "Telstar" by the Tornadoes. It's named for the Telstar communications satellite launched in the same year.

11-13-13. Harold's calculator-shaped iPhone case.

11-12-13. Maxwell on a porch swing with his Dada & Grandma Reed back in August.

11-11-13. An Olafur Eliasson ice sculpture displayed inside a large freezer.

11-10-13. Trader Joe's Cowboy Caviar salsa.

11-09-13. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin wearing a specially designed Speedo swimsuit.

11-08-13. One of our Ping-Pong paddles.

11-07-13. Maxwell and me in Shelby Co., Indiana.

11-06-13. Our vase, which was a wedding present from Harold's uncle.

11-05-13. Sikkim crab apple (Malus sikkimensis), a rare species of crab apple.

11-04-13. Young man on a scooter.

11-03-13. Fairy.

11-02-13. Halloween in suburbia.

11-01-13. The Erebus Ice Tongue in Antarctica.

10-31-13. A baby in a rooster costume.

10-30-13. "Thundering Sea Spray", a 1948 photo by Iwase Yoshiyuki.

10-29-13. An 1890 painting of irises by Vincent van Gogh.

10-28-13. Top Thrill Dragster, an insane roller coaster in Ohio.

10-27-13. Phil Jackson whistling.

10-26-13. Hearts in a 2008 artwork by Jim Dine.

10-25-13. Mondrian matchbook (posted by @cmonstah).

10-24-13. A 3D-printed ship in a bottle.

10-23-13. Yo-yos.

10-22-13. A Cushlab Woodgrain cushion.

10-21-13. Happy clams.

10-20-13. A 2012 watercolor of a perfume bottle by Robert Cottingham.

10-19-13. A 2009 Soundsuit in Nick Cave's "Meet Me at the Center of the Earth" exhibition.

10-18-13. "Mirage", a 2012 painting by Ariel Dill.

10-17-13. Photo of a memory.

10-16-13. "The Lightning Field", a 1977 land art work by Walter De Maria.

10-15-13. "Sea Glass", a 2011 painting by Tiffany Bozic.

10-14-13. The Boss, a 2013 book of poetry by Victoria Chang.

10-13-13. "Lasso", a 2007 artwork by Harm van den Dorpel.

10-12-13. Spiral staircase.

10-11-13. Incense.

10-10-13. Iron Man serving doner kebab, or shawarma.

10-09-13. Girl on a pogo stick.

Hortensie (522)

"Hortensie (522)", oil on canvas, 24x24 in. For sale on Etsy.

A vivid vermilion caracal sits among hydrangea blooms. I call her Hortensie. There are three layers to the painting. The blue hydrangea was a real silk hydrangea sitting in front of me while I painted. The caracal was my drawing from a photo in a library book. The background was my drawing of a still image from a Vine video that I made of cut hydrangeas for sale at my local Trader Joe's store.

I use randomizers to select my subjects and colors. My main color was Hortensie, a shade of light blue and color #522 in Naomi Kuno's Colorscape book. My secondary color was vermilion. The Hortensie color name provided one of my subjects; "hortensie" is the German word for "hydrangea". My other randomly selected topic was African wildlife. When I studied African wildlife books, I liked the lesser-known caracal (Latin name Caracal caracal, nice and easy to remember...). Caracals are not superstars like lions, leopards and cheetahs, but they have a very distinct and memorable appearance with their flamboyant, lynx-like ear tufts.

The soundtrack for this painting was a Pandora station based on jazz music by Dafnis Prieto. I selected it because I searched for a place with music and hydrangeas. That search led me online to Madison Square Park in NYC. Dafnis Prieto is one of several musicians who have performed at the park, which has displays of hydrangeas in its gardens.

10-08-13. Sailboat.

10-07-13. Maxwell in Morgan Co., Indiana.

10-06-13. Man in purple jumper, a 2010 painting by Australian artist Peter Booth.

10-05-13. Our travel thermometer.

10-04-13. Inside our freezer.

10-03-13. Our family room couch is covered with stuff.

10-02-13. "Helmet Head No. 3", a 1960 sculpture by Henry Moore.

10-01-13. "Pale Blue Dachshund", a 2011 sculpture by William Sweetlove.