Random Unconnected Photos Plus a Visit to a Juried Art Show (where no photos were allowed)

This post has no theme!  Just a random selection of photos from this past weekend, and then an account of my visit to the Edmonds Art Festival juried show and the nifty idea it gave me.

First, the floribunda rose in the front garden continues to bloom in a furious fashion:

Anybody need a bouquet?

Next, I spotted this odd insect on my house:

It was there all day long, and eventually I opted to touch it lightly to see if it was actually alive, and it unfurled its wings from that top "T" that looks more like sticks than wings, and flew away.  Turns out to be a Plume Moth,  which makes a habit of furling up its wings.  Very cool.

Our next unconnected random pic is of a Spotted Towhee at Magnuson Park, which I took even though I have a gazillion photos of towhees, simply because the bird was looking at me in a curious fashion:

Finally, the last photo is a picture of a picture -- I went to a party on Saturday in West Seattle (failing to stop in at Mary and Scott's home, Chez Aurora, to say "hi" because I was not driving) where I knew I'd find a lovely garden to sketch.  So I took along my art supplies and spent a happy half hour or so drawing (until I heard a concerned voice from the patio ask, "What did you do with Alex?").

It's supposed to hit 90 later this week (and weekend) which is too hot to go outside.  Luckily, I have indoor projects.  You see, on Sunday I went to the Edmonds Art Festival to check out the juried show.  I wanted to see what my competition might be like should I enter it next year, and what sort of prices people were asking.  I felt my work was comparable in quality, though I immediately noticed that nearly all of the paintings were larger than what I typically do.

And those larger paintings were not selling very well.  Prices were high overall (I'd say averaging around $2000) and of course, the smaller works down in the $1000 range were the ones selling.  Even so, I'd say that only 10% or so of the paintings had sold (and this was the third and last day of the show).

Even the smaller paintings were mostly 16" x 20".  I doubted my usual 5x7 or 8x10s would fit in well, and I don't like to paint large.  But then I encountered a special section of the show -- miniature paintings!  The largest was 5x5 (nothing bigger allowed) and most were 4x4 or 3x3.  Most artists had themed series of 3 or 4 pictures with similar landscapes or still lifes etc., which would look really nice if purchased and displayed as a set.  The prices were naturally quite low -- averaging $75 - $100 each -- and lo and behold, around 70% of them had sold.

Well, this got me thinking.  I already prefer to paint small -- why not go just a little bit smaller, and become a miniaturist?  I went to the art supply department of the University Bookstore yesterday and found 3x3, 4x4, and even 2x2 canvases to try with acrylic paint, and of course, I can chop up my watercolor paper to any size I like.  Heavens, I buy watercolor paper in 22x30" sheets -- that would make oodles of tiny paintings!

So if it is too hot to spend much time outdoors this weekend, you will find me inside, experimenting away with itty-bitty paintings.  All I need now is a magnifying lens!