Last Friday, October 28, was the date of the last wine walk for the year. A wine walk is when people wander Parker’s Main Street, drinking a little wine at each participating merchant. Artists take that opportunity to show their stuff along the way. The walk lasts from 5:00 to 8:00. As you might guess, a lot of art that didn’t look so good at the start often undergoes a magical transformation after several sips of wine.

I took two paintings: a snow scene similar to the one on the home page here and a fall scene I had high hopes for. It’s on my business cards. We conducted an informal sidewalk poll.

The snow scene won by about 20 to 1. I stopped counting about 6:30. The fall scene rallied toward the end, having been helped by the wine and approaching darkness.  It was too little too late  and, anyway, I wasn’t counting anymore.

We asked for comments, too, which was instructive. The snow scene has broad fields of white, gray, and blue with a focal point of maybe 5 feet if that. The fall scene has loose brush strokes, several colors (it’s fall, right?), and has a focal point of 8 to 10 feet before things become completely coherent into a picture. Ten feet is a long way in most people’s houses. Pretty much clear across a room.

So, thanks, Parker. I’ll try to shorten the focal lengths. People notice the picture first. It’s only after that they consider the brush work, color choices and all that. It’s my job to make it easier to see the picture. The fall scene is still on my business cards, though. I like it.