Wayne County Arts Council

I now have several works (which are shown below) for sale at the Wayne County Arts Council's Art Market. Some people like to see a painting or drawing in person before buying it, so this will make that possible. However, if you live too far from Goldsboro to stop by the Art Market, you can still find all of these works for sale on my website: windylampson.com.

Progress

I've made a little progress on my painting. It's a little frustrating moving at such a slow pace, but I was able to get a couple of hours in tonight. My spring break is next week, and I plan to get a lot done!

New Painting!

I've finally started a new painting! Here is the underpainting (the first stage)- after only a few hours of work. I'll post more progress on this later. (And Sarah- this one is inspired by you and your love for cropping things) :)

Antihydral (for people with hyperhidrosis)

I did a post a few months ago about this cream I've been using called Antihydral. The post wasn't really supposed to be informative, just humorous... but I've noticed that there is a fairly large percent of people who find their way to my blog by searching "antihydral," or "does antihydral really work?" or "how often should I use antihydral?" I feel bad because the post I made about it is very unhelpful, so I thought I would remedy that. First, I'll give you some background on hyperhidrosis.

I am not an expert, but I do have it, so I can tell you some of the things that I experience. My hands and feet have been affected since birth. They sweat (literally DRIP) whenever I'm anxious, hot, or even thinking about it. (I used to make them sweat after eating something like an orange, so they wouldn't be sticky). I may have made it sound like a gift, but it is anything but that. It affects people in ways other people don't think about. Dating was very stressful because with each new person, I had to "break them in" when it came to holding hands. I leave pools of sweat in each individual key of a keyboard when typing, shaking hands is a nightmare, and a task like doing pull-ups is too slippery to be possible. In school, I had to develop a way of writing because the side of my hand would soak my paper until it was so wet it tore, or the words were too smeared to read. I would keep a folded piece of paper in the pocket of each notebook to use underneath my hand. I've never been able to wear sandals, or any shoes without socks because I slide around in them too much. And I've read where one woman wrote that she can't even fix her daughter's hair because of her hyperhidrosis.

Sometime around junior high, my armpits decided that they wanted hyperhidrosis, too. It sounds gross, but I could soak through a SWEATSHIRT in minutes if I was anxious enough. During college, I developed trunkal hyperhidrosis- meaning that my stomach, lower back, inner thighs, and groin area sweat in the same manner. I realized I had developed this at a very inopportune time. I went out with a group of art students one night that I had never been out with before. We were talking about subjects that I was passionate about (which can also make me sweat). I was wearing jeans and sitting down in a booth for about three hours. When I got up to leave, I realized I had completely soaked through the inner thigh and groin area of my pants, and it looked like I had wet myself. No one ever said anything about it, and I've always wondered if they noticed, and what they thought if they did notice.

I am handling hyperhidrosis better than ever at this point in my life. I wear spanks underneath all my pants, which has prevented anymore embarrassing events so far. I use Certain Dry on my armpits once a week and that has COMPLETELY stopped them from sweating- even when I work out. And I've been using antihydral on my hands and feet.

For those of you that are reading this because you have hyperhidrosis on your hands and feet and want to know if the cream works and how to use it, I'll talk about how it works for me. When I first ordered it, I ordered two tubes. I used it once a day, every day, for about two weeks. If you sweat it off, it won't work, so I put it on right before bed since I don't sweat as much in my sleep. Right after I apply it, I blow dry it, and this helps to keep it from sweating off. After two weeks, I started putting it on every other day, and I did that for another two weeks. Then I started putting it on twice a week, and I'm still on that schedule now. I've been using it for about two months and I'm very happy with it. My hands and feet haven't COMPLETELY stopped sweating, but it has helped A LOT. For the most part, I only sweat on the side and top of my fingers and toes. The palms of my hands and feet stay pretty dry. There are side effects, but they don't bother me enough to stop using the cream. My hands get very dry and wrinkled when they get wet, but after I dry them off and put on lotion, they're fine; I just carry lotion around in my purse. They also get yellow in a few places, but if you get a pumice stone and rub off the dead skin in that area, it is normal underneath. If you're interested in purchasing antihydral, you can CLICK HERE.

I've also found a website that sells sweat absorbing soles that you can put in your sandals. I think if I use those combined with the antihydral cream, I'll be able to wear sandals without socks this year. The link to that website is HERE.

For a more recent follow-up of this post: click HERE

If this has been helpful for you, you can show your appreciation by checking out my WEBSITE!

Wayne Thiebaud

The paintings above were done by Wayne Thiebaud (1920 - ). I've never seen one of his paintings in person, but I've been wanting to for a while. Most people know him for the cakes and pies he paints; he uses such thick paint that it actually begins to take on the texture of frosting. I think his landscapes are equally interesting. In case you were wondering, at one point in his life he worked at a cafe called "Mile High and Red Hot." "Mile High" referred to ice cream, and "Red Hot" to hot dogs. I am just guessing, but I assume the cafe influenced quite a few of his paintings. Oh, and I hear that his favorite food is cheese.

Art Watch

As I've said before, I haven't been painting as much lately as I'd like... and I can't post the progress of the painting that I am working on due to the fact that the painting is a gift, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. With that said, I hate letting my blog sit for long periods of time without new posts. I've decided to begin posting images by artists that I like (in addition to my own work). I try to look at other artists' work for inspiration, but this is yet another thing that I wish I set aside more time for. So, maybe if I commit to doing an "Art Watch" post a few times a week, I'll be more disciplined about it. The painting above is called "Turning Road at Montgeroult," and it was painted in 1899 by Paul Cezanne. Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite artists; I especially love his still lifes. I have a special affection for his paintings because I had one of my own painting "breakthroughs" when studying his work. Paul Hartley, one of my painting professors, was trying to get me to look at the edges of the objects in my paintings. They tended to be the same all the way around and offered nothing interesting. They also made the painting more flat and prohibited the eye from moving around with ease. He encouraged me to look at the way Cezanne painted the edges of his objects. In following the contour of just one apple, I could see him come in and go out of focus numerous times, and he also used multiple non-local colors around the edge that I find interesting. And sometimes, part of the edge of an object will completely disappear into the background behind it.

I'm an aunt!!!!!!

I just wanted to announce that I became an Aunt at 7:45 am (Eastern Standard Time) on Sunday, March 11. Sarah and Joey gave birth to a PRECIOUS little girl they named Clara. She is 6 pounds 13 ounces and 18.75 inches long. I have to say that the pictures below absolutely do NOT do this baby justice; she is just SO beautiful!

She Won!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Madeline Edwards won the final round!!! She will be performing Live on "The Early Show" (CBS) on Tuesday morning next week, so be sure to watch!!! The family sent me an email thanking everyone who voted-

Update on Madeline

I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post. Lately, I've been working on a painting commission that I can't tell you about. The person that has commissioned it is giving it as a gift (for a surprise), and if I post my progress up here, then I risk him finding out about it. After he receives it, I'll post a picture for all of you to see. At this time, I'd like to give you an update on Madeline Edwards.

Madeline has made it as a finalist on The Early Show on CBS. The voting is going on NOW and will continue until Wednesday, March 7 at noon. You can vote AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT, so if you're sitting at your desk with nothing to do, vote for her over and over again by clicking RIGHT HERE. On the left sidebar of the website, you'll see a little bubble next to Madeline's name. Click on that, and then click "submit"... and just in case you wanted to know, it only takes 5 minutes to vote 100 times (on the average computer). If she wins this, she will perform LIVE on The Early Show!!!! She is up against some tough competitors so she needs your support!!!javascript:void(0)

Unforgivable Media

A recent drawing- you can purchase it HERE for $10!

Richmond Art Show

For anyone that is in the Richmond area, I have an art show in the Gellman room at the public library on 101 E. Franklin St, and this is one of the paintings that you can view there. There are approximately 25 pieces in the show, and they will be up until January 30th. Click HERE to view the library hours. You can purchase the painting shown above HERE.

Vote for Madeline!

Thank you to everyone who voted for Madeline Edwards a few weeks ago. She has made it to the finals and needs your votes again. Her competition seems pretty strong, so we all need to show our support. You can vote AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT! Click HERE to view her performance and click HERE to vote for her!

Mary Lindsey Edwards

Well, it turns out that the Edwards family is full of talent. Mary Lindsey is the sister of Madeline (from the previous post). She recently designed a Christmas card that was chosen by her school to be used as this year's Christmas card for Wayne County Schools! Her card is featured below-
I know I couldn't have drawn a better snowman!!!

Madeline Edwards

Madeline is a young lady that I was commissioned to paint last year, and I am so excited to report that she was on The Early Show on CBS this morning. She has entered her fabulous voice into a contest for kids, and you can view her video entry HERE. If you think her voice is as exceptional as I think it is, vote for her by clicking HERE and selecting the bubble next to her name on the left side of the screen.

A Great Quote

"If the only person I'm writing for is me - at least I know my audience will never be disappointed." - Gonzo's Chicken

More Gift Ideas

Here's a new painting that I've just added to my WEBSITE. You can purchase it for $250 right HERE.

I also want to remind everyone of my GIFT SHOP where you can purchase JOURNALS:








GREETING CARDS:








PRINTS:








BAGS:








FRAMED TILES:








CLOTHING:








and BUMPER STICKERS!(among other things)

Unique Christmas Gift Ideas

That's right, folks- Thanksgiving is over, and it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts. I've lowered the prices of many paintings on my website, and there are quite a few that are LESS THAN $500!!!!!!!. My most recent painting, shown above, just happens to be one of them. You can purchase it for $375 right HERE. I painted this from a photograph that I took while on my honeymoon in Santorini, Greece.

A painting is a unique gift that can be cherished for many years, and the prices of my paintings, at this moment, are very low. This is the perfect time to invest in something that can become part of the home of someone you love. Many of my paintings are priced lower than $500 and are included in the link above. To see all of my works for sale, including drawings and photographs, click HERE.

If the cost of an original work of art is too high for you right now, feel free to browse my GIFT SHOP for prints, t-shirts, mugs and many other items that feature my work.

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLEN!!!!!!!

If you were nearby, and if I could bake, this is the cake I would bake you! (Although, the candle seems a little too randomly placed... I wouldn't make that mistake) Anyway, Happy Birthday! ... Unfortunately, it's already 6pm, so you probably won't read this on your ACTUAL birthday- but I hope it was a good one!

I Made a Monkey Out of Clay

Here is the product of a teacher workday.

Cute Clothes

When my sister and I were little, we found immense joy in playing with pots and pans. We also enjoyed crawling in and around the kitchen cabinets; I can only hope that my future kids are so easily entertained. One day, my mom decided to do something (maybe her hair?) in another room while leaving my younger sister, Hillary, alone in the kitchen. By the time Mom came back, Hillary had pulled out all sorts of condiments as well as tupperware, but it wasn't the brightly colored Quik or JIF containers that caught my sister's eye. It was a small, modest unmarked container that just HAPPENED to be filled with powdered sugar that she took an interest in opening. Mom walked back in to see a pile of sugar all over the floor and a sticky toddler covered in white and sucking her fingers. I decided to make a drawing to remember the occasion, and here you will find it on a baby-suit. Click HERE to view this image on other items or clothing.

I Can Bite My Own Toenails

I'm thinking of doing a series of these characters, intended more for images in my gift shop as opposed to "fine art," whatever that is anyway. Click HERE to find this image on T-shirts, journals, greeting cards and more!

The Best Stories are Always About Kindergarteners

I had an interesting mishap today in kindergarten that I didn't quite know how to handle... let me know if you've got any ideas about it. There's a little boy in one of my kindergarten classes that I know can be a handful. Sometimes he behaves if I SHOWER him with encouragement, so I try to prepare myself for that right before I have his class. Well, at the beginning of class he asked if he could use the bathroom. The bathroom is inside the classroom so I didn't see any problem with that. He spent about 15 minutes in the bathroom while a couple of other students complained and danced around with crossed legs, but no amount of knocking on the door hurried him up. When he was ready, he came out and sat down at his table to work on his art. He has a tendency to put markers in his mouth and eat the crayons, so I try to look at him at least every 30 seconds or so just to keep him in check. Every time I look and he's doing his work, I make a big deal about it to the class. This is usually enough encouragement to keep him working hard.

5 minutes after he started coloring, a little girl came up and tugged on my skirt. I looked at her, and she stuck her toe up near my face to show me a large red streak across the top of her obviously BRAND-NEW, white leather shoes. Guess who did it. I called the little boy over to talk to him about it only to discover that the entire top of his right boot (suede, I might add) had red marker scribbled ALL over it. The marker easily came off the little girl's shoe, but his shoe was quite a different story.

This situation definitely warranted a time-out. I sat him down on a blue stool in an area of the room with nothing else around him. He stuck his head under the stool, laid on the floor beside the stool, crawled all around the stool, and basically did everything he could to the stool without actually sitting on it. Since I didn't want to engage in a power struggle, I just kept my eye on him and monitored the rest of the class.

When it was time to line up, I lined him up somewhere in the middle... where I THOUGHT I could keep an eye on him. I stooped down to tie someone's shoe, and by the time I looked up, I was met with something that they didn't prepare me for in any elementary education course. He was stooping underneath the hand sanitizer pump mounted on the wall. His neck was craned underneath it with his mouth wide open and he was pumping vigorously. I immediately yelled out his name. He bolted upright.... and took one big gulp.

Kindergarten Crusade

I really hate that I don't have an image to go along with this story, so I'll do the best I can to create a good image for you with words. Yesterday afternoon, I taught a kindergarten class and at the time, they were using geometric shapes to design robots. While wandering around the room, making sure everyone was on-task, I noticed that one little boy had his fingers in his mouth and seemed to be up to no good. At this age, many of them are trying to pull out loose teeth, which I try to discourage in art class because I honestly don't want the commotion that immediately follows when one of them is successful.

I made my way over to him and asked cautiously, "What are you doing?" "I've got something in my teeth!" he replied. "Well, how about waiting until you get home where you can use some dental floss. Try to keep your fingers out of your mouth because you're going to get the crayons soggy and other people won't want to use them." ..."I don't have any dental floss at home, but I got toothpicks!" "That'll work."... And with that, he went back to coloring.

After art was over, I lined them up and led them through the hallway to the library where their next class was. As we stood outside the door waiting for the librarian, the same little boy shoved his index finger only a couple of centimeters from my eyeball. Backing up to a safer viewing distance, I stared at his finger trying to figure out what was on it and why he was trying to show it to me. (I'll spare you some details by not describing it). "What is it?" I asked him, forgetting about his earlier quest. "I got it out!!!!" he proudly exclaimed.

Just a quick update

I'm still spending a lot of time unpacking boxes (as well as teaching every day and writing new lesson plans at night)... not to mention I'm sick right now and I haven't accrued any sick leave at work... so I haven't really gotten any painting done. I'm hoping that I will be back into some sort of routine by the end of this week, and then I'll be posting more regularly again. So I guess this post is just a little reminder about my online GIFT SHOP. I know several of you have already made purchases, and I hope you are enjoying your goodies.... for the rest of you- get with it! Don't you know that these shirts are the new thing! Everybody's wearing them! ....or at least they will be soon :)

Side Note: With all the ladies out there that seem to be getting pregnant these days, it won't hurt to mention the large assortment of bibs and creepers I carry. I mean, how creative would it be to attach a beguiling as well as breathtaking bib to a big bow bedecked around a beautifully wrapped baby present? Just throwing that out there-

The James River

We had a good old time at the James River today. There's an island in the middle of the river called Belle Island where people like to go to swim, hike, run and bike-ride. We parked off of 5th street and then made our way to the bridge that would take us across from the north side of the river to the island. On the way there, we saw a bunch of people swimming right off of the north shore. They were having a great time swinging on a rope tied to the underside of some train tracks. I was a little nervous watching them because the water didn't look like it could be very deep and they were climbing up to the top of the train tracks and jumping in. We even saw someone slip and fall and they were seriously lucky to land in deep water.
















After we got tired of watching them, we went over to cross the bridge. This was the third time I crossed it, but I was still pretty nervous about it. I don't think we'll ever get my mom over to the other side. It's a narrow bridge suspended in air by cables, hanging from underneath a busy 6-lane highway.
















Once we got to Belle Island by way of the bridge, I had an overwhelming urge to cross back again to the North shore by way of the actual river. We had lots of fun walking, wading and sometimes swimming to the other side.































All in all, we had a great day that ended with Subway (their oatmeal raison cookies are awesome!) and wet, dirty tennis shoes. Here are some more of the pictures we took:

The Adventures of Living in a Hotel

This is apparently what happens when you put dishwashing SOAP (as opposed to dishwashing detergent) in the dishwasher.

Acrylic Flower #2 and #3

I've been messing around with acrylic paint because I have a whole lot of it, but I have to admit that I don't enjoy it all that much... so don't expect to see too many more of these. They are both for sale on my website for $40 each and you can purchase them HERE

Aces and Sevens

You can purchase this drawing HERE

or

You can find other products featuring this image in my GIFT SHOP.