Janice Law's Blog, page 20
October 7, 2012
Sketch of wild grape vines
Sketch of wild grape vines
October 6, 2012
Considering the Anthem
Hockey season is starting, and we will be making trips into Rhode Island to see a favorite AHL club. This will provide another occasion to consider our odd relationship with the national anthem. Heralded with proper solemnity ‘to honor America and those who serve defending our freedom’ as the announcer likes to say, the anthem is then torn to shreds by a group of eager, if tone deaf, middle or high school students or, on exceptionally unlucky occasions, elementary school pupils. Led by their hapless choral instructor, these sweet babies are asked to navigate the tune’s tricky intervals a capella. Disaster.
Of course, other states and other cities take a different tack, ‘honoring America, etc’ by employing a pop demi-star of the moment, who labors under the belief that the anthem needs to be ‘styled’. Alas, the intervals remain a problem that swoops and flutterings and style cannot surmount.
Other nations do it differently. They have professional singers, and, dare I say, easier tunes? Maybe for amateur singers, we could agree to go with America the Beautiful or that nice, inclusive Woody Guthrie ditty, This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land.
October 4, 2012
Onward and upward in publishing
In the brave new world of book publishing, writers get to write more. This came as a surprise, but is part of the do-it-yourself or at least pitch in and help nature of modern publicity.
Forget for the most part, the beloved old newspaper reviews. The favored- or lucky- few may make the Times or the New York Review of Books. And even the comprehensive PW rarely covers ebooks.
No, the modern lifeblood of literary notice has gone to the web. Fires of London has been lucky to attract the notice of nice folks like Marshall Zeringue, who runs the handsome site Campaign for the American Reader, and Audra, who runs the equally lively Unabridged Chick site with, as promised, enthusiastic books reviews.
They’ve kindly run blogs from me on their sites. At Campaign: http://americareads.blogspot.com/2012/09/pg-69-janice-laws-fires-of-london.html and What is Janice Law reading? And on Unabridged Chick:
http://unabridged-expression.blogspot.com
For Sept 26. Ellery Queen Magazine also opened a spot for me on their Something is Going to Happen blog: http://somethingisgoingtohappen.net/2012/10/03/writing-about-what-you-want-to-know-by-janice-law/ .
Thanks to all.
October 3, 2012
October 2, 2012
Notebook sketch of sunflower subject. I had to wait several...
Notebook sketch of sunflower subject. I had to wait several weeks to complete this as I was sure it would be prefect for the demonstration.
Painting demonstration
I did a painting demonstration the other day down in Marlborough- an interesting experience. A small but interested group of fellow painters, some of whom were interested in trying acrylics.
I took a board with the image already sketched in and prudently picked a flower subject which requires less concentration that people or animals.
September 28, 2012
finished painting of Blue Flag preserve.
copyright Janice...
finished painting of Blue Flag preserve.
copyright Janice Trecker
September 27, 2012
A quick sketch of some tall spindly trees in the local preserve....
A quick sketch of some tall spindly trees in the local preserve. They are now visible as some brush and Russian olives have been removed
September 26, 2012
A young replacement for our lamented white ash. This is a nice...
A young replacement for our lamented white ash. This is a nice northern red oak
September 15, 2012
Show at Marlborough
Show at Marlborough
