Good afternoon blogging peeps!  Here's my latest and greatest, only a few weeks left until ArtPrize -yikes!!

As you will notice, I added more detail to the parent brigade pyramid structure, fine-tuned the kids gathering near the bottom of the waterslide, and enhanced the slide itself (my favorite). I'm not going to bore you with stories of me screaming at my Mural, or the names I have called it this past week

Just be sure to know that I, Wendy Popko, still love to paint and create, and I have made amends with Common Core.  We will stand side by side at ArtPrize to share our interpretation of public education funding...

It's a pool party!

Good morning blogger peeps, I thought I would post before breakfast this morning. Who am I kidding, my three cups of coffee count as my breakfast! 

Onto the pool party...

As you can see, I was struggling with painting an empty pool -the walls, the curved bottom edge, and the shadows. So what does one do with these issues?  

First: change the music you're listening to.  I know it sounds odd, but if you're like me and you listen to the same selection on your iPod or even the same radio station, change it up.  I'm talking alternative to jazz, headbanging metal to blues.  Yep, these are my jams.

Second:

Build yourself a pool out of paper.

Then go back, and repaint.

Much better :-). Not sure if you noticed, but a few more kiddos joined the pool party!

Blue

First of all, yes, I'm aware I posted yesterday and am not due for another week. I feel like there is something you should know about my ArtPrize entry, and I'm waiting for my coffee.

Can you see those little blue lines dotting the image?  That's painter's tape covering words and phrases I cropped from the recyled student assignments I painted on.  Phrases such as, "make it make sense", "fantasy:counting coin vs. reality: fun with fractions" are just a few I must protect to reveal to the viewer and strengthen my opinion toward budget cuts in public education.

As you will notice, there's a lot of blue tape.  If you are planning to visit ArtPrize in Grand Rapids this fall, I encourage you to stop by and hunt for these phrases, and many more.  My painting will be on display at the Waters Building!

Good morning 😃

Ah yes, the kiddos are beginning to emerge from the depths of the empty pool...

And yes, I painted a few in shades of grey. This is my way of saying there are kids in the system that need assistance, but due to budget slashings, they miss out.

 I'm getting there...

The new, and improved bus!

The old, blah, oversized, out of proportion bus.

I'm going to need more coffee

Good morning, I thought I would post early.  I normally wake up around 6:30, sit down in front of my Mural with a cup of coffee, and go over my plan for the day while the day is quiet.  It's the only time I can hear myself think.  

And then I paint.  

Today I noticed something was off, and then realized it was WAY off!  My school bus, the bus I was so proud of, must be repainted, resized, and reperspectived (I know, that's not a word.  I'm still on my first cup of coffee.). The bus needs to be re- everything.  So, I will begin my mission now, wish me luck, and hopefully I can repost before the day comes to an end.  I really liked that bus...