The Cumbersome Commuter

Transportation is troublesome…especially in Seattle where excessive growth and tight topography create limitations. Add a politically correct environment stirred with the need to create committees and task forces and you get STALEMATE! One of the only reliable means for public transportation continues to be the bus…so I decided to pose one of my FACEs at the bus stop across the street from my house.

The lovely model is my niece, Stephanie, whom I have painted several times before in my more traditional work. She is such a busy young lady who lives 90 minutes away over a mountain pass that the chance to paint her is slim. When she had a recent hiatus from work I jumped at the chance to have her part of my project and to spend some quality time with her!

Steph is a country girl at heart and anyone who knows her would chuckle at the image of her as a city girl waiting for a bus loaded down with luggage. But the irony is the thing here…for me leastwise. In the past I tried to convince her to move down to the city and immerse herself in the vibrancy Seattle has to offer but she balked. Now she is even more firmly ensconced in her rural ways and I am happy for her. I love the country myself but think that youth should revel in urban delights before settling in for a bucolic existence. Steph is accustomed to her opinionated Auntie, so I hope I am forgiven here as well!

My initial vision for her photo was as a naturalistic tree-hugger sort but that was not meant to be due to a late Spring in our region so I am saving that for a future victim. We did manage to take a few shots with trees but I liked the commuter one in the end. And I got a memento of the luscious luggage I bought to use for a trip but ended up returning to the store. I believe they would have really stood out in the airport dontcha think??? 

The Steadfast Sunday Driver

The afternoon before Easter is not always the best time for a photo shoot in a Safeway grocery store. This Prime Time promises the aisles will be a-scurry with shoppers but I had little choice as the timing was right for the principal players in this short drama titled “The Steadfast Sunday Driver”. As a recent FACE victim, my Aunt was the intended main subject, but as you can see the child stole the show. And we got lucky…our shots occurred in between the swarms of shoppers making it seem not as busy as it was.

I chose a big name grocery chain as the backdrop for a couple of reasons. Safeway stores have played a big role in my family’s lives with 3 of my 4 siblings having worked there in their youth. My Aunt Gail, featured behind the grocery cart, also worked there although later in life to help makes ends meet. Grocery stores are an integral part of who we are as Americans, a place we depend upon in our daily lives. I don’t know the statistics but I wager we spend a huge amount of time each week rambling down aisles in search of sustenance.

What I find amusing about these stores are the changes made to encourage shoppers. Currently there are 4 types of carts to choose from and the most ungainly of all is the one that has an actual toy car attached to the front end. These contraptions are behemoths on wheels, lumbering along with squealing children steering as if they were “Lightening McQueen” on the final lap of the Piston Cup Championship! What hits my funny button is despite their desperate pantomimes the cart continues on its unwavering path.

My Grandson Ashton was more than up to the task and played his part to the hilt. At one point he was grasping the “carrot-on-steroids” we had chosen to leave out for the Easter Bunny. Just as I was about to click the shutter he ad-libbed by putting the carrot in his mouth. Like I mentioned before he stole the show time and again. Throughout history actors have feared this phenomenon which prompted WC Fields to retort “Children should neither be seen nor heard from -- ever again!”