It could always be worse

Portrait of Émile Zola, 1868, by Édouard Manet

My friend Martha recently told me, “Taxes are the price you pay to live in a free society.” I’m doing my taxes this week and debating what I should post while I’m off in the land of spreadsheets and illegible receipts I never got around to entering.

I’ll start with some French realism today, to remind myself that things could always be worse. We could be struggling to heat our homes and our children could be executed for stealing crusts of bread. Officers could be convicted of heinous crimes simply because of their Jewishness.

Let’s start with Manet’s portrait of Émile Zola, who was France’s most important social realist writer. Zola was nominated for the first and second Nobel prizes in literature (which were won, characteristically, by nobody you ever heard of). He is remembered chiefly for his championing of the falsely-accused French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus.

But that was still in the future when this painting was conceived. It was a thank-you gift for Zola’s passionate support of Manet’s work. The setting is Manet’s studio. On the wall is a reproduction of Manet's scandalous Olympia, tying this painting very clearly to Manet’s gratitude. Zola is seated at his work table. The book, inkwell, quill, books and papers tell us he is a man of letters.

Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners, 1857. Note how the figures are dehumanized by their faces being obscured and how they are separated from the prosperity in the distance.

The French Barbizon painters championed realism as a painterly technique (in response to the accepted Romanticism of the time). But they were also social realists, taking an unflinching look at the vast poverty that endured in rural France.

Hunting Birds at Night, 1874, by Jean-François Millet.

Unfortunately, social realism can be tough to appreciate over time, because appalling poverty starts to look quaint when we are distant from it. This is the fate that has overtaken Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners. In its day, it was an electric criticism of French society. The wealthy (who tend to buy paintings) seemed to get a whiff of the tumbrels of the French Revolution and it made them decidedly uncomfortable.  “His three gleaners have gigantic pretensions, they pose as the Three Fates of Poverty … their ugliness and their grossness unrelieved,” wrote one reviewer.

Short on money, Millet sold this painting at a sharp discount. A century and a half later, it is one of the most recognized and beloved paintings of all time.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Student Loan Consolidation Rates: Options Available To Students

There is a trick to turning a difficult financial situation into an easy one. Consolidating the different loans and debts that exist is the key, clearing the headache and replacing it with more manageable terms. For students facing huge debts after graduation, consolidation is invaluable, but getting competitive student loan consolidation rates is a core aspect to the deal.

It is only obvious that the lower the interest rate the better, so a consolidation plan that has lower monthly repayments is important if the plan is to be as effective as it can be. After 4 or 5 years borrowing money, either to pay fees or simply survive, clearing college debts becomes a huge undertaking, but selecting the best program with good rates is essential.

Finding the right student loan consolidation program, and sifting through the individual terms and conditions, will take a bit of time and effort. But it will be worth it, if the pressure is eased and life becomes less stressful.

Consolidation Deals Explained

The core point to a consolidation plan is to ease the existing debt pressure, and securing the best terms means the debt is eased to the greatest degree. Each of the loan balances are combined and then repaid using the consolidation loan. This means 4 or 5 loans with different interest rates are replaced with one loan and one interest rate that is more affordable.

When it comes to consolidating student loans, consolidation rates can vary quite a lot from lender to lender. So knowing your own financial situation well, and what your existing costs are, is important. The total monthly repayments can be quite high, but when total balances are bought out, the repayments can be lowest by as much as 50%.

However, the most significant aspect to clearing college debts in this way is the fact that the loan term is lengthened. This means that the monthly repayments are kept to a minimum, thereby helping to make the student loan consolidation program so much more affordable.

Choose Your Rate

When dealing with student loan consolidation rates, it is important to remember that affordability is the number one concern. A part to establishing this is the choice of interest rate, and there are two types to choose from: fixed interest rates and variable interest rates.

Both have pros and cons. Fixed rates, for example, never change throughout the lifetime of the loan, making them easy to budget for. Even in times of financial crisis, the repayments will stay the same, so it is an ideal option when clearing college debts. The negative aspect is that the interest is higher.

In comparison, variable rates are lower but because they can fluctuate with the markets, they do not always stay that way. For example, if the starting rate is just 9%, then after 12 months, market events might have forced the rate up to 10%; after 24 months it might be 11%. Of course, they could also drop, making student loan consolidation repayments lower.

Mixing The Rates

Of course, it is also possible to mix the two rate types, if the term of the consolidation plan is very long. It means that students are given the chance to get on their feet initially, with student loan consolidation rates fixed for the first 2 or 3 years before switching to a variable rate.

Alternatively, a certain percentage of the debt (say 25%) is fixed, with the remaining sum charged at a variable rate. Even if the variable rate on the student loan consolidation plan increases, the student should be in a better position to afford it. It may seem to be a very complicated way of clearing college debts, but the result should be the same - keeping repayments low.

Back to the studio

There were visitors to the gallery all evening long. The show is up until April 11.

You can be the belle of the ball on Friday night, but you’re still a painting teacher on Saturday morning. It was a great opening with a fabulous turnout, and lots of insightful questions. There were crowds until 10 PM, at which time I stumbled home to bed, because Saturday mornings are always a rush.

Teressa's been drawing on and off with me for a few years, but she finally bit the bullet and did her first painting this weekend.

Painting classes, I’ve noticed, are split between two populations. There are the forty- and fifty-somethings who always wanted to paint but never had time, and young people from their mid-teens to mid-twenties. This makes for a nice mix of people in the studio, but it also tells us something about our times. Nobody in the prime working years has time. They’re running flat out. Between grasping the brass ring and raising children, everything else takes a back seat.

My own Mary, who's a talented artist but majoring in biomedical engineering, graced my studio with her presence. I am afraid I will have to ask her for some lessons in drawing with a tablet one of these days.

It’s kind of a pity that we’re so frenetically busy from our mid-twenties to our mid-forties. The time to be reflective shouldn’t be a luxury of the old and the young.

So it's back to business as usual, but I'll have the flowers to remind me of a wonderful evening. Thanks, guys!

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

How You Can Choose the Correct Insurance Company

Too much of something can be a bit overwhelming. Yes, even if it is meant to help and serve people and ensure that they are protected, having a little too much to choose from can be quite difficult at times. That seems to be the case when it comes to choosing the right insurance company for yourself. While there are many insurance companies out there right now that are offering all kinds of policies that are no doubt great and beneficial, it can also be confusing and overwhelming.

The decision has been made to purchase a policy - now comes the more challenging part and that is to select the right company to buy it from. Perhaps a few tips on how to do it right could help the people who are still undecided about how to go about choosing the right insurance company. These are only a few tips and do not go into the details and any in depth analysis of the subject, but it would at least point you in the right direction.

• A little research is always helpful. You definitely can't go wrong researching about the insurance companies that you are considering, and it has gotten much easier with the help of the Internet. It would certainly be helpful if you try to know the company or companies where you get your insurance policy from, and you also need to be sure that you could absolutely rely on your choice. Going online to research is very fast and convenient anyway, so there's no reason not to do it.


• You could then check out if there have been complaints against the company that happens to be of interest to you. Of course this might not be the most helpful way to decide if you are going to select the right insurance company, but it can certainly help. With insurance companies being under the guidance of state departments of insurance, complaints that are made against it are more easily known and recorded. Just remember though that information involved could possibly be different from one state to another. You can check the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's database to search for complaints.


• Getting the services of a professional in any field is always helpful, and it is no different here. An insurance professional will certainly be able to help you a lot in terms of advising you about the right thing to do and about explaining the different policies to you as well. And since a lot of people do buy their insurance policies from brokers and insurance agents, one might suspect that there is an actual reason why they are doing that. Especially if you get in touch with a qualified insurance professional, he would be able to conduct a very detailed insurance needs analysis. After that, he should then be able to offer you recommendations regarding the kind of policy that you should get.

All about me, all the time

The Davison Gallery is lovely and contemporary, and conducive to spare design. Sue moved the show graphic to the floor, which allows the paintings room to breathe. It looks fantastic.

Tonight is the opening of my show, God + Man at the Davison Gallery at Roberts Wesleyan. As you know, I’ve been painting like a dervish to get ready for it, and it was awfully satisfying to watch it come together under the highly-skilled hands of gallery director Sue Bailey Leo.

Sue and her assistant Allysa installing the floor graphic.

This is the second show of my work that Sue has managed, and I’m humbled by how good she makes me look.

A woman and a hammer... invincible! Here Sandy Quang learns how to use a plumb line to level paintings.

I frequently tell people that “it’s all about me.” This weekend, it actually is. I have three solo shows up across the Rochester metro area. When does that ever happen?

Mary Brzustowicz offered to help me move canvases. Little did she know she'd be pressed into service popping air bubbles.

You are welcome to tonight’s opening, from 6-10. Ignore your mapping software; it will take you to the center of the campus. Instead, take US 490 to Buffalo Road west. Pass Westside Drive and the athletic fields at Roberts Wesleyan. You will see the Howard Stowe Roberts Cultural Life Center on your right; there is ample free parking, including parking lots on the west and northeast sides of the building.

Sandy temporarily interned as a lighting assistant, and did a great job of it, too.

The gallery is also open Monday-Friday, 11-5, and Saturday, 1-4. The show is up until April 11.

If you’d like to see my secular landscapes, this is the last weekend they are up at VB Brewery at 6606 State Road 96 in Victor. (Yesterday I stopped there with my friend Mary, who pointed out that the brewing smelled like warm feed for horses. It was delectable.)

Be there, or be square.

And my Stations of the Cross are up at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church at 2000 Highland Avenue. Since they’re part of the Lenten worship experience, you’ll need to call the church at 585-442-3544 to make an appointment.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Gone but not forgotten

Beauty Instead of Ashes, 48X36, oil on linen, 2014, by Carol L. Douglas

Last summer my friend Loren and I went for a hike along the Goose River in Rockport, ME, and discovered vast piles of lime tailings. Rockport is one of America’s beauty spots, but it was once a center of quicklime manufacture. Nature slowly attempts to cover this wound, but it is a slow process.

Midcoast Maine is full of limestone deposits. When limestone is burned, the carbon dioxide burns off and quicklime is left. This is used to make plaster, paper, mortar, concrete, fertilizer, leather, glue, paint, and glass. By the Civil War, midcoast Maine was producing more than a million casks of lime a year.

Eventually God will cover our sins, but it takes a long, long time. Sin can endure through generations, but ultimately, the spirit of the Lord will be with us, “to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3-4)

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Exactly How To Fight Tax Fraud - The Risks Of Cheating The Government

Tax fraud is a crime that could land you in prison if found accountable. It is your lawful obligation to file income tax returns and unable to accomplish this amount to fraud. Whenever you ignore your lawful duty of paying the income taxes, criminal investigators will catch up with you, and you won't be able to escape. If you are working or perhaps doing a business, and you knowing to fail to file the income tax, or you don't pay the right amount, then you are doing a tax fraud.

Overstating the deductions in your business or including your personal deductions as company deductions amounts to fraud. When you hide or move earnings from your business to another business or simply anywhere else are law violations and they amount to tax fraud. The Internal Revenue Service can find whether you are just being careless, or perhaps you are committing a tax criminal offense.

If you are having 2 sets of books, you have given the wrong social security number, or you are claiming a blind spouse is a dependent, you are doing a tax crime. It is too sad that the auditors do not look for fraud as much as they've been taught to look for it. They never suspect it, and that's the reason why there are so many people failing to pay their taxes, and even though they do, they do not pay the correct amounts.

The auditors understand that the tax laws could possibly be difficult and that there'll always mistakes with regards to filing for income tax returns. Sometimes they provide the benefit of doubt, and they might not also go after you in case one has do an honest mistake. In some cases the line between tax fraud and carelessness isn't clear even to the courts or the IRS.

By auditors evaluating on nokia's documents from time to time, they'll be capable to recognize freshly made receipts that are fake. Modified checks are used to raise the deductions. These are easy to spot as there is often a distinction amongst the numbers on the checks and the amounts that are in the pc or even in the bank.

Tax fraud is cope with by penalizing the offenders harshly so that others will be scared of the punishments. This will deter people who have been planning to commit the crime. These culprits face criminal and civil charges and depending on the charges you're either slapped with a criminal penalty or perhaps a civil penalty. If you're faced with a civil penalty, the consequences begin to affect you forever unlike the criminal charges, which might take a little time.

If you've been under-reported, your taxes by 25 percent or a lot more, INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE might get back 6 years from the day, your books were looked, and you will be faced with a tax underpayment charge. Sometimes INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE might possibly go back as much as they wish when they discover that you have been intending to evade taxes. This comprises of all the fines, interests and also the unpaid taxes dating back from the time that taxpayer began paying taxes.

You now already learn the dangers of cheating the government. This type of cheating is never forgiven. You know how the government is dealing with the tax fraud issue. You really know what amounts to tax fraud, and you can be capable to avoid it.

Limping toward the finish line

The Harvest is Plenty, 36X48, oil on linen, 2014, by Carol L. Douglas

Today I put the finishing touches on the above painting and tipped it into its frame.

Jesus sent out disciples two by two, telling them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Those of us who spend time in the agricultural world understand this metaphor: we sow seeds, we tend plants, and when the harvest comes in, it’s a lot of work and we’re generally short-handed.

But what if the order of things is interrupted? What if a line squall off Lake Ontario flattens the entire field right before the combine arrives?

When wheat ripens, it has heavy, nodding heads on delicate stems. As summer deepens the wheat assumes a color that has no equal in the artificial world—it has a shimmering beauty that’s impossible to capture in paint or photographs—much, in fact, like human souls. Looking at the field from the angle of the threatening storm, we should stand convicted of our need to get busy.

Ack! I have to teach in this space on Saturday!

Speaking of “tip,” my studio is quickly becoming one. I’m generally pretty neat but framing and painting in the same space is difficult. (I have a wood shop in our garage but it isn’t heated and it’s still painfully cold outside.)

I’m running three fans in the hope that these paintings will be dry enough to transport on Thursday, which is my promised delivery date.

Last painting, detail. I'll finish it tomorrow and tip it in its frame and then deliver on Thursday. Talk about cutting it fine.

I’m finishing my last canvas—hardly where I expected to be when I started this in November, before unexpected surgery and recovery trashed my schedule. On the other hand, the one passage I’ve finished makes me pretty darn happy.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Dead Wood

Dead Wood, 48X36, oil on linen, 2014, by Carol L. Douglas

 It’s very unusual for paintings to just flow off the brush without a lot of second-guessing, but I have experienced it a lot getting ready for this show. This painting is a case in point: it’s complicated, I don’t have any particular reference, and yet it was no big deal to get all the pieces in place. Weird, that.

Branches that fall into streams tend to collect other sticks into logjams. This debris can alter the flow of the river itself. There is great force holding such river jams in place; in fact, breaking a logjam is something best left to experts, as it can be very dangerous.

Sin drops into the current of our life, and gets caught up on other sins. By the time we are adults, we have a logjam of sins pushing one against another, altering the very flow of our lives, defining what we understand to be our character or personality. “She’s temperamental.”  “He is afraid of his own shadow.” These are not true marks of character, but the distortion caused by this logjam of sin.

How do we identify the key log to break the logjam? We don’t; we need help from the Holy Spirit.

(My thanks to Tony Martorana, senior pastor at Joy Community Church, who used this image in a sermon.)

Red-bellied Woodpecker outside my studio window.

I was using the bare branches outside my studio as reference for the distant trees, when I saw this little fellow knocking at my pear tree.  I suppose it’s a sign of spring that he’s out looking for insects, but it’s bad news if my pear tree is sick. It’s older than my house.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Ways To Search For The Right Bad Credit Loans

Individuals can have a hard time obtaining a property, rental, car, and various other things when they have a bad financial record. This can make life extremely difficult, especially since many factors in life may require certain people to obtain a loan in order to get things started. Because of this, some may opt to use bad credit loans, which can be highly beneficial, providing the right one is obtained

Under normal circumstances, a loan can be fairly easy to get. However, much will also depend on a person's financial history and score. Other factors will include various things about their personal debt, how they pay their bills and when, and how much they earn as income. The same can sometimes be said for those with negative scores and histories.

People with a bad history are still able to get a loan in most cases, although it helps to research ahead of time. This usually entails learning about one's credit scores, history, and other factors. This can help individuals to learn about what they can expect when applying for a loan.

Aside from obtaining a loan, you can also work towards rebuilding your credit with the loan itself. This is usually done by making sure that your account with the lender remains in good standing order, as well as by looking into your financial history and current scores with all three credit bureaus. It's also key to make sure that you get a loan that will be right for you, and to perhaps verify how the lender might report your payments, if at all, so that it can possibly improve your score.

One of the things to expect with this kind of loan is to pay higher interest rates than usual. It's also common to see loan outfits that will have different types of payback conditions. Payback conditions usually involve when or how often the person borrowing the money will need to make payments to repay the loan. This could be monthly, bi-monthly, or even weekly.

Determining your budget can be quite useful when looking for a loan. This can help you to ensure that you can afford the loan itself, as well as keep up on reoccurring payments. Making payments on time and in the amount set can be important, particularly since late payments or non-payment will further damage your score. When considering your budget, also consider what other payments you'll have to pay, and make sure to provide a financial cushion for yourself in the event of an emergency or unforeseen problem.

Two types of loans usually apply to this kind of borrowing method: unsecured and secured loans. A secured loan is often used by lenders, since clients are expected to have some form of collateral, helping to ensure that lenders will be paid. Even though rates for a secured loan are higher than a regular one, they are often the less expensive of the two categories for bad credit.

Unsecured loans usually require lenders to look into the client's character references, detailed contact information, along with other things. Even though they do not usually require any form of collateral, it's common to see higher fees and rates when compared to a secured loan. This is why it helps to make sure that you apply for bad credit loans that will work best for you, since those who have a strong history of not making payments may not be able to obtain an unsecured loan as easily as a secured one. This can also be important since being denied or applying too many times may show on your history in the future, possibly lowering your score.

Sometimes things don't go as planned

A whole pile of potential. Stock cut for seven frames.

I chose a thin, contemporary molding for my show at Roberts Wesleyan’s Davison Gallery, because it's a sleek, contemporary space. I had a feeling this frame stock might be somewhat slender for such large pictures, so it was no big surprise when I released the clamp from the first frame I’d glued and the joints peeled apart in my hand. No matter how strong the glue, wood is heavy and a tiny contact surface can’t support a lot of weight. (Frame shops use V-nailers or underpinners to join miters, but they start at around $1200, so aren't appropriate for the casual framer. And in most cases, glue is sufficient.)

I prefer doing this job in my outdoor wood shop but it was 12° F. when I started. The glue would have frozen instead of setting. Next best place: my studio. The tools you need (in addition to a miter saw) are a drill, wood glue, strap clamps, a paintbrush to assure you've applied the glue evenly, and a mallet to tap the corners down so the two sides are flush with each other.

We’re a one-car family and my husband was off playing his bass. That might have been a real problem, but I was saved by technology. I visited a big box store’s website, identified the correct flat corner braces, found a store that had enough of them in stock, and bought them online. They texted my husband’s phone when the order was ready for pickup. He collected them on his way home. It was a matter of two hours to install the plates, and now I’m relatively certain that these frames could survive a minor earthquake.

You're not going to get that mending plate on there straight without carefully marking and drilling pilot holes. At this point, the joints have been glued and clamped; the mending plate is the icing on the cake.

Interestingly, the depth of the molding wasn't even from piece to piece, but as long as the mending plate was the same distance from the edge, I was happy.

I’ve posted about how to make frames before. If you can cut an accurate 45° angle (which is as much about having a good saw as it is about having woodworking skills) you can make decent frames in a home workshop. Affixing mending plates to a thin molding is a bit trickier, because they must be aligned perfectly so that they don’t show from the front and don’t impede installing the painting from the back. The only way I know how to do that is by careful marking and drilling pilot holes.

Two hours later, a whole heap of happiness. I can curse the never-ending winter or thank God I have a spare room in which these big frames can rest until they're needed. Which will be tomorrow morning, of course.

Despite the supports, I’ll affix the hangers to the stretchers, not the frames. No sense tempting fate.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Surprise, it’s snowing!

Wharf Scene in Winter, c. 1910, Charles Salis Kaelin

We woke up to yet another grey, snow-covered day with a temperature of 12° F. and all-day snow on the forecast. It’s a good thing snow is beautiful, and ever so paintable. Here are three snow scenes from American masters.

Charles Salis Kaelin was one of the earliest American exponents of Divisionism (or Chromoluminarism). This is the style invented by Georges Suerat, where colors are separated into individual dots or patches which interact optically.

 Kaelin was a respected member of the art colony at Rockport, Massachusetts. 

Snow scene by Emile Albert Gruppé . He painted many variations on this theme—mountains, stream, snow.

Emile Albert Gruppé was born in Rochester, NY, but spent his formative years in the Netherlands. He was the son of painter Charles P. Gruppé. The family returned permanently to the United States in 1913 as the political situation in Europe deteriorated. Gruppé was one of the most famous of the Cape Ann painters, establishing himself in Gloucester, MA.

Winter Rocky Landscape, William Partridge Burpee. There's a hint of Spring in there.

William Partridge Burpee was born in Rockland, ME. He studied with marine painter William Bradford in the late 1870s and began painting in the luminist marine style of Fitz Hugh Lane. He began showing in Boston in the 1880s but did not take up pastel until after a Grand Tour to Europe in 1897, where he became more familiar with impressionism. In 1914, he returned to his birthplace, where he died in 1940.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

You're invited...

Join us for the Gallery Opening of

GOD+MAN

Paintings by Carol Douglas

At the Davison Gallery, located in the Cultural Life Center at Roberts Wesleyan College.

6-10 PM, Friday, March 28

2301 Westside Drive, Rochester, New York 14546

I spend much of my time painting en plein air. The physical environment shows the marks of our existence, our relationship with each other, and ultimately our relationship with God. This visible record is subtle, but once you start to notice it, you realize it’s everywhere.

In mid-October, I returned home after a summer teaching painting in Maine. I had two things to do: put the final touches on my daughter’s wedding and paint the work for this show. What wasn’t on my schedule was another cancer diagnosis.

I’m a systematic person, so I scheduled making canvases during the four-week recovery period between my lumpectomy and hysterectomy. Immediately before my surgery, I drenched the canvases with Naphthol Red, which is a rich crimson color that is an excellent undertone for landscape. I do this regularly for plein air, but the effect of all these looming large canvases dripping blood was disconcerting.

After my surgery, I continued to leak blood. In early February I hemorrhaged, which put my recovery back to square one. I realized there was a connection between my current experience and my current paintings, which were proceeding by starts and fits.

I have tried to let the canvas show through in each of these paintings, because they were literally born in blood. If I’d proceeded along my original course, they would have been polished and buffed to the point where no undertone was visible. But I couldn’t do that, and I don’t regret it.

When You Might Need To Worry About A Transportation Bond

Most of the time, if you have ever encountered the term "transportation bond" it is something you are asked to vote for or against and it has to do with your local or state government planning to fund some kind of transportation project such as a road or a rail line. A different meaning does exist. A bond may also be a guarantee of something, a specific insurance policy written to protect you from some type of wrong-doing by a company you have hired. It may in fact also cover some sort of breakdown on your part such as withholding payment or not paying on time. But, in this case, this type of surety bond is designed for your protection.

Occasionally, you might have need of having something transported by a professional company. Instances like this might include when you are moving and all your worldly assets are being hauled across the state, country, or the continent by a moving company. You would definitely want a transportation bond if this is in reality your current circumstance. These types of bonds insure your valuables in the event pretty much anything happens such as the truck catching fire, the belongings being stolen or the driver fails to show up at all, you are compensated for whatever is lost. While the loss or damage might not be extensive, you would still be covered for that loss. As an example, if the movers damage a mirror or break the leg off your kitchen table, you will be reimbursed for it. Of course, the moving company would very typically pay for these types of problems anyway. Yet, if the moving company fails to act or it turns out that they just outright stole your things with no intention to deliver them, then in that case, this is where a bond would come in handy because the bond company would pay your claim and then try to get repaid by the moving company.

Another instance where you might be glad to have a transportation bond is if you are getting a car transported for you. For example, say you bought an expensive sports car in Germany and are having it transported to you in Ohio. In case for some reason the company you contracted with failed to deliver for any reason or the car gets destroyed in any way, the bond would insure you get compensated for the loss. Once again, if it is a reliable company, then they would pay you if the car was damaged or never showed up. Nonetheless, in this day and age there seem to be lots of shady companies out there and if you happened to have hired one of them, they might deny that they owed you anything and then you could be in a serious financial bind. The bond company would investigate the situation in any event with a transportation bond and you would certainly get paid and the insurance provider would then go after the company which caused the loss. Not like any insurance you commonly pay for, bonds similar to this are totally different. This is something most professional businesses already have because it protects them, as well. However, if you are looking into employing a company to do some sort of major transportation for you, then guaranteeing that such a transportation surety bond is paid for and active would be a very important part of investigating them.

These types of transportation surety bonds nonetheless, only cover the goods you are having shipped to make sure you are protected up to a specific amount should the company refuse to pay in times of loss, damage or theft.

Happy Spring!

Orchard with Blossoming Apricot Trees, 1888, Vincent van Gogh.

Today marks the vernal equinox, generally considered the first day of Spring. In the eastern United States, it’s been a dismal winter (which still hasn’t released us from its clutches). We long for Spring.

Blossoming Almond Branch in a Glass, 1888, Vincent van Gogh.

Vincent van Gogh painted a series of flowering almond trees in Arles and Saint-Rémy in 1888 and 1890. When he arrived in Arles in March 1888, the orchards were about to bloom. The blossoms ensnared him. In a month he produced fourteen paintings of blossoming peach, plum and apricot trees. “I am up to my ears in work for the trees are in blossom and I want to paint a Provençal orchard of astonishing gaiety,” he wrote.

Van Gogh’s Almond Tree in Bloom, 1888, resonates with me because it is a baby tree. So often we only see the picturesque in old trees.

The most well-known of his blossom paintings, of flowering branches against a blue field, has been reproduced on everything from ipod hardcases to duvet covers to switch plate covers.

It’s a pity this painting has been so misused, because he painted it in commemoration of the birth of his namesake nephew. “How glad I was when the news came... I should have greatly preferred him to call the boy after Father, of whom I have been thinking so much these days, instead of after me; but seeing it has now been done, I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky,” he wrote.

Van Gogh was already studying flowering trees before he went to Arles. His Japonaiserie Flowering Plum Tree (1887, after Hiroshige) is a study in the Japanese woodcut style he admired so much.

I love orchards at any time of the year, but particularly in spring. This year I am feeling the same stirring to be out in an orchard when the apple trees blossom.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Waves of Mercy and Grace

Waves of Mercy and Grace, by Carol L. Douglas. Those darn rocks are standing out like their own planet. Need a little refinement.

Yesterday was a perfect day—warm and bright. At noon, I took a break and walked with my posse. First time in weeks we’ve all walked together, because the weather has been atrocious.

The sky was a lovely cornflower blue. Of course even a perfectly clear sky isn’t uniformly blue. Today it was most intense over Jennifer’s house, edging to a softer blue to the south. The horizon softened to a pale tone. It was the perfect sky for my painting.

Three colors for the sky.

I generally mix three different colors for any object: light, medium and dark. A simple blue sky is no exception to that rule.

Detail from Waves of Mercy and Grace. Cute kids.

I set out intending to paint the Maine coast, but it turns out it’s a painting of Australia. The three little boys in this painting are my cousin’s kids, with whom I spent a magical day climbing on rocks. The sea is the color of the Indian Ocean, not the North Atlantic. Painting it gave me a mighty hankering to go back there.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Why Your Business Shouldn't Exist Without General Liability Insurance

Today's society is a contentious one. Even simple or little accidents can result to serious legal charges. This is where insurance comes into the picture. A term for the liability insurance that covers both public liability and product liability insurance is general liability insurance.

General liability insurance is an insurance coverage for almost any type of business wherein there are occurrences of bodily injuries and property damages on clients inside the business premises due to negligent actions and behavior of the employees and/or its owner. This type of insurance policy covers claims from a person injured due to usage of a product supplied and/or manufactured by a business, and from a person injured during the general operation inside the business site.

Insurances like these are vital for any business or company. It enables them to protect their assets and properties when they are sued for something that they did or did not do, no matter how little or big the damage or injury that has occurred. Usually, persons and businesses that are more likely at risk of getting liability claims purchase this type of insurance policies as a separate one.

There are ways for a person and his business to decrease the chances of getting sued. They should set their product quality control with the highest standards. They should ensure that all of their company records are complete and updated. They should also ensure that their employees are skilled in their work and properly trained, and acquire safety tips on liability claims based on their business type from the insurance company. Moreover, majority of the insurance companies oblige their policyholders to inform and report as early as possible any accidents that can result to a liability claim.

When choosing a general liability insurance policy, the owner and its business must consider two important factors. The first factor is the perceived risk and the second one is the state wherein the business operates. For the first factor, the business owner should contemplate over the amount of risk associated with their company. For instance, an enterprise using heavy machines would most likely be sued than a trade of dresses and clothing. While for the second factor, a business that runs in states that have a history of giving high damage amounts to claimants normally have high coverage limits with their liability insurance.

Professional liability insurance is essential for every business. This serves as their protection to whoever claimants that charges them due to any injuries and damages whether it is the companies fault or not. Businesses and its owners should always be ready and prepared from litigation claims because no matter how careful they are, there will come a time that they will experience events similar to this.

A great week to be from Buffalo

Joseph the Carpenter, by Georges de la Tour, c. 1645, is painted in the style called tenebrism, using exaggerated chiaroscuro with violent contrast, where darkness becomes a dominating feature. Despite that, it’s a sweet father-and-son image. Note the prefiguration of the cross in the auger.

Today is a wonderful convergence of two ethnic celebrations—St. Patrick’s Day (yesterday) and St. Joseph’s Day (tomorrow). In my home town of Buffalo, NY, both are big deals.

In the Spanish and Italian Old World, St. Joseph’s Day is also Father’s Day, a tradition that ties neatly with St. Joseph’s primary role as adoptive father of the Christ child.

Saint Joseph, Jusepe de Ribera, c. 1635, is also a tenebrist painting, but the effect is radically different from de la Tour.

The elements of an Italian-American St. Joseph’s Table vary depending on the family, but they are always meatless since the holiday falls during Lent. Where I’m from, Italians include lentil soup, pasta con sarde with mollica, olives, fennel, oranges, baccalà, vegetables (including cardoons), frittatas, and of course a gazillion cookies and breads. How did St. Patrick’s Day, with its corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and green beer, end up overwhelming the far greater gustatory appeal of St. Joseph’s Day?

Oh, well. St. Joseph dominates in the world of art. I don’t believe there’s a single great painting of St. Patrick out there. William Holman Hunt’s A Converted British Family Sheltering a Christian Missionary from the Persecution of the Druids will have to stand in.

A Converted British Family Sheltering a Christian Missionary from the Persecution of the Druids, by William Holman Hunt, 1850. As a pre-Raphaelite, he rejected chiaroscuro, but the end result doesn't look much like 15th century Italian painting.

A reminder: this is a great week to have your Vitamin D levels checked. They’re always at their lowest at the end of a long winter.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

The world’s longest winter

Happy times in my Saturday class.

We’re really plein air painters in my studio, and by late March we are fidgeting and whining to go outdoors. This morning it’s 4° F. out there, however, which is how the whole winter has gone. We’re inside and we still must paint. So what do we do? Fish among common household objects, of course, to create still-lives that both challenge and entertain.

Brad painting gift bags.

Nina's second painting! Whoo hoo!

Nathan and Jingwae are prepping for college, so a reflective glass arrangement suited them. (Carol T. opted for that, too.) Brad and Sandy decided to paint luminescent gift bags. And Nina—just starting her second painting—did a still life of apples in a Chinese antique scoop.

Sandy painting gift bags.

 We’ll be having a student show opening June 1 at VB Brewery in Victor. Mother Nature may be keeping us indoors, but we still must paint.

Nathan painting reflective glassware.

Jingwae painting reflective glassware.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!

Secret superpower

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, by Carol L Douglas. Still in draft form, I'm afraid.

I generally feel about clouds the way Winslow Homer felt about rocks: they’re easy to paint. So I wasn’t expecting to be tripped up by this painting. But when I finished my first iteration, I realized it was too monochromatically grey.

I mixed three different greys and went at it with both hands. Most of us Lefties have a secret superpower—we’re more or less ambidextrous. I can write and paint with either hand, although my right one tires more quickly.

Added greys. I think it actually looked better here than when "finished."

I don’t usually paint two-handed, because I only have one brain. In certain situations, such as when laying down large masses or alternately painting and blending, it’s a useful skill.

Two-fisted painter.

Unfortunately, I fixed the chroma problem but seem to have lost the original organization. I’ll go back in with some darks when this has a chance to set up, but for now I am moving on to my next painting. I have to hang this show a week from tomorrow.

Let me know if you’re interested in painting with me in Maine in 2014 or Rochester at any time. Click here for more information on my Maine workshops!