Painting #355 - only 10 more days to go

I'm looking forward to taking a bit of a break from this blog, I have lots of knitting I obligated myself to do for my sister and I also have a pair of socks to knit, I'd really like to finish several knitting projects that I have started, when I manage to get the scarves finished and the socks finished, I also need to devote some time to figuring out my taxes, I don't generally do my own taxes, but I do have to prepare the paperwork and make my profit and loss sheets, so I have plenty to do here directly. I really got the knitting going today, so my painting today is small, I was going to work on the acrylic I started yesterday, but, it really was too much to get done, I had dinner to fix for the family, my 2 oldest grandchildren were here, so I wanted to make something special, we had fried potatoes and salmon patties with creamed pea's, so I spend about an hour and a half fixing supper, and I always get tired after I eat, but I did try to get to the painting before it got too late, it is just after 11:00 p.m., which for me is pretty good.

Today's painting is also an acrylic, I got out another 4" x 4" claybord, the acrylic's seem to paint just beautifully on this surface. I guess I really decided to do the painting I started yesterday, so I got the acrylics out for that, then I looked at how much was left to paint on that one and decided to get a small board out, I will try to finish it either tomorrow or Monday, ok? I am making this short, again tonight, I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #354 - Jan 13 - Kind of stuck in the house today

We got snow, and the forecast was a winter storm watch, so, since it could get crappy out, I was unable to go to my friend's house today, we usually get together, any where from 2 to 4 times a year. I used to live in Ft. Wayne and she also lived there, obviously, that's where we met, she was my china painting teacher over 32 years ago, I moved to Michigan, and she moved to another city in Indiana, we've been best friends since we met, and distance didn't change that, it's unfortunate that we don't get to spend more time together, but we manage. In the mean time, I also have lots of best friends here to help fill the void, I do appreciate all my friends, I feel totally blessed.

I should have used that time that I would have been painting at my friends to paint here, but, alas, I'm bad, the knitting still has me, I didn't start the painting until 9:00 p.m., and then I decided to use the acrylics, I salvaged an 8" x 10" claybord that my friend Sue tried to destroy, just kidding Sue, since it was slightly damaged, I decided to paint on it with the acrylics, I figured it wouldn't be as noticeable with the acrylics, this photo of the painting looks a bit lighter on the left side, the light was shining on it and you know how acrylics are, anyway, the 8" x 10" one was coming along nicely, but as I started late, I know I couldn't finish it, so I switched to a 4" x 4" claybord, still with the acrylics though, I picked this farm scene instead of the mill I was painting, so, this is the painting for today, another barn painting, can't have too many of those, huh? I think since it's late that I will cut this a bit short, the acrylics are a basic thin wash to start, then layers on top of each other, until it suits me, I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #353 - Jan 12 - Too tired to paint today

I did paint, but I sure didn't complete the one I worked on in class today, it was an 8" x 10" and I didn't have the energy to finish it. So, when I got home, I took a nap, a 2 hour nap, then I fixed supper, and I finally got to paint at about 9:30, I scoured through my photo's to find one that I felt I could finish in an hour or so, I found the 4" x 4" Claybord and so, that's the painting for today, I'm supposed to go to my friend's house in Indiana tomorrow, but the weather is looking bad, I hope it's not as bad as it could be, I'll have to check it out in the morning. If it is bad in the morning, I may not be able to go, since it is Friday the 13th, no sense in taking any chances, we'll see. In the meantime, I am going to make this short, I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #352 - Jan 11 - What a nice day, got to watch a great video plus paint.

I started my day just like usual, I made the coffee (a must), and decided to watch the video I received the other day, on slab building and texturing and making clay stamps, wow, what a great video, I really felt that I learned a lot, now, when I get my ceramic studio set up, I can do some of that, I have the kilns, I have the clay, I also have the potters wheels, now I just need some lights and some electric outlets so I can plug my wheels in, I'm ready to try this again, I did some throwing several years ago, at the Art Center of Battle Creek, since then I haven't had the energy, I had to work a 3rd shift factory job for over 5 years, that was because the window factory I worked at went bankrupt, it's crappy having to go out and find another job at 54, the only jobs available are 2nd and 3rd shifts, not my favorite after 22 years on first, what a come down! Plus, having to work with some of those 30 something women, who still thought they were in High School, not pleasant, it sure wasn't fun. So, when the factory closed and moved another hour plus away (I was already driving 40 min away), that made up my mind to not take the opportunity they offered to transfer, that's pretty much when I decided to make my art my job, so I started teaching watercolor, I'd been teaching china painting, and I had taught pastels before, so I wasn't new to teaching, I really love my job now, then last year, when I started this blog, I decided to try to make myself paint every day, that's worked, I am painting everyday, but now it's time for a little rest, just to catch up my relaxation a bit, I really wouldn't want to play with clay all day, and then try to paint a painting too, so I didn't play with the clay, but now I'm really getting the bug, I really need to make some jewelry too, and that also isn't painting, but it is art. Well, enough of that, now on with the painting.

This painting is one I started tonight at the watercolor class in Sturgis, I was demonstrating on paper, but the paper was much larger than I knew I could finish, besides, next class they will be working to finish their paintings, and I'll want the one I started to show them how to finish it. So, while they were painting theirs (after I had mine at a stage and was waiting for them to finish or catch up), I decided to get the Claybord out and see if I couldn't get a painting ready so I didn't have so much to work on at home, I think I did pretty well, I had about 1/2 or 3/4 of an hour in it at class, then I have about an hour and a half here at home, I actually completed it just a bit after 11:00 p.m. (since I don't get home until 9:10 or so, and I hadn't eaten dinner yet, I did eat before I started the painting), I think that's pretty good, I may actually get to bed before 12:00 a.m.(and that's very good).

Since this is on Claybord, it's very smooth, I usually try to lay on a coat of paint rather wet, to give the board some tooth, it helps the layers of paint that go on later. After that is dry, I then started to fine tune the buildings, I don't think the building is the focal point, now, I did at first, but this has become a tree painting. I really enjoyed painting the tree and this went fairly quickly, I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #351 - Jan 10 - I'm starting the count down

I've been thinking on what I will do after this blog is finished. I think I will take a small break, the thought of obligating myself for another blog operation doesn't sit well with me right now, I need to just relax for a bit. I wish I had more energy, at this point in my life, which I'm just getting into, but it's obviously, on a down hill slide, I just can't think about it. If I did have more energy, I would continue this blog, I have enjoyed painting everyday, and I'm still going to try to paint everyday, after all, I do have two art shows to get ready for, one that starts in August this year, and one in March of 2013. I also wish that I had decided to do this earlier in my life, I look at all those daily painters, and I'm envious, I know that if I had my life to live over, that it would probably go the same way, I married early, raised my children, and worked to pay bills, I never made it to collage, something that I would have done differently, but I'm sure that I'd still be on this same track, I've been a procrastinator my whole life, I really do enjoy painting, but I also have so many other things I enjoy, so I'm going to work with some porcelain, maybe throw some pots, I really want to do some more oils, and I really need to get rid of some stuff in my house so that I have room to do some of those things. So, I may do a blog and show you the things I'm doing, I really do need to make some jewelry, and watercolor is my main love at this time, but so much to do that I need to take a break, I will do some posts, but not everyday, maybe a couple times a week.

Ok, now, the painting, this painting is on watercolor paper, approximately 1/4 sheet of Hot pressed 140 lb. paper. I started this last week, but couldn't get it finished until today, I made quite a bit of progress on it during class, and then spent about an hour and fifteen min. to finish it tonight. In the photo, the water was almost still, the reflections were like a mirror, so in my painting, I decided to make some changes to the water, I contemplated putting a duck or a goose or a swan in, and then decided to just leave it, maybe it would have been too cute, well, I am tired, and I have to get ready for my Sturgis class tomorrow, so I'm going to get to bed earlier tonight, hopefully. I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #350 - Jan 9 - It is a good painting day

I didn't get started with this until a little after 9:00 p.m., but, it went really well, I decided to paint on 8" x 10" Aquabord, like I said, it went fairly quickly for this size painting, only 3 hours invested, and that includes sorting through the pictures to figure out which one inspired me. I've painted this picture a couple of times before, and even though the scene is similar, they all look a bit differently. I'm going to be short with this one, I do believe after reading so many of my blogs, that you know how I progress, it's the same old way, pretty much top to bottom, or far to close, which ever way you think of it. I do work in some layers, and this one has them too, fine tuning is last which is the very close foreground, and the tree branches, I couldn't get the colors to show up correctly, so this is the closest that I could get, I'ts pretty colorful, and the picture I took with the flash, was all washed out, this one, however, isn't quite as colorful as the original, but better than washed out. I like this little painting and I hope you do too.

Painting #349 - Jan 8 - An inspired day

Today started out very busy, family coming for dinner, I didn't manage to get the dinner rolls made until this morning, well, I should have made them yesterday, I really got behind the eight ball with that one, the dinner didn't get eaten until well after 2:00 p.m., I usually try to get the dinner done by 1:00 but really was late today, plus, I must be getting senile, I forgot to put the eggs in the brownies, boy, do they get ugly when they don't have eggs, I'm hoping to never do that again, I can only claim exhaustion from lack of sleep, lol.

I went to Michael's the other day, when I was there I purchased some cradled MDF, so I decided to get the acrylics out. My first inclination was to paint a very loose woman in a red dress, but when I was sketching the woman, I kind of put it too far to the left, so, I decided to put another figure in, well, they started to look like oriental women, so, that's what they became, I probably have the clothing all wrong, oh well, this is just a lark anyway, I don't usually do things from my head, well, we have a RED show going up in the Tibbits Gallery tomorrow, and I had to come up with something red, well, I did red pears yesterday, so today I decided to try this one, I do have a poinsettia that I'm really thinking about framing tomorrow, I have until 1:00 p.m., so I need to get at it early tomorrow, I enjoyed painting this little painting, and I hope you enjoy it too.