Day 30 of 100

Day 30! It is good that painting for fun is part of my life again.

This is my second attempt at this post. I had written a long description of my thoughts today and then the app crashed. Basically it was about sight and blindness. I am noticing lots of references to both literal and metaphorical sight and blindness lately.

I also just got new glasses and I am not used to them yet which adds another level of challenge to painting. Do I also have new insights into my work that I am not used to yet? Ha ha. Probably.

I like how the jacket in this painting turned out, but not as crazy about the crawlback around the sun.

Day 29 of 100

I drew lines and added frisket. I am trying to be true to who I am. I am trying to show up and do the work.

Day 28 of 100

This is the view from my living room chair. The rose was from a restaurant. They gave one to everyone in our group. The angel was made by my grandma. The photo is me, Bill, and the kids from about 10 years ago.

Day 27 of 100

I am stuck. All is muddy. This is my first attempt with new bigger Stonehenge hot press paper. I thought it came in 300lb, but all they had was 140lb. This is an imaginary landscape.

I painted the waterfalls outside at Forestville State Park in Minnesota. I was so happy to find this stream emerging from an opening in the hillside. This must be a connection to caves. Mystery Cave is nearby. I stayed in this park two nights. I barely saw any other humans the whole time I was there. It was surreal and wonderful. I walked for hours. I am not happy with the quality of this work, but I will try to learn something from it.

Day 26 of 100

I did this on Saturday. It is from a photo and from imagination. 

Day 25 of 100

A few touch ups on this one.

This one is getting closer, but it got kinda muddy, I think. I might draw on top of it with something to bring the light back on the girl in blue. The leaves on the trees are a mess. And the layers underneath the sky are distracting. Maybe it is time to start again on this composition. The girl in blue is watching the sun rise. It looks like she is stalking the girl in yellow.

Day 24 of 100

I added to this one that I started in Maple Grove. Everything there is so planned and overly perfect. It was a sunny day and I do not have the cast shadows in yet.

I started this one not knowing what it would be. I wanted to try tinting the paper with permanent rose as I prepped it for wet-in-wet work. Once it was tinted, I drew the plant and container with my brush and no pigment. Next was phalo blue shadows and windsor green/yellow/sap green leaves. That yellow came in a set called "Michael Wilcox school of colour" It says it is lightfast, but does not have a lightfastness rating, so I guess I am taking a risk. It is good to not have to worry about how much I use.

Day 23 of 100

This one is my first use of hot press watercolor paper. I like it so much better. Smooth, more vibrant. It is my second attempt at the idea about watching the sunrise and noticing other people rushing by not noticing the sunrise. Tonight is the change for Daylight Savings Time. This is always very hard for me to adjust to getting up an hour earlier. 

I went for a walk today on the Red Cedar Trail in Menonomie, WI. They have had a lot of snow and rain lately. This mass of icicles amazed me. It is from the snow melting and dripping down the rocks. There were also amazing ice formations on the branches the touched the river surface. I do not have a good picture of that.

Day 22 of 100

Back to the two dresses. I have a habit of rubbing the back of my neck when I don't know what to do next. I also make it a priority to sit and watch the sunrise most every day. I see others up before the sun starting their day and they don't seem happy. I think they might enjoy stopping and watching the sun rise, but I don't say anything. I see them as over-achievers, they probably see me as lazy.

Day 21 of 100

It reminds me of a swamp.

Drain the swamp?

Or walk outside and enjoy the swamp ecosystem?

I am floundering again.

Day 20 of 100

This is what I was able to do today. I needed to just move color around.

Watercolor is immediate and can do interesting things, but I do not like how the color is so muted when it dries. Is that because I need higher quality paints? Even the Windsor Blue fades, so I think it is just the nature of watercolor.

I wish I did not have to go to work tomorrow.

Day 19 of 100

I was motivated to keep up the painting every day and then I didn't. Depression was getting the better of me this week. I also was feeling ill physically. I forced myself to get outside and that helped. I went to the conservatory but so did everyone else. I did find an empty bench and enjoyed sketching. I do not know yet what I want to say with my art. For now I will just keep painting because I must. Being among all the plants so close together was good too, I think it just feels healthy.