Reprieve

This is the beginning of something.  If I paint some orange on the trunk, it should start to look brownish, like a tree trunk.  I just am not sure if that is what the painting needs.  Light and shadow are always tricky for me.  It would be easier if I was outside looking at the tree on a sunny day.  But alas, I have squandered my time once again on work, food, and dishes.  And then I took a nap.  I am thinking of my life as a work of art (like Julie Cameron says in her book, The Artist's Way).  As I take a step back to get a good look at it, I see what it needs.  It needs more naps.  But not too many. Just a few here, a few there.  Also I need to add something new and different once in a while.  Today it was a long bike ride to get home from work, with a couple stops on the way.  I took the most scenic route with the least traffic, even though it was much longer.  One stop was to buy a smoothie.  Pineapple Mango.  They messed up and made a large when I ordered a small.  That was OK with me.

Family

I had a fun time painting with relatives on the 4th of July.  We stood around the picnic table and painted on canvases my step sister-in-law brought.  Daisies, paw prints, and fish were the themes of the day.  

Stranded

Today I was driving home from my dad's house when I unexpectedly found myself spending a few extra hours in a town 50 miles from home.  I am so blessed to have friends willing to drive a long way to rescue me.  This picture is one of the ways I spent my time as I waited.  

Oak Leaves

A full day today for whatever I decide to do is an amazing thing.  This painting is about enjoying coloring.  I was not concerned with duplicating the leaves exactly as they appear.  I was intrigued by the variations of shape and color.  For me lately, it is a victory if I simply show up at my art.  It is the same with my exercising.  I am happy when I do it, but I often go for days or sometimes even weeks when I ignore it.  When I go back to it I am happy again.  I am trying to evict the self-doubt that tells me I should be embarrassed by my feeble efforts.  Posting to this blog is how I am fighting the self-doubt. I do not say that to fish for compliments.  I am simply saying it is a little bit hard to click "publish" today.

Finishing and Starting

Today I worked a little more on the painting of Mom's tree.  It is a rainy day today with flash flood warnings.  A good day to stay home.  I brought an oak branch in from the deck and started to draw it with the paintbrush.  At least I showed up at the watercolor paper today.  I have some Girl Scout forms to deal with.  Also there are some events tomorrow and I really should be prepared.

Mom's tree

Finally painted!

This is the tree in my mom's front yard.  I have painted it before.  It is so interesting.  I'm on my way home now and hoping to avoid severe weather.

The top painting is not done yet, but it was time to go.

What I've been up to

Apparently I've been ending sentence fragments with prepositions.  And I have been knitting.  And teaching school. And I took part in a fundraiser for Friends of Island Lake in Shoreview, MN.  And spending time with friends and family. I have not been painting. There are still important friends and family that I have not spent time with yet, so I do not know when I will paint next.  I did bring my paint supplies along on this trip with my mom, brother, and son.  Perhaps I can do some painting here.  Well, not here at this moment.  We are at a mall because my brother wanted to shop.  I am sitting in a comfy chair in the hallway of the mall.  Knitting seems an appropriate waiting activity.  Pulling out paint, water, paper, etc. would be problematic and there is little here to inspire me visually.  Earlier we were sightseeing and there was much to inspire me, but that was not a time to paint either.