finished!!

I'm done! (I really like it too.) I worked side by side with Micah as he sewed a gift for his cousins. It turned out to be a day of peace and creativity. I loved it. My spirit feels refreshed, and I can face all the craziness of our Christmas Eve trip to Clearwater tomorrow. Plus, now I feel confident in handing over a completed piece that I think she will like in exchange for our new puppy.

Most of this final stage of the painting involved glazing with paint thinned with liquin so it will dry quickly and much of the underpainting will show through. I added more punch in the blue background and used a gray that was a mixture of Veridian and Alizerin Crimson. Black and white would have been lifeless and boring, but combining the green and red deepens the darks and holds a rainbow inside. It works like a seesaw back and forth with either more redish or greenish shades of gray. I had to be careful with this subject because a green goat would have looked a little odd. The combo needed to stay balanced.
I'm very happy with the turnout. Can't wait to see the client's reaction.

stage 2

Everyone is out of the house today. Well of course that's the time to paint. Got some more work done on the "Little Man". I wiped off the background color three times. Still not sure about it. That's it for today. Gotta go get Micah from the bus stop and start the evening feeding and gathering eggs. Burrr it's cold outside!

New painting

Today I started on a painting that I am going to trade for a new puppy that will eventually be a guard dog for our farm. (Hopefully) We've tried other dogs in the past, but this time we are getting a Great Pyrenees who has started out life thinking she is a goat. We will try to keep her thinking that by bringing home two baby goats to keep her company.
So today I started the goat portrait for the shepherdess who owns them. I like it so far. Plus it puts the brush in my hand. Oh, it's so easy to get distracted while using the computer for reference material. I got into email and other posts and looking at artwork by Picasso today, and more. But my brush did touch the canvas as you can see. Before I started the painting, I did three head studies in my tiny sketchbook. It helped me pick a pose and it also gave me more confidence. When I got lost in the painted version, I could look at the small pencil drawing and say, "Look, you did it once, you can do it again." I think I'll do more sketching just for the advantage of telling the critics in my head to back off.
More to come later on the progress of "Little Man, the goat".

Starting again

It seems I get so overwhelmed with trying to make art, be creative, prove a point, that I avoid going to that scary place within myself where art happens. I can come up with plenty of good excuses why I just can't create right now. Too busy with the farm, husband/kids need me, or who's going to cook dinner? But each day and week that passes when I don't allow those creative thoughts into my life, I feel weaker and less of who I really know myself to be. It's abuse and neglect of the child inside me. How can I change this? I am a risk taker. Why don't I take the risk of facing the palette and canvas? Why don't I put importance on it like other things? Oh I could go on and on. How boring. I know other artists feel the very same way. They've found a way to overcome. I have to too. So starting today. I'm changing the way I live. Oh, please help me, Father. I'm scared and the voice inside my head says I'll fail at this. I want to be able to face the day's needs but pull away from the tentacles and get into the studio and actually do more than clean it up. I want to create art again. I want to follow it into the restoring waters that will quench my thirst for truth. I mean being true to me. Follow along if you want. I'm going to find out what God has put inside me that is crying to get out.

Lights, Camera, Action!

I've got 'em. See the lights? I've got electricity in my studio!!!!! Next step is a fan or an A/c unit. Oh, it feels so good. Like Christmas. Now comes the action part. Tomorrow is my day to paint. I haven't been in the studio in the heat of the day yet with the lights on, but we'll see how long I can stand it with a fan running. I really want to get a new painting started. Whoopee!!

Electricity is coming to the studio!

Since we moved, my painting locations have been more mobile and less frequent. The paintouts have been my refuge, but now things are looking up. My new studio is a very large, very old RV. It was our first home on the land last summer and now I get it all to myself.

Since moving it to the side of the property, the electricity has been disconnected making it very cold this past winter, and very hot so far this summer. But now it is getting electricity soon. Everyone is helping with the trench to lay the cable. Thanks to all who are lending their muscles to the project!

Last week, I brought all my painting stuff into the dining room to paint in the AC. Here's a little painting I started while teaching at John C. Campbell Folk School in May. They have the most beautiful, lovingly made elements all over the campus. Here's a hand forged gate near the garden we painted. Every day the same bird joined us from his perch on the curve of metal. He preened, we painted, the wind fluttered through our gazebo cooling brows knit in concentration. Ahhhh what a week. One of my students already has dibs on the painting.