Exciting-Part of the Process

I really wanted to paint something the minute I came home this afternoon. When I entered the studio, however, I was greeted by wreckage from the week. I realized I had to tidy first so I took all the stuff within arm's reach and tossed it in a pile to sort. Then I reprioritized my stuff and made new places for it. Some of it went to the trash. I feel so good, and I know I'll really feel good when I reach for something and it's there.

During

After

After

Exciting-In Living Color

It's so black, white and gray outside. I wanted to play with some color to give me a lift.
This is new paper especially for acylic paint. It's 256 lb. and it has a very coarse texture to hold the paint. I tore pieces of tape and did a design on the paper. The I painted the background with black Chinese ink. I removed the tape, painted the white places with Golden Liquid Acrylics then layered oil pastels. Sometimes I scratched thru several layers with a brush handle. Fun.

Acrylic, ink and oil pastel

Exciting-Lebanese Rice Dish

One of the few things I miss about living in New York is the amazing array of wonderful ethnic foods. You could get any kind of take out, or buy the ingredients to cook it yourself. There was a Lebanese butcher across the street who also sold prepared foods. It was one of our favorite places. They made a  dish called moudadara. I've been having a hankering for it, so today I made some. It's basically lentils, rice and sautéed onions.  I'm very excited! It's delish!

Moudadara

Exciting-great news!

Since 2009 I got tests and saw an oncologist or surgeon every 3 months, locally and in Boston.
My latest blood work and cat scan were good and for the first time, my doctor in Boston told me I don't have to make the trip out to see her. Yay!

I'm so excited!

Excitement-Drawing Life

My Millie

Exciting-New Paint

 Been using watercolor for a while, but decided to try some acrylics. Got the fluid type to keep it sorta watercolor-like. The colors are very saturated and mix well. They dry very quickly in the pallet, however, and they don't reconstitute well. Having just started, I can't say I get how to use them yet. I do find experimenting with a new medium and such lush colors very exciting. Here's a couple of samples.
                                                                                                             

Delicate Balance-Snow Birds

Watercolor and oil pastel 

Delicate Balance-Chickadee

Ink on rice paper

Delicate Balance-Hummingbird

Ink on rice paper

Delicate Balance-Wired

Delicate Balance-Flamingo

A Delicate Balance-The Sentry

Tangerines-5 ways

Missed Mindfulness Group today. The snow kept me inside. Deb told me they were going to draw an object in several ways, with different materials. Here's mine.

Marker on sketch paper

Ink on mulberry paper

Watercolor pencil on sketch paper

Watercolor on rice paper

Charcoal on rice paper

Spring-Fuscia for Valentine's Day

Spring-Not

Signs of Spring

Thanks Deb

Spring-Beneath My Trees

Spring too

 

It's all about editing.

One Thing-Spring?

My energy is rather low today. Made a mindless, layback little picture with watercolor and cray pas. 

Alchemy-It's a long story...

Alchemy-X-rays

I arranged strips of masking tape on a sheet of watercolor paper. Then laid down washes covering the  page. I found some tubes of acrylic this afternoon so I used it like watercolor (sorta)
Then peeled off the tape and drew with cray pas and then paint in white areas.

And what is this imagery?
Well it was such a beautiful day. Even though there was more than a foot of snow on the ground, I could sense the activity taken place beneath and how it's all getting ready to burst through the layers.

Oh yeah, I was also inspired by seeing and discussing x-rays of my feet with my podiatrist.

Alchemy-Singing

I practiced the song several times in the car on the drive down. My sister helped me with my selection. We agreed that I had a good chance of hitting all the notes with a Carol King song.

I felt nervous and excited as I made my way up the steps of the church. I needn’t have been concerned. They didn’t ask me to audition, and it quickly became obvious that all skill levels were welcomed to the group.

We sang for over an hour to a piano and guitar. The songs ranged from The Monkeys to Andy Williams. The lyrics were printed on flipchart paper and clipped on an easel.

The fellow next to me had great enthusiasm and knew all the na na nas. Sometimes he was ahead of the music which challenged me to keep the timing.

Of the dozen singers, there wasn’t one I particularly connected to; yet there was a cheerfulness in the room that I resonated with. My nervousness disappeared and I felt proud of myself for showing up. After all, how often do I have the opportunity to just sing songs?

Singing-so simple and joyful, for a change.

Alchemy

Alchemy=Transformation?