I Am Not A Baseball

One of the pieces of citrus fruit I am painting is a mandarin and I got it because of the part on the top that looks like a little hat. The first time I tried to paint it, the hat did not work out. This time it went better and this one is not an orange baseball. 

It may sound a little woo-woo, but most (or all) of the time when I paint I think I’m just in my head/brain.  Since that’s where I am most of my life, I am trying to be more present by occasionally doing things like being aware of my feet on the ground and stuff like that.  When I was painting this one, I made a concentrated effort to stay more aware of my physical presence and also to consider the object that I’m painting in a different way.   

Here are the other two pieces to round out the week.

I almost always set things up in a particular way.  For this one, the fruit was placed on its side.

Class is today, so here is the last homework piece from yesterday.  I started down the path of too many layers in the orange and lost the individual paint strokes, which led to losing distinct parts of the shape. Rather than stop, I added layers that were more like washes.  

This week one of the things I enjoyed the most was working on mixing different colors of orange, in addition to just getting back to painting every day. 

Orange Baseballs

The last two nights, I have thought about the idea of painting while I'm also feeling connected and grounded right after I'm done painting for the evening.  Tonight, I am going to try remember to actually do that before I begin.  

Before we had two storm fronts that moved through and dumped a ton of snow, I purchased two different types of citrus to use as I practice.  I'm rusty, so I'm having some trouble building volume and shape.  As a result, I think these more closely resemble orange baseballs rather than my actual citrus subjects.  That's one of the bigger challenges.  

On a more cheerful front, I am enjoying mixing colors and playing with paint strokes.

It's also been good to get the area where I paint a little more organized. 

That Was A Very Long Hiatus

It's been awhile.  I wish I could say that I really missed the blog, but I did not.  

During my break, I didn't not completely shy away from creative activities, but I did take a break from the ones that stretch me the most and therefore take more energy.  As a result, I have not been drawing or painting.  

Since the start of 2023, there's been a little voice inside that has been getting a little louder over time that it's time to get back to it.  Recently, I signed up for a class at the Minnesota Center for Books and one at Wet Paint.   I signed up for a two session class at Wet Paint with Monica Fogg and was very disappointed that it was cancelled.  Still, the two classes that I did take helped me feel like I was bringing my creativity muscle back online so that it's ready to work and grow.      

One of the Wet Paint classes was both about art, specifically mark making, and meditation.  In one exercise, we were experimenting with getting in touch with our breath and making marks during that time.  I found myself getting frustrated that my breath seems like such a soft thing in comparision to making lines and other marks.  I kind of wanted to make bold marks, but that's not how my breath "felt".  

I found myself returning to think about this over the next few days and a tiny "aha" moment appeared.  One of the reasons to get back to drawing and painting is to have these types of things to ponder.  It just makes life more interesting to think about why does my breath seem incongruent with bold, strong mark making.  

This weekend, I painted several times.  That was a warm up for today, since today was the start of a short session learning to paint from Kat Corrigan again.  I have been really looking forward to today.  It seems like a really good group of people, Kat creates a very welcoming environment, and it's just good to back at it again.

I feel really rusty, but I am also ready to practice, again.  

Here is the first painting after the long hiatus.  It actually felt pretty good.  The next two did not flow at all. 

Here's the one from class today.  I like some of the colors that I mixed.  I should have stopped earlier, since I think it was in a better place than when I finished.  

It's been nice to get into the flow of this type of focus again.  It goes back to feeling like I've taken a vacation to the other side of my brain.  I also completely lost track of time.  At the same time on the way home, I was thinking about the art-making and mediatation class at Wet Paint and I realized that I spent the entire time in class today in my head.  Another thing to think about or try is being fully present when I'm painting in terms of things like occasionally checking in with my breath, being aware of my feet on the floor, and things like that.   

Reflection

I have not been drawing or painting.  

This weekend, I am at a friend’s cabin, reflecting. 

Even if I am not currently drawing or painting, I am grateful that it has taught me a lot about looking and seeing.  

I also know that I’ll get back to drawing and painting, again. 

Still Here

I am still here, but my painting is back to being a bit spotty. I’m not going to lose my habit completely, but much of the time it’s been every other day.  

On Sunday, I finished a pair of moccasins/booties to wear in the house when I am working and my feet are cold.  In a more normal year, I might not need them at this point, but it’s still cold.  

Since I need some additional mirth in my life, I added a pair of zany socks to the mix. 

Slowly

Slowly, that’s how I paint these days. 

In my basement, working slowly, for a relatively short period of time, I’ve been able to focus and concentrate in a better way. That means it’s taking me 3-4 days to finish one small painting.

In past posts, I’ve mentioned how I tend to focus on paintings with only one object in them or when I’ve tried to branch out and do something slightly more complicated.  It’s taken me a long time to feel like I can try and tackle more complicated scenes, but I’ve been enjoying that lately.  

One thing I’m finding is that it helps to feel a connection to the photo.  I’ve been interested in this photo that I took at Crex Meadows in Wisconsin, but have not felt ready to try it.  That worked a lot better than another one I tried recently.  It was also a photo from the same trip.  For some reason, I thought that I should try to paint that one, since backgrounds are still a mystery and it had an interesting, but blurry background.  I thought it would be easier to tackle, but I was approaching it from the standpoint of something that I “should” do.  It did not go well. 

One other thing……When I’ve finished several recent paintings, I’ve felt that I’ve done the best work that I can currently do and that feels good.  Afterwards, of course, I can see things that I wish I had done differently and areas I’d like to improve.  I also know there are things I can’t even see yet, which also need to be worked on.  However in the moment with a paint brush in my hand, it just feels good to be reaching and stretching. 

I feel a special connection with those paints and that includes the first one that I ever painted of a cat.  It was during the first set of painting classes with Kat.  It was a painting of Ella and by any standards, it is not a good painting.  I was terrified to try and paint a cat, but I did it and when I was done I felt that I had done the best that I could based on what I could do at that point.  

Winter Robin

Welcome to a new month, even though I am always a little sad to say goodbye to March.  March brings some of my favorite snow.  I love the big, wet snowflakes of March.  In addition, it’s always such an unpredictable month.  Usually, there are several teaser days in the high 50s or low 60s and everyone seems to radiate an inner joy that the cold dark days are over or at least approaching the end, because, of course, it’s still March. Those teaser days happened 2 weekends ago and it was glorious to have them fall on a weekend. After that, it’s been back to cold, snow, and one recent morning, where we got freezing rain, rain, sleet, and snow, all within a short period of time.  

March is a little like being on a roller coaster, emotionally and weather-wise. 

With that, welcome to April.  In addition to keeping up my creative habit, it’s time to start gardening.  It’s too early to do anything outside, but it is time to get seeds started in the basement.  By mid-month, I should be able to transplant the violas into pots, since they can handle some cold, and move some of the hardier herbs from the basement to the enclosed front porch.  Some years, I do plant arugula outside, but more towards the end of the month.  

From a painting perspective, I am still working slowly.  I think I worked on this one for 4 days and it’s only a 5” x 7”.