Almost There

It was nice to not have to worry about detail so much since I was filling in the parts that are supposed to be yellow-ish.  It is almost done now!  I want to add more color though. 

I had to put the flash on the camera so that's why the blue seems brighter.  Without the flash though you can't see my fading detail on the triangular shapes.

I worked for a couple hours last night and it was a relaxing time for me- a real treat.  I seem to be getting better about this whole painting business.  I just sat down and started painting!  No fuss or hassling with newspaper or old clothes.... and whenever I dripped or screwed up I would just wipe it off with a paper towel and keep going.

Well I have some homework to get done and I could give you more to think about but I think I have said enough.  I am fairly happy with the painting so far : )

It's coming together!

I decided I should paint yesterday!!!

And I felt pretty good about it afterwards.

I sat at the table this time and set some newspaper out that I hardly used- since I was doing finer stuff inside the canvas but you never know....

I only supported the canvas by holding it on my lap and used the table a little.  I didn't get a back ache this time!  
It was completely quiet this time with the exception of my ancient apartment creaking.  I did a little FBing.  The phone I need to keep around strictly for keeping track of time.  Making a note of that....

Anyways-  I got all the bordering done and now I am so excited to get started on the fun-ner stuff like throwing down slabs of paint and making BIG changes!!!

Just kidding.

I worked for about another hour and this is what I've got so far to show for it:

It got cold and so I finally turned on the heat after my fingers felt like they were about to fall off.  Stupid weather.  I nearly fainted when I saw snow falling outside my kitchen window.

As far as the painting goes I plan to fill in the rest of the "foreground" with a base of yellow.  I think.  Yeah, that's what I will do, but then I will still make it more colorful later.

IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!!!!!

Painting in the Evening

I painted a little last night- as in I spent at least an hour on painting but I didn't get a whole lot done.  That's just how it goes and I am happy with what I have so far.

My best friend, Myndi, took a look at what I had so far and suggested using the primary color yellow next because it's complementary to blue.  So that's what I'm doing but yellow may just take up the base and borders for some of "foreground."

I didn't turn off the radio this time but had it tuned to the Muncie country station.  They were playing ole time-y country and gospels.  Made me think back on days of visiting the Grand Ole Opry Hotel and Dad's album "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."  Soon after, it changed back to modern day country which I didn't mind too much, besides the commercials.  Whatever.

I went to painting right away with primary yellow (which turns a little more orange-ish after drying) with a finer brush on the thin swirl.  I recalled from painting last time that pencil marks tend to show through the yellow so I erased the pencil lines (which only made them slightly faint, but not gone completely).  Meanwhile, I was twiddling my thumbs thinking about Mom's birthday (which I will be missing) and Facebook-ing on my phone.

Next time I will eliminate the phone.

It was nice when I finally got around to painting more that I forgot about pretty much everything and became totally immersed in the act of concentrating on NOT screwing up the painting.  Only on a couple occasions did my brush invade the blue areas but it's not that noticeable from a distance.

My back hurt after I was done.

I also had a headache, but I think that was just an all day thing that I never bothered to take ibuprofen for.

I've been getting a lot of headaches lately with school filing down to final exams in all.

So that's my life!  I'm making some therapeutic progress, but I think painting would be more beneficial if I could do it everyday.  On a happy note; I'm loving life and nobody is going to take that away.

Heck! -this morning I was monsoon-ed on by the morning showers but I didn't cry when I saw my funky, wet mass of hair in the mirror.

It was refreshing in a strange way.  Like getting out of a swimming pool.

Subtle Changes

I forgot my notes so let’s see if I can remember everything…

I turned on the radio and everything was set up.  Baloo was lying on the kitchen rug and I did my painting.  The music annoyed me so I turned it off.  Then I realized how romantic it was outside!  The rain was falling and the leaves were rustling.  For a whole hour I painted pretty blissfully with my kitchen window open for all the outside noise to filter into my apartment.

I say pretty blissfully because like in most ghettos you have dogs barking, car doors slamming and people yelling or riding around in their really loud motorcycles.  Also, I couldn’t help but feel some anxiety for trying to get everything just right.

I’m doing the painting all wrong again, I’m sure of it.  I added some darker blues to create some depth, movement and fill in the empty gaps.  If this is the foreground it is way too detailed already.  Plus, maybe I should remember another painting basic: lighter colors than darker???  Oh well….  I will get this eventually.

I have no clue what I am doing.

I slept in today!!

That is if you count 8 am as sleeping in.

I had a nice breakfast and listened to a little classical music as I went about the morning routine of cleaning and toiletry. I shut the music off and started painting.  I painted for about 30 minutes. 

 

It went pretty well.  I tried to make it relaxing and I got the rest of the blue background part done.

The only things that are driving me a little crazy is 1.)  How detailed I want to be with the background (it’s the background for goodness sake!).  2.)  I had no music on so I kept replaying in my head a part in the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules; where the bully in the talent show sings “Memory.”  UGH.  3.)  I have no clue what I am doing.  The blue could be the foreground for all we know.

Also; the painting has nothing defining it, so you don’t know exactly how it should be hung on the wall. 

It’s growing on me.  I’ve done abstract stuff like this before so I should be used to it…. right??

Next time I will play a C.D.  Hmmmm…..  It’s toss between Jack Johnson and John Mayer.  One of these guys should do the trick but if not I can always count on Beethoven or NPR.

Finally! Getting started (again)

I'm in the process of my 2nd canvas painting- that is with limited (if any) assistance.

I love painting, it just takes a little while for me to get back to painting again after I finish another project.  I haven't been doing any drawing so I figured I need to get back to this... and as last night has clearly spelled out- I NEEDED THIS.

I had a canvas drawn out since July and I wanted to get started right away.  Um, well I didn't because I'm a real scaredy-cat when it comes to getting started.  What if I screwed this up?? 

I wanted to just slap paint on there already but I knew I needed more of a plan.  This painting is in a way unplanned and freestyle.  I wanted to do something that showed myself best and what I liked.  Especially when it comes down to doodling on the borders or around the binder holes of my notebooks.

So I got started and here is what I have to show for it:

I started with the background this time.  (Laugh-out-loud- I won't get into that story.)  I decided on a blue that I had an excessive amount of and as I painted it on I decided it would do perfectly.

I want this piece to be more wild and colorful.  A real stand out when I'm done.

Something I love about painting:  It is SOOOOO calming.  Plus, I get to use both hands.  (I'm ambidextrous.)  I decided that music may have an impact and I might be better off with none at all, since I usually lose concentration or I just don't hear it much anyways when I paint.

Next, time I paint I will try no music.

I will let you know how it goes!