Brush with Happiness

While DH was preparing the turkey/brine bath, I was in the basement.  Painting. 
Turns out I have a love-hate relationship with most kinds of commitments, obligations and promises, ESPECIALLY if they are "only" to myself.  (I'm great and reliable when it comes to fulfilling promises as well as others' expectations.)

So when Lisa Daria Kennedy and Carol Marine combined forces I found myself persuaded that DAILY painting would be a good thing.  I did okay for four days.  Four!

But immediately after that I began dragging my heels, making excuses, gnashing my teeth and generally being avoidant AND miserable.

What's up with THAT?  Let me just say that you are never too old for introspection, or therapy, or changing how you think about things.  I had taken a break from the pressure I felt about EVERY day, and returned to my easel with enthusiasm, fresh eyes, a new roll of paper towels and new ideas.

 I fiddled around with some semi-satisfactory paintings.  (Thanks Paula Mingolelli for helping me add more seasonal indicators and re-grading the landscape a little.  This photo doesn't quite show the sky the way I want it... but then, maybe neither does the paint!  Best thing about oil paint is the infinite re-does.)

 My Chilly Kitties are coming along. Pretty primitive, but they just make me happy with all that texture and palette knife craziness.



I increased the contrast between fall color and trees and twigs that had already dropped their leaves.  I'm still green with envy wondering how Wolf Kahn would do this, but it's better than the old version!









Challenged myself with a harder still life set up and was pretty happy with the result. 
I hardly ended up with a photographic representation (which hadn't been my goal in the first place), but I'm pleased with the color relationships, the shininess of the Clementines and the glassiness of the glass (even though I don't think the actual glass was quite as cock-eyed as the painted one.

 
 

 
And I went through lots of my photograph references.  I have plans for several bigger works.  Watch out for sheep!  Barns!  Vistas! Allegories!.
I may be sorry I added cold wax on this... experimentation IS at least part of what the creative arts are all about! If it works as planned you'll hardly know there was any purple involved!


And I have ideas for several series of paintings.
And I got to listen to several very very Faborite CD's that have been hiding in the basement.  No heavy metal for me!
There's a Hippo in the Bathtub by Anne Murray.   
Can We Go Home Now by The Roches
Tribute to Vince Guaraldi which must be out of print.  But you could get the idea here.
It's great to keep accumulating MORE reasons to be thankful.
Hope you have plenty, too, dear reader.