A Painting a Day - It's all I ask...

Well, some days I'm fairly prolific, and some days I'm not.

I watch my dog, my big beautiful German Shepherd, as she turns in circles, figuring out just how to settle in. It's a puzzle to her, though it looks very much the same to me, but she's looking for just the right spot, just the right "merge" place where she can ease into her relaxation mode.

Granted - she's a dog, but many times in my effort to get started I feel the same way. There's a process. I get up in the morning, get coffee, then I head to the computer to check email and look at things - could be other blogs, it could be flipping through magazines for a minute or 15 - but most of the time I spend time laying out what I've been working on.

I've finally gotten my watercolors in a binder, in protective sleeves so that they're . . . well - protected, from water drips, my fingers, accidental pencil marks - whatever. I'll line up the other half dozen drawings that are in progress and try to decide which one I feel led to work on. They're all in various stages of unfinished - just ink, ink with some color, drawings that need something but I haven't figure out just what ... I spread them out and just look at them. Though it may appear (to people close to me) that organization is the bane of my existence, I am finally accepting that it's much easier to work in a semi-organized fashion - completed stuff put away, only the others cluttering about. Semi-organized.

My "circling" requires me to check the binder, line up my pencils, return pastels to their boxes. I like the process of setting the paper pads in front of me stacked in order of height and right next to them the pots of brushes. I probably only use three different brushes most of the time but still I like the pot of them nearby. It makes me feel official - like if I needed them, they'd be standing at-the-ready. Good little soldiers. Worn but loyal.

I think I'm ready now. One more trip to the restroom, one more glass of water. And now - to address what's at hand - do I start on a big page of blankness or work on what I've started?

Here's work from today - Saturday, March 6, Happy Birthday Mom!

Looking back on past work

This watercolor (the trees and rock) is actually a portion of the original. I like this part the best. I love river rock and I think I got this part, at least the colors. Aug. 2008 (??) The orange flower at the right - I don't think there are actually flowers like this but I like it, even if it is only in MY head, and I love the way the colors turned out. (2006?, maybe 2008)

Just an 11 x 14 inch doodle. Haven't colored it yet and I'm not quite sure what I want to do with it. I love these (there are a couple of them) but I really like tucking a little message or scripture in them somewhere. 2006 The daffodils are oil pastels and watercolor on a paper bag. It's sturdy, not very absorbent, but it's heavy enough to rub color on over and over until I get the desired colors. I like to practice on bags, but then it I end up really liking some of the pieces so I'll probably frame them, and then the crease won't matter to me.

This bouquet I did last month. I like it so I've done more, not exactly like this but similar.
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I was digging around looking for more paper to draw on and found some other paintings that I've done in past years. It's always an interesting thing to take a step back and evaluate with a new 'eye' what you've been doing. For me it's kind of like painting a room that I'd waited a long time to paint . . . . and then I have to walk in and take a look, walk out, pretend that I've never seen it before, walk back in. Maybe I take a personal vote, or see if my scale from 1-10 stays the same. In any case, I like to do the same thing with my artwork. I'm very critical as I'm doing something, whether it's ceramics or painting or whatever, and the urge to trash it and start over comes up many times during the process, but I've learned (I think) to set things aside and go back in for that fresh look, that fresh and hopefully objective view. I've done that with these paintings and I like them a lot more than I remember. I like the colors and composition, and I'm liking the feedback I'm getting on Facebook, from friends and family and people who drop by while I'm working. There's so much to continually learn but it's a fun kind of learning. It's learning about something I actually want to know.

So that's it - just sharing today.

Kate