
I painted these acrylic waves on Sunday, along with another beachy pic I’ll post about another time. This year, I’ve decided that no matter how much I dislike a painting, I’m not going to throw it out. I don’t regret the ones I tossed away last year because not only were they terrible, but also my “technique” was such that they never dried. I’m not sure why I wet the canvas before starting ~ I guess I thought you were supposed to. Anyway, I stopped doing that.
These wave paintings are 8×8, a size that’s fun to work with sometimes, especially when you have a single focal point. I wanted to really concentrate on getting one thing right, you know? The left picture was a surprise delight. I followed the tutorial, yet it came out so dark ~ then I decided I liked the darkness. The more I look at it the more I like it! I did the one on the right freehand, wanting to do a sunrise to go with the midnight wave. I love the sky so much, but, again, the wave came out dark. I’m not sure why except I kept going over it. I need to work on not blending so much and stop worrying that my brushstrokes show. The tutors’ paintings are not that blended. It’s OK to see the individual colors!
There are more 8×8 paintings I want to do ~ a couple hummingbirds. That’s pretty ambitious, I know. But I really want to try them. I also have a bird of paradise and another flower tutorial saved. I’ll probably do those before the birds. After that, I might do some 11×14 pieces with birds. I have several 11×14 tree tutorials saved, which are gorgeous and I hope I can do them justice.
Painting is good for me in several ways, as long as I make sure I’m comfortable and not hurting my neck/back. I get very absorbed in the work, even more than when I’m writing, and stuff that’s been bugging me just floats away. I’m so present for painting, in a way I’m not with anything else. I mean, I’m still thinking, but I’m thinking only about the art. It’s not even an effort to forget about work or my to-do lists or my unfinished writing or whatever other thing… it all just vanishes on its own until I allow it back in. It would be great to attain this state at will, but I’m not there yet. Hopefully, I can do that someday. I also allow myself to make a mess when I paint, which is good for me ~ very freeing.
On Saturday, I had lunch with a Meetup group. Most of us didn’t know each other well, or at all, so we made introductions. One of the women vaguely remembered me and said, oh, you’re an artist and a writer, right? I can’t even begin to describe how thrilled I was to be referred to in this way. I fought the impulse to say no and simply said yes, but I need to pay the bills so I also work as a legal secretary.
It was a really nice weekend.
~*~
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