Days 6-13

Day 6

So I write the dates on the pages as I go and I notice I went out of order.  This is day six, which I've already explained so let's do day four, which I completely missed!  

Day four was a group of pears.  I love to draw and paint pairs.  They have such great forms and color.  These are not my favorite example, and I went back in with a pen because I wasn't crazy about them.  I don't think it helped.  Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't.  But I did a painting and I lived to paint another day.  See, failing won't kill you!  

So, let's try day 7.  

I think the hardest thing about this is finding inspiration.  If I'm not inspired, chances are the painting will fall flat. Two years ago, I prepared a weeks worth of inspiration on a Sunday and knew I had something to work with.  This time I haven't had time to do that and I've been scrambling.  Going thru photos takes time but I did stumble across this photo of my dads dog "Whiskers".  She is his best friend and I wanted to do a painting of her for his birthday this month, so this was a perfect subject for a small study.  This, I was happy with.  The key was to quit while I was ahead! 

Day 8

More from photos shot by Lake Michigan two summers ago.  I like to take shots of people to work on my fast drawing skills.  I include the drawing above because I liked it better before I added paint.  The background needs to worked out in this and I was in a hurry.  In the photo there are stairs and lots going on.  I need to think about how to simplify and still keep it interesting.  The blue water and sand add nothing here.  And that we will revisit later, because I like the gesture of the ladies resting.

Day 9

Some days I spend the day hunting for subjects.  As I went about my day, I kept hoping something would present itself as it often does. It was probably 5 pm when I finally grabbed a couple of pine cones in sheer desperation!  As I started I thought to myself that I might have picked something a little less complicated!  But once the zen state of concentration sets in and that love of drawing shapes- I can go on for hours!  I really love organic shapes and nature always inspires.  Making sure to keep it simple and find shapes and values I loved how it turned out!

Day 10

Spurred on by the success of the pine cones, I decided to try s portrait.  I was watching TV and paused a show with a subject I liked. Aside from her forehead being too short (you wouldn't notice if you didn't see the subject) and how much I overworked it, I liked it.  Enough to post it and not embarrass myself!  

Day 11

It's was my anniversary and we had a very long appointment that day, so I was behind the eight ball once again.  So when will I learn?  Hopefully I will find time to gather my inspiration this weekend.  This scrambling is killing me! Ha!  So here are my winter salt and pepper shakers.  Might make a good christmas card next year if I get a better photo. 

Day 12

My daughter brought some beautiful tulips over for our 35th wedding anniversary.  Tulips look easy.  I paint them every year and curse repeatedly.  They are a simple form, but for some reason they give me fits.  I went back in later in the day and punched up the color because it was really pale. I liked it well enough to post them.  Another thing I'm finding is that my pallet has been dried out and the paint is watered down from trying to reconstitute it.  At this stage of the game I need to empty my pallet and get some juicy wet color back on it!  If your paintings are wishy washy, use fresh undiluted paint!

And last Day 13-- as in Friday the 13th.

As I posted yesterday's painting on facebook I noticed a friends post with some pictures of her daughter dancing.  I was amazed at the shots she got.  This one is Isabella mid air--and I was hooked!  What a challenge, especially on a small format.  There are some issues, but overall, I'm loving it!  Thank you for being a muse Isabella!  

And that's this weeks offerings.  There were a couple of times I thought, "eh, no one will miss it if I don't get to it today" and you might not.  But it's been good for me to make time again for some creativity.  And I've learned something. You've heard someone say "I'm just not feeling it"? Well it's so true.  I need to be inspired.  Don't we all?  

Have a great week

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