Exhale
I actually painted the other night (now that I have cleaned the art room/studio). It is a watercolor painting with three segments on the page. One segment with colors of fiery red and orange; one in simple black and grey; and the last in blues and greens with a touch of red. With no idea in mind it sort of formed itself. The brush had a chiseled tip and it was like painting with a calligraphy pen. As I have looked at it in the days that have followed I realized that for me it could represent various emotions. But I think it is best described in the terms of my three year old son: a bubble with red grass… flowers… and water.
I didn’t know what I would create, but I waited for something to happen with it. After-all, holding a paintbrush in your hand can only make you want to see what colors can do when you drag them effortlessly across the paper. And good watercolor paper, like ARCHES paper (milled in France for centuries), is amazing to use. You can actually feel the bristles of your brush as they move on the rough texture. It is a feeling like taking a deep breath. You feel like some deep part of you has just been exhaled and you feel relaxed and at peace.
I have an idea of what I want to do next. And having a blog gives me something to be accountable to. I have decided to make myself paint a photo I took of a rose once. The blossom takes up all of the space and the way the petals are unfurling so richly makes you wish you could just climb between them and hide like a fairy taking a rest on a warm afternoon. I can only hope to capture a remote likeness of the photograph.
Only once before, other than the previously mentioned painting, have I used a whole sheet for a picture (since the paper is like gold to me). In college, for one of my art classes, I had to paint a self-portrait of me and my life. It came out pretty cool, but now when I look at it, it is too pastel in color. This time I want to work on a whole sheet again, but I have never taken on only one subject like a huge flower. I don’t think it can be broken down into sections so it will take hours to do. But I am looking forward to it. And now that no one awakens me in the wee hours any more, they are mine for the taking!
Can I just say, honestly, that I love comments. I mean, I LOVE THEM! Some weak, insecure part of me loves to know what people really think about the things I write. And that little part of me loves to be spurred on by others ideas. I am aware that most blogs don’t get many comments, if any, but this blog can be different. If you have stumbled across this site and think anything I say stirs, inspires, ignites, enlightens, or annoys you, leave me a note! As a stay at home mom, I thrive on interaction outside of my little world filled with small people who run circles (literally) around me. So, seriously, anything would be great. And I know there are readers out there, so speak up a little. Commentary can be just as interesting as the content with which it started from.
Congrats! Inertia can be a real bitch sometimes. Look forward to seeing some art up on the site. Keep it rollin’.
Thanks, slug! I know, I know. I’m workin’ on it. Soon… very soon.
There, I put it into the blog. Time. I just needed time.
Thank you!