Paint for 30 me, my paints, and my canvas. thirty minutes. every day.

New Year’s Scarf

What was intended to be a Christmas scarf for Keith is becoming a New Year’s scarf for Keith.

After that little bit I showed you last post, I knit about a foot then decided I didn’t like how it was curling in at the sides. So I tore it out. I’m  now doing a double knit stitch on the ends and knitting my knits, purling my purls. It’s keeping the curl away.Yay!

Unfortunately after about another foot or so I noticed some icky knit work way back so tore it out and started again. I get that way.

Here we are now. I’ll probably add a short fringe. I still see some less than desirable knitting but I am NOT going to be allowing myself anymore redos. Nope. Want this thing done already! At least for Thursday night so it can become the New Year’s scarf. Hopefully Keith will be back in town then, too.

knitting

Today I am knitting, not painting. I am working on a simple scarf for Keith. Luckily he is a self-proclaimed Luddite when it comes to these internets we get so caught up in so I can write freely about my gift to him here

Yes, all that loose yarn means it was torn out and restarted a few times...

Hopefully it will work out. Tore it out because of curling. I'm doing some double knitting (little fake cable stitches) at the ends, should solve the problem.

The plan for this site was to paint for 30 minutes a day. I’m working to get back to that. It’ll probably be easier for the next two weeks since I am on holiday. The rub is keeping it up once the daily drive begins again.

new school year

It’s a good thing no one reads this blog or I’d be somewhat embarrassed. After painting for 5 days I haven’t lifted a brush in 2 weeks. Coincides with the beginning of a new school year – an exhausting time. But it’s calling to me. Got to leave for work now, it’s 5:50 am. Going to try to run out early whilst I still have some energy. If I say I will paint this afternoon do you think it will happen? I can be wishy-washy with myself. I know this.

Day 5

This morning I was reminded about how much I like words. I wrote this about a year ago, maybe more. Was in a very poetic mood at the time:

Words do something to me. When they are strung together in a way that calls my soul toward them they can light the sky so I can see clearly.

I forgot how much I like to paint words. I’ve done it before:

Optimus Prime on Freedom, made about a year and a half ago

It makes sense for me to include words in pictures I make.

So here are today’s pics. The phrase that is running through my head and spilling out onto the canvas is  from Invincible: Metamorphosis, no better metaphor for this.

believe it or not, that little part-word took almost an hour. layers of colour creating the letters out of negative space.

I love working next to my window in my studio. So glad I got this easel

detail

See you tomorrow, or thereabouts

Day 4

Not sure at what time I started/stopped painting today but it was at least 1/2 hour long. I was escaping from the mouse that was running amok in my kitchen and awaiting my dad who was on his way to help me out with that.

Still playing. You’ll notice the painting has moved to an easel. After much nachas I have an easel. I had ordered a fancy expensive one from a store in Alexandria. It finally arrived so I picked it up on Friday, went to set it up Saturday morning and a) no instructions, not easy to figure out, b) there was a piece that was badly glued and coming loose, c) oh, I guess that was it. So I drove back to Alexandria (30 minutes away) returned it and got a refund. Then drove to Hawksbury where I had discovred an art shop online. They had this easel. Simple, sturdy, 1/4 of the price of the other one. and it was their last one. It was meant to be.

Here are the pics of today’s work. See yesterday’s post to see where I left off.

Things I am thinking about – merging process and content, graffiti, change.

Day 3, 10:08-10:42pm

Still working the background. Greyed it up a bit. Also working the bird. Deepening the black with more blue and some payne.s grey. The next step in my head is to work with birdy detail. I feel I need to widen  his throat and make more of a definition between body and beak. And an eye, of course. He needs to see.

I’m tired tonight and this blog is proving good. I didn’t want to paint but I didn’t want to skip a day on this blog more. If I was this close to not wanting to work on it what’s going to happen when I’m back at work? School starts for teachers next Wednesday, kids the following Monday. In case you’re interested, this is what I worked on for part of today, it’s what I am brewing for art class first term: Tracy’s Art Class

Here are today’s pics. As always, check yesterday’s post to see where I left off. My battery died so I squeezed some photos in with old batteries that still had a smidgen of juice in them. Got some detail this time as well. Aren’t you lucky.

not taken from as high

crow detail, between the legs

crow detail, you can see where I want to thicken the throat and under-beak

crow detail, wing & legs & shadow from my arm

part of the painting with arm shadow

detail of wing

See you tomorrow.

Day 2 – Change

Today’s time: 10:25-11:09

So I whitewashed, added blue to the crow – he’s slowly deepening to a rich black. Also starting to deepen the tone of the tree he sits on.

(see yesterday’s post for where I left off)

changes, day 2

another view

closer

My assistants:

Jacob and his cone in my studio

Jacob and Toby, behind me all the way.

See you tomorrow.

painting project day 1

One week to go before the end of summer vacation and I had painted nothing so this morning I decided to get organized. Voila. Paint for 30 was born.

I’ll be painting for 30 minutes a day. I figure that’s doable and can be extended like today, I actually worked for an hour less about 3 minutes or so.

Today’s painting time: 10:30-11:27

I took out a painting I began over a year ago:

crow I had hanging around my studio

and started painting. My inspiration was this view from my studio window:

studio window, looking east

and this is where I left off, after the hour less a few minutes:

crow with background

closer view

I like posting here, I see some of what needs changing. Even though it’s only washed on, I can see already that the background is too bright. I like the sketchiness of the bottom right. I’m thinking about change, it’s qualities, as I paint.

See you tomorrow.