A Work in Progress

Through no one's fault but my own,  I lost myself for a while.  For several months I spent all my time cooking,  cleaning, redecorating - all good things to do; but, also all things that can never be completely done... And so, each day I would think I could finish my "to do" list, only to find that I had added even more to the list.
Finally, Sunday morning I woke up refreshed after the Sabbath day's rest, quickly got as many chores done as I could, and got my paints out.  I hadn't painted in so long that it took me a lot of time to find all the supplies I needed.  There were a few moments of frustration when I wanted to forget the idea and go back to the laundry, the dishes, the dusting...  But, no!  I persevered, and, with great encouragement from my Hubby,  got all my watercolor paraphernalia together on the big dining room table. (Covered, of course, with waterproof pads!)
I worked on four projects simultaneously, which is my usual habit. With watercolors, one has to wait for layers of paint to dry, etc., and it makes no sense to sit around waiting.  So, I work on at least two projects, alternating time between them to get the most out of the chunk of time I've allotted myself.

Project #1: My favorite flowers are daisies.  I decided to paint daisies kind of free form, with the background defining the flower shapes more than the subtle painting of the petals.  As usual, my impression/expression of white is that white isn't white! So, the "white" daisy petals are various shades of blue, teal, lavender and yellow. I poured the dark greens and browns to give the impression of stems and leaves, allowing the paint and water to  create the organic shapes through gravity and the chemical reactions of the paints with each other.  I added a bit of "lace" to one side for textural interest. I temporarily have this painting in a black matte, but think it would look better in a brown or green one... will experiment with that today or tomorrow...

Project #2: I made a collage of several paintings, chopped and rearranged until I felt they were pleasing to the eye.  I titled this one "Dreams of Summer Recitals".   It took me back to when I lived in my big ol' house and taught piano and singing lessons to a handful of boys and girls.  The two main paintings are impressions of my old living room with the baby grand piano, where many a recital was held.  I added other dreamlike shapes and forms - a big open Hibiscus to represent Summer in the South,  pieces of architectural columns to commemorate the old house.  I don't know if anybody else does watercolor collage, but I enjoy it.  If a painting sits around long enough, it becomes fodder for "the chop shop".  The first time some of my former art students saw me chopping up paintings, they were mortified,  AND, piecing things together "just right" takes a lot more time and patience than one might think, but the results are pretty cool.

Project #3:  Another chop shop project.  I love chopping up old paintings into squares, then putting the squares together in and interesting and balanced manner.  Again, this takes a lot more time than you would expect.  It's like finding just exactly the right puzzle pieces to fit together, but the puzzle doesn't have "edges" and doesn't form any certain image. It's all about balance.  In this case, a completely different background made this piece very exciting to me.

Project #4:  This is a little painting in progress.  I decided to show something incomplete in this posting, to show the steps of working on a painting.  First, I took the photo; then cropped it and sketched it on the watercolor paper.  I wanted the painting to look cold and Wintery... haven't decided yet whether or not I've accomplished this, but, hey, it's not completed!   So far this painting has a couple coats of paint, with a salting of the water in the stream between coats.  Salt on watercolors created certain textures, depending on which paint the salt is sprinkled on. Watercolor painting is really chemistry and physics as much as it is having an eye for color, balance, and composition... perfect for me with my medical background.


Hope y'all enjoyed this glimpse into my viewpoint on creating art.  Some time soon I will be creating yet another blog - focusing solely on my art. (Or, should I say "soul-ly" on my art?)  A psychologist I  once knew said that the only difference between pain and paint is one letter... He was right.  Looking at that blank white sheet of paper is always painful. At first.  But, then... ohhhhh.. the escape into creativity.

Shalom  Y'all - Twyla

Brrrr-eavement

my watercolor, "One Wintry Night", 2008

    
       It is cold.  It is STILL cold, I mean.  What I mean to say it, it's cold!!!  Usually I totally enjoy all the seasons, but this year I am already tired of the cold.  We keep our thermostat set at 60 degrees (or should I say 60 de-grieves?), and try to make up the difference with the wood stove.  It is a full time job keeping wood cut, gathered, stacked, and burning.  And still I am cold.  And, it's only January... we still have February (my Hubby calls it "Febr-ugly")  and March to go...  I am tired of being cold.  I am tired of using the heating pad to warm my frozen feet, only to succumb to frozen fingers.
  

      It has frozen my creativity as well.  Who can do watercolors when their fingers are numb? This is a numbing coldness that spreads from the fingers to the soul.  And, who can do watercolors when their soul feels numb?  There is a place in my self that is cold as ice.  Please, Lord, defrost me!  Place Your hand on my hand and in my heart and take away the iciness.  I want to feel warm again.
  

      As a dear friend quoted to me last night:  "This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep... Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  (Nehemiah 8: 9,10)
     Hmmm... Maybe, on this cold snowy day, I can keep this in mind, get out some paper, some paints, and be creative...  I can feel the warmth coming back.  Praise God.



SHALOM  Y'ALL  -  TWYLA

Busy, but Blessed

One of my watercolors...

     Wow.  I can hardly believe it's Thursday already.  Where did the time go?
     Okay; Tuesday was my birthday, and I was gone almost all day.  Among other things, Moshe and I went out for a late lunch.  We went to a wonderful local restaurant.  Even though we live up in the mountains, "ten miles from nowhere", there is a REAL restaurant in our little town, with a REAL chef, and REAL food - everything made on location.  Wonderful. We savored every bite and every moment. We even brought home a doggie bag for Moxie and salad greens for the chickens.
     Wednesday was a trip to the Farmer's Market.  It's about a thirty-minute drive one way.  We purchased more apples, sorghum syrup, and Jerusalem artichokes.  On the way home we stopped at a roadside stand "to get an onion", and came home with a fifty pound bag of them.  I also have a big basket of local pears that a neighbor gave us over the weekend...
     Soooo... today is definitely a food prep/canning/drying/freezing kind of day. I'm going to plug in the portable CD player and sing along as I work.  Moshe has a big list of chores, too. Lots of projects for building more storage shelves, fixing a leaky toilet valve, finishing the shelves for our dehydrator.  Life is always busy and interesting around here.
     I have the best husband in the world. Are we perfect? No. Absolutley not. But, we are a great team. When we have a problem, we talk it out, work it out. We are committed to each other. As Moshe said yesterday, "We have our problems just like everyone else, but, I took my wedding vows seriously."
     Busy but blessed.  That's me.
                                                         Shalom y'all - Twyla

Moshe & Me... dressed up silly for a birthday party

Dare To Be Different

               This is one of my most-favorite-ever watercolors.  I painted it over three years ago, and it remains a favorite.  I painted this when I saw a bunch of tulips in the flower bed right by my doorway.  All of them were the same, except one.   I felt akin to the different tulip;  I have never quite "fit in", sometimes to my chagrin and sometimes to my relief...
                ...to my chagrin, back in my highschool days when everybody wants to fit in; I was the artistic type, the one who dressed differently, the all-A student who did NOT participate in student council, because it was too clique-ish...
               ...and, to my relief, throughout my Christian walk I don't WANT to fit in!  The LORD tells His people to be set apart.  And, I am set apart.  I am the orange tulip. All praise be to God.
               Dare to be different!
                                                                                       Shalom Y'all!     Twyla