I am on the final home stretch on the Spanish Market! I am THRILLED to be so close to finishing but yet feel a tiny bit sad at the same time. I had commented that it feels like the end of a love affair where your happy and sad all at the same time. For me, with the 'love affair' analogy, when it was done, it was DONE and I could easily move on without regret so this isn't an equal comparison but very close. I feel this way because I've spent so long with it, I enjoyed most moments and loathed others yet I took a few breaks from it but ran right back, however now, the flame is nearly extinguished...
I still have the painting (I'll quite probably never sell it) and I'll always be able to enjoy looking at it. So I guess it's better compared to an unrequited secret love. That friend you dearly loved with quiet restraint, self control, respect and integrity... Those are the friends you'll have forever...
Where I am at now is, I am detailing the wine bags and adding the reflections in the glass case and tweaking whatever else that catches my eye. The wine bags on the far left need to have more color applied. I have been detailing the wrinkles, folds, the red straps and reflections in the cellophane. I'll need to work on the linoleum flooring but all in all the rest is easier stuff, all it needs now is time to dry in between sessions.
All in all, the hard part and the tightest aspects of the painting have been done. I am at the point now where I know I could work on this for years and never call it 'perfect' so it's time to be done. I am getting that close to that 'done' feeling in my gut so that's my indicator that it's time to wrap it up.
So while the Market piece is drying, I have already started two new paintings to work on.
Since the oils need time to dry, I decided time to fill that time with some new fun work. I have a folder of ideas that are waiting to go on canvas and I have a folder of things I call the 'Queue'. They are ready and just waiting for me to touch pencil and brush to canvas then it's GO time!
I like the Queue folder a lot because for me, it represents progress, happiness and the passage of time spent in a joyous way... It generally only ever has about four things in it..no more than that. If there is more than four things in the Queue, I get flustered so I keep it simple.
Now I have a few other folders chock full of stuff. There is the 'Finished' folder which contains ideas and images of things I have already done and that's a BIG folder(s). I have the 'Ideas' folder which is a concept folder of things I am contemplating painting. This is the folder I cull things out of to put into the Queue. This is my system and it works pretty well for me.
So the two paintings that have jumped out of the Queue and onto canvas are: another painting of my cat Molly and a beautiful bearded purple iris against a dark fence.
Here are some preliminary images.
I am working on both simultaneously. Yesterday was spent painting in the back ground and adding the hair details via a fine liner brush to the painting of Molly(which I didn't take a photo of so this image does not show yesterdays progress).
On Friday I worked on the Iris which is coming along very quickly and is looking absolutley stunning so far!! It just POPS with value and vibrant color!!! It's going quickly because I totally LOVE everything about it, the vibrancy, the values, the subject...love, love, love! This is going to be a fantastic piece because of the three heavy doses of love it's getting!!! :)
I will probably do a series of cat paintings because she is something that is quite dear to me and it is time well spent in that regard. Painting her is pure joy! I have literally probably a hundred or more images of her so the Ideas folder has lots to choose from! Same goes for my flower paintings. I love to garden and I love beautiful flowers and I take a lot of photographs of mine so again, I just cull from the ideas folder and here we are....
So currently residing in the Queue is another Molly, another poppy flower and a still life of some fruit in an old bowl.... Thats whats coming up! I know I am excited about all three!!! :)
Well, I've prattled on enough for one day. Time to go grab another cup of coffee and relax the Sunday away and have some fun! Hope you all have a wonderful day! :)
Kath
