Back in the (Painting) Saddle Again

I've started the painting class and done the first weeks worth of homework. Taking photos, doing thumbnail sketches, and quick value studies on small canvas's. Tomorrow I take them to class, and learn about trees.



The hardest part is coming home from work, tired, and then getting the energy up to paint. I know that I will get back into the swing of things, and this is exactly why I signed up for the class. This summer, I slowed down to a pace slower than cold molasses. Without structure and something to spur me on, I'm not doing the things that I want to do.




I sit and daydream about painting in the "old days" and wonder if I have lost the umph that I had in my 30's and 40's. I suspect it's just that I have more distractions and responsibilities now. More excuses. More... well, just more.

So, an interesting note: sitting all day at a computer is exhausting. I am not "in shape" for it. My wonderful house is a place that I have constant exercise, just walking from one end to the other, and out to the garden. My chiropractor told me that I need to force myself to get up and walk around every hour, or the compression of my spine is going to return. He's seeing the signs already. That is enough to scare me into wiggling on a regular basis, no matter how silly it looks to people who are passing by my cube. I try to remember some of the t'ai chi and chi-gong movements. Anything helps.

So, I'll post stuff here as they are worked, to give me a record of my progress in class.

Getting Back on the Horse

I've now had two weeks of being back in the corporate-job world. Life turned topsy-turvy, and the things that I've been using to image "who I am" have shifted. I've learned a valuable lesson this last few months.

• If I do not have a structure or schedule that nudges/nags/forces me to do the things I want to do (note the "I") then they simply won't happen, short of escaping with a new book.

My painting equipment has grown a thin layer of dust, and I am starting to feel guilty about it. Then I make myself crazy with snotty little remarks to myself about a failing work-ethic. Still doesn't get things done.

What to do? I threw in some structure to fool myself, by signing up with another art instructor for a 6-week landscape painting class. Spent the money, have to show up. Actually, he has alot to teach me. Terry Miura paints in a manner that my old friend/companion Byron Rodarmel painted. That's not surprising since they both attended Art Center in Southern California. Classic art education, of which I'm envious. Guess I'll just have to pay attention in class.

With all this in mind, I think I'll brew myself a cup of tea, and go noodle around in the studio for an hour or so before my massage appointment. I have a painting I started on the camping trip than needs some brutal revision.