Ah, the holidays. They have taken their toll on my productivity. But, in fairness I always know I may not get as much done as I hoped. Often I have more ambition than time. And family and friend come first. Tender Blues is a large painting. With a whole lot of little florets that seem to be taking more time than usual. This is my impatience showing I fear.
A couple of things
My acrylic paints are acting funny and not in a charming way. A couple of things are going on. First, my heat source. The mini split operates with a fan to distribute the heated air. The heated air dries the paint out so fast on my pallett. No amount of spritzing it will water seems to help. It is drying out way to fast. Second, well they paint is going funky in the tubes. It seems to be thickening up and gloppy – like toothpaste. I do not know what is making it do this – but I really do not like it. The texture of the paint will not apply smooth and there is certainly no blending ability. What the heck?
Anyone else experiencing this problem? And it is not limited to any brand in particular, Hmm, I think it is time to get serious with oils.
My daughter Katie was supposed to fly home on Friday -you know the day after the storm. YOu can imagine what happened. Flights delayed everywhere and some cancelled creating a backlog of weary travellers. From mechanical failures and get this, the plane would not start this morning from the cold! Delays. Cancellations. On the up side, we got to spend more time with her. Maybe tomorrow she will be able to fly out.
Pet portraits
I have also been working on a few commissions. I am able to share this one with you now. Meet “Murphy” a portrait of a very expressive labradoodle. So much fun to paint this guy. HIs owners were surprised by this thoughtful gift and very happy with it! Gotta love that! And I will be delivering another one tonight. Gotta love that as well.
My poor easel
Still broken. My husband managed to get it back together enough that I can use it. The crank awkwardly still cranks. (he missed putting one of the ball bearings back in but we will not tell) But it is stable enough that I can use it. Unable to easily raise and lower it. But it is usable while I wait for my shiny new, incredible easel motors towards me. EEEEEEEEEE so excited.
Cheers for now