Dinner

This week really does seem to be dragging. Hopefully my painting is arriving at hospital today and I did manage to put one print up on Etsy yesterday. This is good as it basically means the template is done so it will be much easier for me to start adding the rest, which will be today's treat.

I don't even know what would help today. Is lockdown too much? Do I need to have a friend over? Go to the pub? Go to a different town? See my family? Get drunk? Paint? Have a spa day day? Go to the Cinema? Go out for dinner?

All such simple pleasures that would be ridiculously good right now. Going out for dinner with friends. Now that I have said it. That is what would help!

One day. In the meantime, I had better fire up Etsy and pretend that is going to earn me some money!

Paddington

It seems strange that I have managed to keep up my new routine so well until this week. I still got up for Zumba, and then went for a walk in the almost rain, the early routine and blog post is just slipping a little. Maybe I will do a better job tomorrow.

My NHS inspired lockdown painting has just been collected and is now on its way to North Middlesex Hospital for them to hang in their staff well being room and brighten up the situation a little. Bizarrely I feel a bit worried about this one going, what happens if it gets lost on the way or isn't looked after when it arrives? Donating a painting is very different to selling one. When it has been sold you know it is wanted, when it is donated you are sending it out like Paddington with a 'Please look after this bear' sign attached. But I am sure it will be fine, it is a positive painting and was created for this situation so it should all be perfect.

Worry mode seems to be engaged today. This could also be because I need to go food shopping. Out of all the lockdown things we have to do, it seems to be shopping that I like the least. I don't even know why. I shall probably feel ten years younger once it is done.

Maybe then once I get back, I can finally put some prints up on Etsy. Productivity doesn't seem to be my strong point this week.

A White Tree in the Chaos

Today seems like a less enthusiastic day. Whether that is because it is raining, because yesterday was too good, or because I am tired and stiff I wouldn't like to say.

Sun salutations for the day are done although, admittedly without the sun but never mind. They are getting easier but I am still surprised by how stiff I am in the morning and how fatigued my muscles are. They are making a serious toning difference though, I can see muscles returning that I had forgotten I once had. I feel like I am onto a secret here!

In other news one of the online galleries I belong to has set up a scheme to provide art for hospital well being rooms. I have just emailed them to offer my global pandemic painting (which is a more positive picture than it sounds) if they want it! Fingers crossed they will. I like the thought of it being able to help to bolster people up a little!

I also managed to produce a new painting at the weekend. This one was a 'make it up as you go along' type thing. I had decided I wanted to try a different method to produce the background of the piece of work; A drip technique reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. I also had the thought of shooting stars in my mind as we had just had ten days of them flying overhead. So the background was supposed to be a milky way, dark, star filled kind of background. It didn't turn out like this at all. It was a muted, soft, colourful collaboration of serenity and peace, that shouted daytime. Cue a rethink. After sitting with the work for a while it was shouting at me to paint a white tree over the top of it, so that is what I did, and here is the finish piece. I am in love with all the colours in the background, and could sit looking at it for hours.

I have also heard back already that they are happy for me to send my painting to North Middlesex University Hospital, so that has cheered me up no end. Maybe today will be a good day after all!

Afternoon!

I am not going to even pretend I am keeping to time today as it is 3pm.

Oops.

I did get up and salute the sun, but then it was sunny so I decided to rush out for a walk this morning in anticipation of rain for the next few days. On my return I was starving and had a call from a friend. Hence my lateness.

Today feels unproductive thus far, although 'Crackle' has been picked up by my courier and I have marked up my print list and checked stock levels of my packaging supplies. Turns out I just need some mid sized painting delivery boxes and I am tempted to source some limited edition print packaging.

I did manage a new painting on Saturday, so my mission this afternoon is to put that online and then I can blog about it tomorrow. Afterwards it will be time to plod through putting all my prints on Etsy which I am sure won't be fun, but hopefully might earn me a few more pennies! Fingers crossed.

I guess that is it for today! I hope you had a good weekend.

Friday

And somehow it is Friday again.

Everything hurts this morning, so I am glad the sun salutations are done, zumba is done and I have an exercise free (other than walking) weekend.

I actually did very little yesterday except enjoy the sunshine. It was a lovely day. I will be making up for it today by trying to do the things I didn't do yesterday. It also looks like the weather is going to turn from Monday onwards, so I may just make the most of the sunshine whilst it is here and then work harder next week in the rain.

I also need to think of a new painting to do at the weekend if I can. I can already feel my mind is wandering today though, so I fear productivity may not be high on the list.

Crackle

I am even later this morning but that is because of good news. I put my new painting online and up for sale yesterday and had to take it down again this morning as I sold it! 

That is my kind of productivity. 

Today seems like it should be a good day, the sun is shining, I have some general admin to do, I need to prep my painting for delivery and update my print stock list so I know which Limited Edition number I am on and what I need to order as and when I run out. I think I also need to order some more packaging supplies or at least check what I have. It might be time to set up a stock list of that as well; I am like my own personal shop. 

But anyway, a bit more about my new painting as I have just created and sold it. It is obviously just as well I abandoned the piece I was working on to paint something that had more feeling and felt more in tune with the current climate and myself. The idea came about after talking to a friend who noticed and purchased my tornado print 'Sucks' a couple of days previously. I painted 'Sucks' when I was angry, and I mean, really, really angry. It reminded me how therapeutic it was to get all of that anger and frustration out onto a canvas, and although I wasn't angry at the weekend, I did feel very emotional. I feel like lock-down kind of slowly builds up on you until you need a release, and with everything else that has been going on, I really needed to get rid of that pent up whatever it was. So cue, looking for some powerful weather, which I decided needed to be lightning, and then turned into a lightning strike cleaving the sky above Toronto in two. 

 

And bam, here it is. It did the job. For a few blissful hours I switched off and lost myself in the colours and the process. I already feel like I am good to go for the next painting, although I am unsure what that will be of at the moment. This painting is now called 'Crackle' for that static electrical build up you feel just before the storm starts, and for that first burst of energy that accompanies the first big rumble of thunder. I feel it sums up everything. 

 

  

Bread and Butter

I am doing everything round the wrong way this morning as I didn't get up in time to have breakfast before Zumba.

This is highly exciting stuff! Sigh.

I mostly managed to finish my Limited Edition Print making session yesterday, but I didn't quite have that peaceful satisfaction of finally achieving my goal. This was because when I ordered the mounting supplies I obviously lost the ability to add up and didn't order enough. I have five prints left over. The main goal has been achieved though as I now have at least one of all prints currently up for sale, so I can start adding them onto Etsy.

I realised yesterday that it is nice that my architecture work is currently on hold. It feels good to just use my focus to concentrate on one thing, and it has also made me realise that I do like the art side of things best, without a shadow of a doubt. Losing the will to live halfway through last year made me doubt everything I was doing as I was so dissatisfied. But this brief break of a better routine and actually managing to motivate myself to do some of the things I have had to put off for ages has made me realise, that art, should never be in doubt. I need it. More than I realised. Since I managed to paint on Saturday I feel almost a thousand times calmer and better.

Art is my medicine, and I think it hurt me that I lost it. Mentally and physically.

If only I could make it my bread and butter. Then life would be perfect.