Day Two, Another Painting

January Second... another painting is done. This one is called "Fireworks" and is the continuation of the painting that I meant to do yesterday, but that wasn't dry enough to finish. So... not sure how I feel about this one. It's the first time I've tried to paint fireworks. I looked at some pictures on the internet, and of course, recent memory is somewhat fresh... but it's just not the same. How do you capture such a fleeting moment? Especially one that seems to be tied up in several senses. You see the colours, hear the bang, and, if you're close enough, smell the powder. Ah well, I tried my best... all anyone can ask for.

Part of this journey is to improve my painting skills and I think this exercise is good for that. It's like gesture drawing in art class... you have to kind of jump in and just do your best to capture the moment. Instead of spending lots and lots of time trying for perfection, you just go with your instincts and hope for the best. Saves overthinking... just go for a feeling.

So far, I'm liking it. It's not as easy to just let go of yourself and let it be what it will be. Ah... pottery class comes to mind too. We had a wonderful instructor, Linda, at the George Dixon Centre, and she told us early on not to get too attached to a piece, that it was too easy for it to get wrecked. I am SO not that person... I get very attached! But, she was right... throwing on the wheel got lopsided, or crumpled, sometimes it went all wonky taking it off the wheel... all sorts of things could (and did) go wrong. Painting is a little like that, especially in this vein where you sort of try hard, but take what you get. In the end, some of my favourite pottery pieces are the weirdest ones! We have a half crumpled 'vase' on display. Hey... if it crumples in an interesting way it's still art. :)

I've decided to take pictures once a week and post all seven paintings at once... save me the trouble of uploading pictures every night. As anyone who follows me on Facebook will know, I'm a few months behind on my picture posting!

I welcome suggestions for subject matter for these paintings. No promises that they'll look the way you think they should, but hey, maybe that'll be ok too.

Goodnight!