Another Dreama and dreams for next year.

Today is 12-13-14, cool date.  Yesterday I painted a 10x10" painting that is a copy of a painting  I did while in a workshop with Dreama Toll Perry last year.  I could never be a counterfeiter because I couldn't make it look all that much like the one I had done previously.  I used the same palette.  The colors are close, and the design is close, but the technique changed.

I really have to get to my portraits, why am I doing everything else but?  Even with the deadline hanging over my head?  I must admit that my usual MO is that I like working under pressure (at the last minute), but in this case, it's not a good idea.

With the immediacy of having to do these portraits, it's frustrating to have lots of good painting ideas cooking and not be able to execute them.  I'm writing them down, but chances are that when I get to it, the excitement of the idea will have passed me by. So January will be full of "getting ready for the portrait show" and then I can implement the outline of goals I will set for myself for the coming year.
This years big change will be that there will be no workshops since my husband needs 24/7 care.  My biggest painting trip to Italy is usually something that I looked forward to and counted down to it, month by month.  These Italy trips have stopped anyway, how fortuitous for me, as the leader is retiring so that takes the sting away a little.  Because I've been going for several years and have a traveling companion, perhaps she and I will take another trip when the opportunity arises.

Usually during the winter I try to work on all the unfinished paintings I have in a stack near by easel. Well, if all these new ideas don't excite me any longer, I can work on the 'pile'.

All the art gurus say lately that we (artists who blog) should be writing more--making more of a narrative about the paintings or how the process went or how we were inspired, etc. and writing courses are being offered.  One thing that I want to get around to is setting up my Etsy account.  I did put it together last year but never carried through with it.  I think it deserves a chance.  I guess you can see that I'm beginning to think about next year's work.  I miss my morning walks, that's where I got all my good thinking done.

Exciting news!  The Huffpost Arts & Culture article is encouraging everyone to learn to paint:  Article HERE.