February 2015 Update

Wow, time flies. It has been a month since I last posted.

I've been working on another version of my 2005 pastel, Dappled Path. I want to reuse the glass and frame and rip up the old painting. To prepare, I've been using the old painting as a reference for painting small studies of the scene. They look quite different from the original because my stroke and color choices have evolved in the past 10 years. (I'd be worried if they hadn't changed!)

I completed seven little studies. You can see them here or on Daily Paintworks when I post them for purchase.

My studio is in complete chaos as I pack for the move. Most of my pastels are packed away and my easels are squished over to one side of the room. There are bags of shredding sitting around waiting for more boxes to pack up china. Anyway, in the midst of this mess, I have been painting small studies aiming for a loose, abstract quality. And, I think the mess actually helps me be less careful, less contrived, less concerned about the outcome. That's a good thing for my work but when I look around it makes me crazy.

When my studio is all clean and I attach a blank piece of paper to my easel and look over at my million pastel sticks, I want to do my best. What is my "best." Oh well, that is another subject.

Progress on our house continues and we hope to be in by mid May. When we opened the door to the house a couple days ago we were met by this cute guy on stilts. I asked if I could take his photo and he seemed happy to oblige. You can check the progress of our house here.

Back to it. Happy Spring to you!