Oranges and lemons and limes

I have just learned something else about blogging. Fruits are a non threatening subject but I love painting them. Even the late Georgia O'Keeffe liked them and returned to the idea again and again. Today we have begun our painting class and the process was as engrossing as ever. We toned our canvas and blocked in our shapes. Then colored 'by number' and loosely painted in the shapes withe the basic color of that shape. Then there were the decisions of are the shadows more violet or blue? Do we want to have the horizon line higher or lower? I left class feeling refreshed and relaxed.

Challenges

    So many things have happened in a very short time. I find myself breathing purposefully and acting deliberately. In a very short time all my children are now in their own lives and spaces. I have a daughter-in-law. My father had a major heart attack and decided it was time for the 'talk', thus moving me even further from being the child to being the adult caregiver.  In all of these changes there has been one constant, and that is my sketch book and my exploration into how my creativity works and why I approach things the way I do. This semester I am taking Oil Painting II from Margee Aycock. I want to go further and build on what I have already learned. As I have learned in life I want to learn in my art. To act deliberately, and not react to stimulus but approach each thing as an opportunity to learn more. To not rely on  fortuitous accidents in my painting but to have my creativity answer me. AND to not seek validation from others but to find it within myself.