As a child, I remember walking to the public library with my mom.
The library always had an interesting smell… books.
It’s funny, the scent of an old book takes me back to those days.
The library had a pond.
There were ducks, quite possibly a gator from time to time, and a few willow trees.
Not knowing it then, but reflecting on it now, willows became my most favorite tree.
The seemed to be a safe space. They looked like a hug, or tears falling when it rained.
Whatever the case, as I got older,
I’d be so excited to see a willow tree.
They seemed uncommon, nothing just hanging out on the side of the road, or lining a street.
Now, I always smile when I see a willow, swaying in the breeze.
a gentle reminder of years long gone.
a happy childhood, my past.
I’m a bit more nostalgic these days, with everything going on lately.
***
Less pontification and back to the post.
I grew to love art.
Not because I’m an artist in the sense, I’m terrible at drawing. Simply terrible!
But I do like to paint.
Also I’m not very good at painting, I’m NOT a professional artist or painter….
but I do rather enjoy it.
That is, until I’m nearing the end of a painting and it hardly resembles the vision in my head.
Happy little accidents.
But I know that I’m not perfect, and I’m painting to create and do, and maybe over time my paintings will get better.
It’s a process, and I’m learning how to be a little less rigid, and just accept the fact that things can always improve and things will get better, much like my paintings.
And who knows, someone else other than myself, might actually appreciate what I put upon a canvas… and maybe, just maybe, I’ll become that version of me too.
Artist like Van Gogh, Vermeer, Degas, Dali, both of the Dufy brothers, Renoir and Monet, are some of my favorites. Really the list of artists is quite long. I don’t remember all their names… But those artists were the first that I really became acquainted with.
And so today,I’m sharing a little something I’ve been working on.
I even decided to get back into the oil paints for this one, just as Claude would have done.
This was my first time getting back to and working with oil paints in over 20 years. Most of what I’ve done has been with acrylics. And acrylics are fine and do a good job. But I was feeling a little extra fancy and thought that getting back into oil paints would be a fun challenge.
I don’t think it’s complete, but I’m calling this a stopping point and a valiant first attempt at getting oil onto canvas. I’m really liking the shadowy colors and lilies in the background. SO I think I’ll be doing another painting soon, and then maybe a side by side to see what I’m learning along the way.
I will say that paining with oils, and mixing colors is so much more rewarding, and oils layer a bit differently than acrylics. I think a few more smaller canvases need to be done and then I might try something GRANDIOSE!