Change of Direction

Changed direction today. Grabbed a piece of manila stock that I'd gessoed months ago, sprayed some water on it, pulled out some fluid acrylics that I've barely ever used, and dropped some color onto my 'canvas.' With sunshine and mild temps beckoning, I took the show outdoors to my front steps, loaded up with three or four different kinds of pastels, some pencils, a couple of pens. Back indoors to drip some house paint and use a texture sheet.

Could have stopped way back at simpler, but evidently I didn't.

Even so, this was just a quick spontaneous exploration, and now I have a postcard to send to my dad.

You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours
4x5"; acrylic, ink, and pastels on manila stock
abstract
2017
[gift]

Feel Gratitude

My friend Bo sent me some cool info recently. Turns out UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life. One finding: the most important question to ask yourself is, What am I grateful for?

Feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine, a chemical released during pleasurable situations. 

Feeling grateful can boost serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex. Serotonin is a chemical responsible for maintaining mood balance.

Awesome.

I am grateful for the fun of spreading some acrylic paint, making a bunch of marks, making another bunch of marks, affixing collage, making a few more marks, and playing with chalk and oil pastels. Oh, and paint pens, too.

pmmp-2 with ; work in progress