OK

OK, I just have to keep doing this thing. This scribbling inquiry thing.

Not I have to as in I must, or I have no choice.

Rather, I have to as in I have the opportunity to.

I have the great good fortune to open my heart to.

Today I opened it to what became a mess.

OK.

On the heels of that mess I turned seconds later to a start I'd generated over the weekend that was 'complete' with regard to the exercise instructions that had sparked it but wasn't complete to my artistic eye …

… and I got my open-hearted-this-is-fun scribble on!

OK!!!

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But first, the mess. Because a promise I made to myself when I started this blog was to post the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because one thing leads to another and something led me to this mess and something led me back out again. It's all part of a bigger story.

mess

Dissipation

Yesterday's stories are yesterday's stories—breaking up into little pieces, spreading thin, scattering, blowing away in the least bit of breeze like so much dandelion fluff.

work in progress

Riding Roughshod

Oh my gosh, it's been one of those days where something deep inside wants out. Don't know what it is. It may not know what it is. Just know it hasn't shown up yet on my canvas.

I gessoed over the patch I'd been working on the past two days, expanded to three contiguous patches, and then turned my energy to not getting bucked by the reckless horse that's running roughshod with me on its back.

Finger Painting

Had a whole bunch of ideas in mind when I headed for Core Values today. Most of 'em never saw the light of day.

But I had a good time working out the 'problems' that showed up in front of me. 

Did most of my color mixing right on the foam core, squeezing directly from paint tubes. Jumped ship on brushes just minutes in. Loved using my fingers instead to mix, blend, create soft transitions between values, push, dab, and spread.

taped off a double patch that had
some drips and collage in place from weeks ago,
did some mark-making with a black paint marker

started finger painting with reds and black

played with analogous colors,
scratched through to earlier layers with a metal skewer

added collage,
brought in some pastel line work,
got some interesting textural stuff going in the green-blue area
(but, really! what is it doing there?)

ta da!
newest (double) patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from new patch

new patch in big picture,
working title: Core Values