Hi friends!
Since Paige was born, my art life has taken a huge backseat. Baby comes first, obviously. As time has gone by I've been itching to be creative again. If you read this blog frequently then you know that I've been taking a watercolor painting class to get me out of the house once per week so that I can focus on something that I enjoy and relax. It's been so great! I have so much fun and really have learned a lot. I've only got 2 classes left which leaves me wondering what I'll take next. Perhaps sewing? Anyhoo, I decided to incorporate painting into my life a bit more; but how to do that with a now semi-crawling baby? I need to be nearby to keep a watch on Little P whenever she is awake. So, we took one of my office desks and put it in the family room at a window overlooking the conservation land behind our house. I can see Paige's play area to my right as I work and I have the wonderful natural light coming in through the window. It's been a great solution to incorporating my time for painting with being with Paige. Why should the two be separate? Why go into a different space and treat my creative life as a separate one from my daughter? I love that I can dabble at my work here and there while she's around and I just feel happier in general. I like that she can watch me do something I enjoy and know that she can be a part of it too if she wants. Of course, the majority of my time will still be spent playing with her, teaching her, and tending to her needs; but it is nice to know that I can include my own needs into the day and I now have a place to do it!
Here's a painting I did on my own here at my desk...without the guidance of the teacher. It is of an old converted barn in Maine...from a photo I took one summer. The computer isn't normally going to be at the desk, but the photo I was using to paint from was on my flickr site and I was too lazy to print it out. Then, of course I had to check facebook! :)
Damn you addictive Facebook! Damn you! :)

Watercolor Painting 2

Thought I'd share the second painting we did in watercolor class. I'm happy with it; although we've had to work so quickly in the 2 classes it took to complete it. The teacher's demonstrations take up a chunk of the class. I'm looking forward to trying a painting on my own...now I just need to find a chunk of time for myself just for painting! You can view how my first painting turned out here.

Watercolor Class

Hi there!
In a step to find time to enjoy something that is just for me AND just for fun, I enrolled in a watercolor class at my local community center. It meets every Monday night for the next several weeks; last night was the first gathering. I LOVED it! The teacher is going over techniques and "how-tos" with lots of individual instruction thrown in. I took a course in college and the professor literally gave us assignments and then sat there as we worked. I had no clue what I was doing the entire time and just sort of figured things out as I went along. But, I struggled. In just last night's course I learned several things I'd been doing wrong that had been making watercoloring really hard and giving me crappy results. So, it's been worth it so far! As you can see in the photo, we've begun a one-color painting of a lighthouse (here it's about half-finished) to learn about shading, tone and controlling the water. All that aside, it was nice to get away and do something for myself for pure enjoyment. It's nice to have no purpose...there's no grade, no critique, no trying to sell the paintings, etc. I get to just sit, get lost in the project at hand, and play around with it. There was a mix of people in the room; old and young...experienced and un-experienced. There were no judgements (a long way from the scary and sometimes mean critiques I suffered through college...I have a great story of a professor who ripped up one of my projects into little shreds...sigh) It was so relaxing and the 2 hours went by like nothing. I can get used to this! I came home feeling so excited and energized simply from this one thing! What do you do that is for yourself and just for fun? It's something to think about if you haven't been doing it already. Have a great day!