“Reexamine all that you have been told” Walt Whitman
I’ve been appreciating lately that finishing a painting is not a linear process for me, especially as I review my in-progress photos to share. Colors change, an evening scene becomes a morning scene, colors change again, a grove of trees becomes a hill of flowers, etc. I need a lot of flexibility, time, and room to explore, which is partly why I love acrylic paints so much – they are very, very forgiving and allow for lots of layers.
Here’s where I’d left my current painting last time, though as you’ll see below, the words follow the stars might no longer work:
I’ve been stretching this painting out over a number of weeks, adding layer after layer to the background until the colors speak to me and I can add the next element. I’ll likely never be the artist that can paint live in front of an audience, but that’s okay. Instead, I paint, pause, examine. Paint, pause, reexamine.
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to finish paintings quickly, but Isaac has changed all that. Now I move much more slowly, often sneaking in no more than an hour or two a few times per week.
I’m liking how purposeful it feels to move at a slower pace, even when I get frustrated about wanting more time to work. Slowing down creates more space to sidestep my painting comfort zones and try new things.
I’ll continue working on the painting over the next week or two. I’m getting close to adding trees, characters, words, and more detail now that the background is almost finished. Stay tuned!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Isaac turned 9 months old last week and so we took his photos wearing the month 9 sticker. Here are my favorites:
I can’t believe we only have 3 more photo shoots before he’s 1 and we run out of stickers. My baby! He’s wearing this hat because we found it at Target and couldn’t resist the cuteness.
Recently he’s started to babble mamama and dadada, which made me realize how excited I am to have conversations with him in the future. I don’t want to rush anything, but it’s fun to remember how much joy (and hilarity) we have coming up when the days feel hard.
Here’s to slowing down this week to create space for the people and practices that make us feel good. Have a great day, friends!
With love,
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