Sometimes paintings can look rather pitiful at the start!
This is after a few more hours (and a couple days). I hesitated showing this, but I think “regular” people should be aware of the struggles! The roses are of the David Austin type — looking unusually fluffy. How to paint them to look like roses — and not carnations? And there’s no telling how long they’ll continue to look good. Maybe they’ll droop tomorrow; maybe they’ll look good for a week. Paint them first!
Since starting this one, I haven’t had a full day in the studio to work. Constant interruptions! Yesterday the big news was about a massive winter storm heading this way — “8 to 10 inches of snow!” — starting today. We’re all kind of like squirrels here in northern Michigan. Everybody scurries off to the store to stock up on toilet paper, milk, beer — other necessaries. I got home from Traverse City about mid-afternoon, refilled the bird feeders and pecked away on this a little more.
Figuring out a complicated still life is like doing an algebra test. At first glance, I freak out. Recovering from the shock, I spot something I can do, then something else. I skip around like that until it’s done. Then I’m kind of sorry it’s finished! Looks like Ill be snowed in the rest of the week, so stay tuned for another progress report.
