April 26, 2012 - Wayfarer

I think this might be the smallest painting I've done since high school- it's only 8" x 10".  This was
sort of by accident really- I've been working on a mixed media surface called "clayboard" and my
local art supply store had only one panel left, which was this size.  I admittedly consider it more of
an illustration rather than a painting because it's so little.   I was also going to name this one "Flight"
then realized that's what I called last week's painting.  Duh.  So instead, I thought of wayfarer or
traveler because that's what this bird appears to be doing.  I daydream about being a wayfarer often-
of just setting out and meandering around the world seeing and experiencing things for the rest of
my life.  But although I dream of doing this, I admittedly like day to day routine.   I'm about 50/50
on this one- I want adventure, but I like stability.  I guess I'll just have to figure out a way to do
both.  And really, I guess it's just a matter of perception.  We can infuse adventure into everyday
life just as we can add stability to travel if that is our desire.

Painting #7
8" x 10"
mixed media

April 12, 2012 - Flight

I think I enjoyed doing this one more than the others.  This is ironic because I find large
bugs scary.  This is a June bug in flight.  Despite the fact that I find biggish sized bugs
intimidating I can't deny the beauty and grace of this one in flight.  I think I enjoyed doing
this piece also because it reminded me of my daily drawings due to it's intricacy.  It's another
mixed media piece- a combo of acrylic, water based pencil, colored pencils and graphite. 
I may as well just admit the fact that I enjoy drawing more than painting.  And I'm better at
it.  I'm not sure why I fight this so much- I guess because traditionally painting was
considered the zenith of art.  Drawings were what you did to prepare for doing a painting-
like a preliminary study.  But this is an extremely outdated notion and I know this.  There
are no rules or standards in art anymore- art can be anything and everything nowadays.   I
wasn't sure what this painting project would bring when I began. I thought that maybe I'd
become more skilled at it by doing one every few weeks.  What I've discovered though, is
that I sometimes look at it as a chore, which is not what art means to me personally.  This
one brought the pleasure back into the act of it and I've realized that for me that's all that
matters.  So from now on, I'm not going to worry about the what of what it is- I'm going
to focus on the joy it can bring me if I do whatever the hell I want and not worry about
rules that don't even apply anymore.

Painting #6
11" x 14"
mixed media