May 24, 2012 - Windy

I love the wind.  Well, I love the wind to a certain extent.   My boating friend
doesn't though in terms of being on the water.  High level winds make being
on the water less fun than moderate amounts of wind.  Now that I've gone
out on his boat a couple times I can understand this even though I don't
have anything to compare it to since I've not really been out on a summery
wind-free day. He swears there are days when the water is flat and glassy
but since I've never experienced that, it's difficult to imagine water with
little motion.  I just like being out on the water although admittedly the
wind does make it colder.  It's  kind of like when I lived in NYC one
winter and dealt with the concept of windchill which was something
I'd never fully experienced until living there. I can only say one thing
about that: BRRRRR.  Palm trees are a great indicator of wind because
they're tall, they're everywhere and you can tell how windy it is by their
sway and how their palm fronds are behaving.

Painting #9
18" x 24"
mixed media  

May 10, 2012 - Completion

This painting is based on a piece I did during my daily drawing project on July 14, 2011 called
"Courtship".  I really loved this image when I came across it initially- the body language of these
two creatures emanated a simple grace that I found myself quite taken by.  I thought it would
translate well into a larger image and decided to do a painting of it.  So I started one, sketched it
out, put some layers of paint on it, got frustrated and never finished it.  For six months it's been
sitting in my studio in that unfinished state, across from the couch where I watch television,
mocking me.  Not finishing a painting is something I've done often in the past.  It's a really
frustrating thing to leave something unfinished like that.  I've always been a strong starter and
a poor finisher in many areas.  When I have a deadline- no problem, the job gets done, but left
to my own devices quite often I'll start something with fortitude which then dwindles into a lack
of interest which then turns into an unfinished project.  And this has happened A LOT. 

So, when I was thinking about what to paint a couple weeks ago, I looked across the room at this
one and a little voice inside my head whispered: "Finish that one mb.  Don't start another until you
finish it.  Completing this one would be more satisfying than starting another"  So I finally did.
And it was hard to go back in and fix the stuff that stumped me the first time around but I did it
and boy am I glad I did.  It was completing the cycle- closing the circle of the painting if you
will.  It makes me want to go back and finish all my unfinished paintings. Either that or get rid
of them altogether to make room for new ideas.

Painting #8
11" x 14"
mixed media