Would that life were like the shadow cast by a wall or a tree, but it is like the shadow of a bird in flight.
                                                    The Talmud


      When I put "The Big Red Pot" that I am not currently speaking to back in the closet I was confronted with a stack of paintings that I had previously not been speaking to.  This little one above called the loudest so out it came.  When I set it down on the easel I inadvertently set it sideways and decided that looking at it the wrong way had been the problem all along.  After about an hour or so of touch-up it was finished.  Life lesson learned ~ go away, take a deep breath, come back and look at the problem from a different angle, things just may look a lot better.

          We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

                                                                           Charles Kingsley

          The above quote is so true.  This little painting above just came together so well and I was very happy while doing it.  It seems the more I plan a painting the more frustrated I become which is why I have been so long away from this blog.  The large painting that has been sitting on my easel for months is now sitting in the back of a small closet in my studio.   And there it will remain for awhile. We are not speaking right now.  It's best I have come to believe to let the subject matter pick the painter sometimes rather than the other way around.  I found a small black and white photo of the arrangement above, fell in love with it right away, and let the colors develop during the process.  Over time we became close friends.  This one can come out of the studio and stay in the house.

All That's Left

     Remember that happiness is a way of travel ~ not a destination.
                                                
                                                            Roy M. Goodman
 
     Well, I am finally getting around to some of my new year's resolutions.  This poor painting has been sitting in the corner waiting some final touch-ups.  I broke out my smallest brushes and came in and did some work in the shadows.  It's always a pleasant surprise to go back and work on something that just needs an hour or so to get it finished.  There are way too many of these projects sitting around my studio ~ was so tempted to start something new this morning but now am happy to have spent the time on this one.  One down ~ ??? to go!