The door sticks as I pull it open. An invisible cloud of warm air pushes against me as I enter. I look around to see who is in the room and smile at so many familiar faces. I wander how it can be more than a month since I last sat at the table, picked up my brushes and started a new watercolor. I took a deep breath as I sat down and listened for a moment to the critical voice in my head telling me, "You'll have to start over. It's been too long." I shut the voice out as I turned to my neighbors, people who have become friends by sitting together, working together, struggling over paint placement and the desire to be better than we are.
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| Not yet finished painting of old shed |
It was good to be back even though I left half-finished home projects scattered over the house. With my return to classes, volunteering and travel that I had set aside for the holidays, my attempts at New Year clean-up stalled in mid-January. I keep thinking that I will make a day to catch up, but already the tumult caused by an already-full calendar has jumped into my path.
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| First day's work on old boat |
The watercolor I am working on gives me hope. I found that my absence from art had been helpful. The skills I struggled with all last year percolated up and appeared on the page. My old mantra, One Thing At A Time, resurfaced as I placed a color on the page, stepped back to make sure that was the color I wanted, and then pushed the color forward another inch before I refreshed the color by dropping a new color to add depth to the first. For once, as I packed up my supplies at the end of class, I felt positive about what I had started. I walked around the classroom and saw the same renewed response in the work of others. We had all progressed in a year and now came ready for a new beginning.
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| Second day's work on old boat. Now I need to add the sky and a few finishing marks. |
January is full of promise, fresh starts, returns to old practices, and a recognition that another year has come and will quickly pass. Have you stopped saying, Happy New Year, yet?
Today, January 17 is an ordinary day. No special holidays fill the calendar square, though January 17 has been declared Cable Car Day, Hot Buttered Rum Day, Ditch New Years Resolutions Day (that quickly?), and Judgment Day, which seems a little hard-nosed for an ordinary day. Ruth and Thomas Roy, creators of the day, tell us to look in the mirror on January 17 and see if you measure up to your own standards. If not, they suggest you go out and give life another shot, which is what I did recently when I opened the door to my watercolor class.
https://www.checkiday.com/e9417128100821a58a471a24c72fd8e0/judgment-day
Love both of your new paintings especially the colors on the boat. It made e feel that I was at a mini art gallery! Love your blog. Short and sweet! Happy New 2020!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tena. Your idea of a mini art gallery is just what I'm trying to offer here. Happy New Year to you too!
DeleteThis all sounds very familiar, Marty...kind of how I felt walking back into my quilting class. Ruth and Thomas Roy...I'm ready to give life another shot! I love both the old shed and the boat.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, thank you for commenting. I bet you have the same feelings when you get back to quilting -- color matching with fabric is an art. I've made some so-so color choices in putting together quilting pieces. Like everything, practice matters.
DeleteI always find your watercolors amazing, so it surprises me to read that you struggled. But I guess, we all do--even when we're good at something.
ReplyDeleteStruggle is part of creating, I think. Extreme example, Van Gogh, but even I have doubts and then thrills when something works really well.
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