Flying Girl Sings in the Spring, or Go Gently

Flying Girl Sings in the Spring, or Go Gently
3/12/09
Golden Fluid Acrylic on Paper, 7"x10"

Oh I have been going non stop. Really. When driving to the post office is a break, you need to schedule in some down time.

That's why I painted this picture. It's inspired by my baby blue guitar which I am trying to teach myself to play. It seems to be the one thing I am doing right now which doesn't entail some sort of work to be done or future to be made. I mean, even when I eat, I usually have to cook and clean up.

I try to remind myself to be in the moment and just take out some moments to relax. To feel the softness of the air and allow myself to play. Play is hard for me lately, now that what I used to do for play has become work. Hm. I need to explore that dynamic and try to take it back to play a bit. I think my perfectionist tendencies are rearing a little.

I also have Spring on the brain. You all in the Northern climes may still be getting socked by that Lion March, but here in Florida it's more like May in New York, so everything I'm doing is covered in flowers lately.

The sales in the etsy shop seem to have slowed down, so I'm not running around frantically, but I still have some work to do and I still have to learn my way around this new world. I got a second treasury, which I take as a good sign. It's all blue and green and sea colored. Some beautiful stuff in that one. I love finding new artists and rediscovering old ones that I had discovered before.

I don't know if you've noticed, but this painting and the last are both 7x10, which is bigger than my usual 5x8. I'm trying to expand my repertoire and expand my vision. I've always kept things small when I have felt insecure or frightened by any number of things. And it's worked. I've made some lovely tiny paintings, but sometimes it's time to move on to something a little larger.

I want to try and keep the spontaneity in my paintings, even if I am painting larger, and for the etsy shop, and with "Art" capital "A" in mind. I'm wrestling a little with my different tastes, too... the more abstract with the more cartoony almost. I have no idea where I'm going next.
Plus, my moleskine inexplicably went missing. A message from the universe? I can't promise I won't go back to the smaller paper, but I'm trying this out to see how it feels.

It's easier to paint a little bit bigger.

I'm experimenting with layering and different brush techniques. I might go into a painting thinking I am going to do one thing, but I follow the medium, and it often goes in other directions. So I go with it.