First of all, Happy 4th of July to you all! Happy July 5th? I don't know... Just enjoy the general beginning of this month and all of the wonderful things that it serves to commemorate.
I've been trying (and not failing completely as of yet) to post to this blog every Tuesday and Thursday, which for me has been a blast! However, in the past few posts, I've sort of drifted away from giving any sort of updates or advice based on my own work. This hasn't necessarily been from a lack of wanting to do so (though I will admit that it's sort of nice to be able to talk about everything but myself for a bit), but rather that I've had most of my time wrapped up in one big project, thus leaving relatively little for me to really talk about.
During this holiday weekend, however, which was three WHOLE DAYS, I spent about 75% of the time painting (because it's a holiday, so at least a little bit of fun happened), and so after staring at it for 27 hours or so, I feel that I at last have something to discuss.
This painting that I have been working on is intended to represent some of the most exciting attractions in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a friend of a friend. It's on a canvas that measures 24" x 48", so it's decidedly hugemongous. (Totally not a word. Totally still appropriate.) It was the idea of the person who commissioned it, and I think it's awesome. It will depict Lookout Mountain, the Hunter Museum, the Aquarium, several of the notable bridges in the area, the state bird, flower, and tree, and the Tennessee River... And a cannon. And a train. And the Tennessee Flag.
Like I said - Awesome. Cannons? Yes, please.
To tie it up with the background information, it's in acrylic paint, and I've been working on it for an eternity.
Have I mentioned lately that I'm also working a full time job? Which doesn't sound like it should be much of an issue (I promise, I'm not complaining about actually having a job), but by the time I get home from work and get dinner cooked, it's about 7:30/8:00, forget taking any time to run or any other generally healthy thing. Playing with my puppy or my kitty? A waste of time. Talking to Paul about his day? Blasphemy. If I want to get anything done in a reasonable amount of time at all, I have to get straight to work. Which of course I don't always do, because I like being sort of healthy (let me rephrase, I like eating ice cream regularly, and running semi-consistently is the only way I know to justify this), my puppy and my kitty are fluffy and adorable and deserve all the loves, and Paul is just fun to annoy. And so this painting that I thought I could finish in a few weeks has taken a few months.
I've been trying (and not failing completely as of yet) to post to this blog every Tuesday and Thursday, which for me has been a blast! However, in the past few posts, I've sort of drifted away from giving any sort of updates or advice based on my own work. This hasn't necessarily been from a lack of wanting to do so (though I will admit that it's sort of nice to be able to talk about everything but myself for a bit), but rather that I've had most of my time wrapped up in one big project, thus leaving relatively little for me to really talk about.
During this holiday weekend, however, which was three WHOLE DAYS, I spent about 75% of the time painting (because it's a holiday, so at least a little bit of fun happened), and so after staring at it for 27 hours or so, I feel that I at last have something to discuss.
This painting that I have been working on is intended to represent some of the most exciting attractions in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a friend of a friend. It's on a canvas that measures 24" x 48", so it's decidedly hugemongous. (Totally not a word. Totally still appropriate.) It was the idea of the person who commissioned it, and I think it's awesome. It will depict Lookout Mountain, the Hunter Museum, the Aquarium, several of the notable bridges in the area, the state bird, flower, and tree, and the Tennessee River... And a cannon. And a train. And the Tennessee Flag.
Like I said - Awesome. Cannons? Yes, please.
To tie it up with the background information, it's in acrylic paint, and I've been working on it for an eternity.
Have I mentioned lately that I'm also working a full time job? Which doesn't sound like it should be much of an issue (I promise, I'm not complaining about actually having a job), but by the time I get home from work and get dinner cooked, it's about 7:30/8:00, forget taking any time to run or any other generally healthy thing. Playing with my puppy or my kitty? A waste of time. Talking to Paul about his day? Blasphemy. If I want to get anything done in a reasonable amount of time at all, I have to get straight to work. Which of course I don't always do, because I like being sort of healthy (let me rephrase, I like eating ice cream regularly, and running semi-consistently is the only way I know to justify this), my puppy and my kitty are fluffy and adorable and deserve all the loves, and Paul is just fun to annoy. And so this painting that I thought I could finish in a few weeks has taken a few months.
Also. Check out that fabulous work space.
I have a super awesome desk that makes painting on a normal-sized canvas SO much easier. However, that desk doesn't help much for an adolescent-sized painting, so I've been relegated to the floor, trying to sit on a pile of blankets and pillows because my knees hate me.
I'd like to take a quick moment to thank my adorable and genius boyfriend, Paul, for not kicking me out of the apartment at this point for practically nesting in the living room. He is amazing, and patient, and deserves all the things.
So let's take a look at that painting now! It's still super far from being finished, but I've at least got the bones of it down now. And my goal is to finish it by this Friday. I swear, I'm turning into the little engine that could with this painting with my "I-think-I-can"-ing all over the place.
I'd like to take a quick moment to thank my adorable and genius boyfriend, Paul, for not kicking me out of the apartment at this point for practically nesting in the living room. He is amazing, and patient, and deserves all the things.
So let's take a look at that painting now! It's still super far from being finished, but I've at least got the bones of it down now. And my goal is to finish it by this Friday. I swear, I'm turning into the little engine that could with this painting with my "I-think-I-can"-ing all over the place.
Like I've said, it's all still really rough, but at least now it's all on there, even if it's a schmere to rival that of some seriously funky cream cheese (lookin' at you, bottom foot of the painting). So here's hoping that if I forego running this week and plow through this puppy like there's no tomorrow, I can get the details knocked out and get this show (painting) on the road.
So what have I learned from this painting? The cliffnotes version (because this post is already what Paul would deem "a bit long") is:
1) I'm terrible at estimating how long it will take to finish a painting.
2) Larger paintings can be super fun, but any hope of working on them regularly simply has to be met with at least a semi-full time painting schedule. The ambition intensifies...
3) Consistency is key in a painting like this. Color, brush strokes, lighting - all of these aspects, which are already incredibly important, become infinitely more important when the size of the canvas increases, as it's easy to get too focused on one area and forget what's surrounding it.
4) I drink a lot of tea while I'm painting. A LOT of tea.
And I'm sure I will continue to learn as I finish this. I will do my best to update you and share the magic that is unfurled as I tie up the loose ends on this lil' beauty.
(I do everything I can to feign confidence, can you tell? I'm taking the "fake it til you make it" mentality a bit too much to heart, I think.)
So, I suppose for now that's it. As I said, I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July weekend, and that you're still in a good mood from the long extra day off.
Thank you!
Sarah
So what have I learned from this painting? The cliffnotes version (because this post is already what Paul would deem "a bit long") is:
1) I'm terrible at estimating how long it will take to finish a painting.
2) Larger paintings can be super fun, but any hope of working on them regularly simply has to be met with at least a semi-full time painting schedule. The ambition intensifies...
3) Consistency is key in a painting like this. Color, brush strokes, lighting - all of these aspects, which are already incredibly important, become infinitely more important when the size of the canvas increases, as it's easy to get too focused on one area and forget what's surrounding it.
4) I drink a lot of tea while I'm painting. A LOT of tea.
And I'm sure I will continue to learn as I finish this. I will do my best to update you and share the magic that is unfurled as I tie up the loose ends on this lil' beauty.
(I do everything I can to feign confidence, can you tell? I'm taking the "fake it til you make it" mentality a bit too much to heart, I think.)
So, I suppose for now that's it. As I said, I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July weekend, and that you're still in a good mood from the long extra day off.
Thank you!
Sarah