Surfboards at Sunrise

I finally got it together and painted again.  It's been close to 6 months since I've picked up a brush and I'm not entirely sure why.  The painting room was mess for a while and I didn't paint because I can't paint in chaos, but I still didn't paint once it was cleaned up.  Nothing really sparked my interest long enough for me to actually get set up & paint.

I took a trip to the Carolinas a few weeks ago and took some fun pictures. I was browsing through them last week and FINALLY one just screamed to be painted.  It took a while to get back into the groove of it so the painting's pretty rough. But I'm happy with it simply because it got me painting again.

Surfboards at Sunrise (12 X 24)

The playlist for this one had to have at least one song from Jason Mraz because he's the reason I went to North Carolina in the first place but I also wanted to include songs that are current faves. I stumbled upon the music of Kris Orlowski because he followed me on Twitter. Whatever it was that made him hit that follow button is my good fortune because I've been listening to Mountains on repeat for quite a while now.  Check him out if you like folk pop music!

1. Ho Hey - The Lumineers
2. Mountains - Kris Orlowski & Andrew Joslyn
3. The Ladder - Andrew Belle
4. White Fences - NEEDTOBREATHE
5. I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
6. Six Weeks - Of Monsters and Men
7. I'm Coming Over - Jason Mraz
8. Keep Your Head Up - Andy Grammar
9. Only Love - Ben Howard
10. Sunburn - Ed Sheeran
11. Speak for Me - John Mayer
12. Promises Promises - Jon McLaughlin
13. My Oh My - Tristan Prettyman
14. Free - Steve Moakler
15. Where the West Wind Blows - Green River Ordinance

Nada

This post is for my friend Jen, who checks in every day to see if I've painted anything or at least posted something.  And I haven't.

The painting room is a disaster and I haven't had the energy or the desire to tackle cleaning & organizing it. So I obviously haven't painted anything.  In months! It feels weird.

I've taken plenty of photos lately, though, so here's one of my favorites from last weekend. Sunset overlooking the land my family has farmed for the last 100 years. I'll paint it, eventually.

Getting Closer!

Four done, two to go! I worked on day job stuff most of the night, but took a bit of time to put some finishing touches on painting #4 for the nephew's series of animals.  I should be able to finish the last two this weekend.

I don't know why I always forget how calming it is to paint.  You need to focus or it turns into crap. Which means there's no extra room for me to perseverate on stressful things. It's awesome.  I like empty brain.

Stress Relief

I've been feeling really frustrated, overwhelmed, and exhausted with stuff lately. Stupid stuff.  Stuff being people. Mostly.

So instead of crying (again) tonight and stuffing my face with chocolate and anything else I can find in my cupboards, I decided to do something productive. Though, to be completely honest, supper was a hot fudge sundae. Sometimes chocolate is the only answer. 

This time the answer was a combination of chocolate and painting.  And music. And Skyping with my brother. And seeing my niece practice walking. And a new episode of NCIS. Mark Harmon can put anyone in a good mood. 

Alright, I'll admit the world doesn't completely suck.  

Tonight I realized I haven't picked up a paintbrush since well before Christmas.  That's just heartbreaking. So.  I grabbed my paints & brushes and started working on the third painting in a series of six 12x12s for my newest nephew. Who will be 8 months old in a week. (Yikes! I need to get these done before he's one...). They're all replicas of paintings we found on Etsy, so I'm not going to post my copies. Just know they're adorable.

As for music, I've been listening to a lot of Dave Barnes lately. His newest album, Stories to Tell, was released last week and I'm loving it. 

Praha. Moje nejoblíbenější město na světě.

Translation: Prague. My favourite city in the world.

I so love this city. I first fell in love with it through a picture, found randomly on the internet. It was one overlooking the roofs and spires, so perfectly depicting Prague as the City of a Thousand Spires. I started trip planning almost immediately. By which, I mean reading travel books and doing internet searches. I didn't think I could afford it, nor did I think I had the guts to travel alone.

And then...

My 30th birthday was approaching and I wanted to celebrate with something memorable. A trip to Prague, perhaps? I found a tour company that offered 'relaxed' tours. They handled the mess of hotels and transport between cities and only provided a half day of actual group touring before you had the next 2 1/2 days on your own. It was perfect. The entire trip include Prague, Vienna, and Budapest and I loved it. I highly recommend visiting the other cities too, especially for you history lovers out there.

But Prague? It was magical. The buildings, the history, the people (who always forgave my horrendous attempts at the Czech language), and quite honestly, the air created such a wonderful experience that I knew I'd make it back one day.

Luckily for me, that day was an entire weekend. Last weekend. Events beyond my control cancelled a trip to Australia and left me with a flight credit. It wasn't difficult to decide to hop on a plane to go see LynnieC in London. It also wasn't difficult to convince her to spend the weekend in Prague. This time, I made sure to take more pictures with painting in mind. I even made it to Charles Bridge for sunrise. It's a good thing pretty things come from getting up that early. I hate early mornings.

I'll be sad to head home, but I'll be painting for a long time to come. These are only a few of my favourites. Stay tuned for some actual paintings!

If you rub the plaque of John Nepomuk falling into the Vltava on his statue on Charles Bridge, it means you'll return to Prague one day. I'm not the superstitious sort, but every bit of luck and chance and what-have-you will help to make sure I come back.

London Travels

I've been in London a few days now and already have some fun pictures planned for painting! There's an abundance of historical sites to photograph and wandering the museums just makes me want to grab a brush and start painting.  My favourite so far has been the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House (even the small sketches are amazing!) but I haven't hit the National Gallery. Yet. I'm hoping to snag a ticket to the da Vinci exhibit that is focused solely on his paintings.

Here's a sample of a couple photos that I plan to paint at some point. 

The first in St. James's Park just outside Buckingham Palace. The second is looking out my friend's kitchen window.

2011 Resolution. Fail.

Okay so I didn't quite make my goal of finishing a painting a month for my 2011 New Years Resolution.  But when I think about everything that happened throughout the year, 8 paintings isn't bad. Plus, Fall Leaves should count for at least 3, don't you think?

I also haven't painted since September.  How in the world did 3 whole MONTHS pass without me picking up a brush?! No wonder I was a massive grouch for most of November...

So, 2012's Resolution is a modification of 2011's. The goal is to complete 12 real (no practice!) paintings throughout the year. Obviously one a month isn't reasonable but a total across the year is doable.  If nothing else, the regular painting will help me keep my sanity and save my family, friends, and co-workers from experiencing another November with me.  Hopefully.