Time for a hobby

My last few painting sessions I have been working on the below painting out my balcony window and have been fairly obsessed with my squirt gun. Squirting it all over the place, making a big enjoyable mess on the easel, the floor, myself. This is really not unusual for most adults my age....nearing 40. It's a crazy thing getting to 40 how you become more like a child with your "me" time. I've told the peacock that I feel to be having a somewhat practice midlife crisis, a small study you may say, with my squirt gun leading the way.

He seems to ignore these comments going back to focusing his attention on the latest road bike he has bought or is buying. One to match the weather or his mood or the road...(if that means anything) or because "trigger" (the name of one bike) needs a friend. Which coincidentally is how I agreed to have a second child. Anyways.... 

What has become this business of 40? 

Hobbies! 

Hobbies of yesteryear or "always wanted to do it but didn't" dreams to prepare for the looming crisis of the slide down the mountain of life.

Some take up residence in adult soccer leagues or flag football or half marathons or they start a rock band. Obstacle course races and sip & paints and adult gymnastics, voice lessons, repelling down rocks, road biking, starting a blog....painting. Bucket list items. Forgotten dreams. True ambitions.

Whatever it is, embrace it with the passion and grandios delusion of your 5 or 9 or 11 or 17 year old self (any age before 25 when that hindering frontal lobe kicks on and starts to parent your brain). 

Clock Tower 2016
(balcony squirt gun painting plein air)
Acrylic 15x30 museum wrap canvas with 1inch profile
 

Me, my paints, my squirt gun. Reckless, childish, frontal lobectomy abandon. 

Taking care of the canvas & the crisis. 

-Cheree 

Slow to progress

It's been a while since I blogged. I was knocked down with a nasty head cold that really shouldn't have wiped me out like it did.....but, it did. I have been messing with a few "projects" over the past week. 

This is a little progress shot of one I started. It looks very different now, this is my style of underpainting. It's getting close to done.....maybe?.....kind of? 

I'm having my typical problem where I start a few things & dabble in each one a bit, depending on how I feel. I have 2 different series of paintings I want to do & 2 more panels to go with this one. So you can imagine the inconvience of a head cold. 

But...I'll get there...eventually....

Slowly...slowly...slowly. 

-Cheree 

Where's the knife

I really wanted to paint these white onions to work on "more color with in white". I set up a cute little still life that included a knife. When I went to paint the knife (which I saved for last) it was a total disaster. I spent waaaaay too much time trying to paint the knife. I let my brain trick me and I got very impatient. In the end I scrapped it out & set it for a different time to paint. 

Where is the knife?  (2016)
Oil on gesso board 6x6

For now, these onions are safe, but soon, they will be getting the knife.     

-Cheree

April 31st...as promised

As I mentioned, during my 30 in 30, I received this picture of the Wynkoop bridge from my magnificent artist friend, Connie Mobley Medina. (if you remember, I did not get it done) I met Connie through our nanny, Anastasia "Anna", who happens to be Connie's daughter. I do not believe in coincidence and the fact that we found a nanny that not only loved our children, but is a HUGE Colorado Rockies fan and has an artist mom....I know it was meant to be. Anna and Connie came into our life when I was going back to work full time after having the goldfish and I was just starting to paint again. To say I was rusty is not even the word, I was terrible, but I really wanted to paint! I needed to paint. I asked Connie if she could come over to the 900 square feet one day and look over some of my art and give me some feedback....She was very nice, in a honest & encouraging way. I knew I was terrible, but I didn't care because I knew I could only get better. She gave me some great tips and her encouragement meant the world to me during this time.

Anyway, I begged Connie to be a live artist for my son's fundraiser at school. I knew she was amazing and would make something so incredible. We had gone to her show, Portrait of a Woman, last year during the Santa Fe art walk and the peacock and I were blown away.
For the fundraiser, she recreated a version of this:

14th & Wynkoop, 2013, acrylic paint/oil pastels/wood, 40″x 49″
Connie Mobley Johns

She honestly knocked it out of the park and I wish I had a picture of the finished painting (however, I had 3 glasses of wine); But, more so, I wish the peacock wouldn't have put the foot down on my bidding on her painting. Apparently, we had an agreed upon budget, so some other Lucky person got it.

And speaking of Lucky, that brings me to another of my favorite paintings of Connie's (to date) this guy:

Lucky, 2014, oil on canvas, 4 panels, 8″ x 8″ each
Connie Mobley Johns

Please, Please, Please check out Connie  HERE
I cannot say enough, you need to see for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Lastly, here is my own version of the Wynkoop Bridge, as promised, on April 31st.


Peeking at the City (2016)
Oil on board 8x10


 

Everyday we come across people in our lives, uncoincidentally.
I will forever be grateful to Connie for her encouragement and forever in awe of her art.
-Cheree