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| Peonies |
Just about a year ago I began painting with a palette knife during a Lois Griffel workshop. I found it quite liberating. I had tried painting with larger brushes to get the same effect in attacking the large shapes in a painting, but it didn't work for me. A few times during the course of the year I tried to return to brushes and it was an almost painful experience, almost like having to move back in with your parents, yea you're safe, but that's not where you want to be. I was becoming convinced that palette knife was "my style".
A few months later, I was in Italy; Rome, Florence and Venice. With all the places I've traveled to, I have never been disappointed with any of the sights that are on the "must-see list". Italy was no exception and in fact even more of an experience than I could have imagined. Seeing art, history and grandeur everywhere we turned was both overwhelming and invigorating. Before we went, everyone I spoke with that had been there said I'd love it, even those that I didn't know very well. I thought, how would they know I'd love it? It seemed rather cliché. The truth is now I know, I can't imagine anyone not loving it. You don't have to know the person, you just have to have seen the places we saw. But how did that trip change my paintings? People, that's how. The buildings were wonderful, but buildings and street scenes without people, well that just doesn't capture a city as alive as Rome. Couple that with the thousands of paintings and statues we saw, almost exclusively of people I felt the need to bring people into my paintings.
With new perspective and excitement for painting I wanted to also create a more simple way to update my web pages. Knowing that then I could have more time to paint. I have new slide shows for my Watercolor and Oil painting sections. I will add more pictures in the future but it's a start. I posted a poll to see if people wanted to help me decide if this format works best for my paintings. Your input into the survey would be greatly appreciated before I add any more pictures to it. My New Paintings page is no longer Paintings of Italy, those now have their own section. That being said there are new paintings posted there. I finally am finishing up paintings of flowers that were started when they began to bloom. I expect a few more florals will be completed soon.
More changes happened at home, one son moved to Miami and a new job for my husband. The new job brings with it an expectation of relocating. That is still in the future and such a move would bring us closer to Boston and the seacoast. The idea excites me and has me making more plans for the future. It is now the unknown which awaits us, but that's what makes life interesting. For now, I will just keep painting, kind of like Little Nemo - "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".
