Sunday, January 15, 2012

scattered


(11x15)
(11x15)
Two works in (barely discernible) progress: the boats are from a photo by Ruth Archer at Paint My Photo; the tropical foliage from a photo I started painting in New Mexico in October.
I'm feeling too mentally scattered to really commit to anything right now. It happens sometimes: I've been reading too many watercolor books, looking at too many watercolor DVDs; there's so much I want to attempt that I can't settle on anything.
It's even affected my baking: I made an apple upside-down cake this morning--what an elaborate recipe: three bowls, a saute pan, the standing mixer were all called for!--which came out dreadful: the sugar didn't carmelize, the cake didn't rise ... All that effort for something that looks like the apple desert in a frozen dinner.
Baking, like watercoloring, requires a certain quality of attention. For now, back to knitting, which, since I can, at this stage, only do the simplest garter-stitch projects, is wonderfully automatic.



9 comments:

  1. Hallo Laura. Your not the only one. I've just thrown away a painting. A horrible one. I feel depressed. Cannot do anything right. Don't want to do anything. I would like a cop of coffee but the coffeemaker needs a big cleaning so no coffee. I can't see all the blogs I'm following because Blogger has chanched something. And so on. It's going on for a few days now. I don't know what the reason is. I'm going early to bed and get a lot of sleep. I wish you the best and happy knitting!

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  2. apple upsidedown cake? Yum! I've been eating apples like crazy lately, for some reason. I love the boats painting, you've made it such a serene calming, zen-like scene. Very nice!

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  3. I think both paintings are wonderful starts, but sorry about your cake! This is why I never bake (or haven't for years). Sorry you're feeling too scattered right now - remember to go back to the workshops you took and what you wanted to learn from them; and your trip to O'Keeffe country and what you wanted to learn there. You have time to learn it all but you have to take little slices at a time (kind of like cake) :) I, too, am unable to view some blogs or comment on some blogs - not sure what blogger is doing but I hope it stops soon.

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  4. The boats are beautiful.
    Sometimes we need to let go and just take it five minutes at a time. I don't think Sargent figured it all out in one day either.
    (Now if I could just listen to my own advice...)

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  5. Hi Laura - I'm feeling the same way. You'd think with it being winter, that I'd feel like playing in the warmth of my studio... but my muse took a vacation, so all I feel like doing is sitting in the recliner catching up on my DVR recordings... I'm sure we'll both get back in the swing of things soon..

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  6. Both paintings look promising to me! Well, it seems everybody's muse took a vacation, mine too! I hope those muses have a great time. :)

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  7. Beautiful work Laura. Please keep going. Put down the knitting and pick up the paints. I am always scattered. I have to put on the radio, or a Netflix movie, or TED talk to make me stay with it. So don't worry. Lately I've been too busy to settle down. You are wonderful -- a great painter.

    XO Barbara

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  8. are you still knitting laura :)...time out is valuable too ...you've got some incredible colours and blends in the bottom panting ... boats looks like a great start .

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  9. I totally undestand you!

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