A Very Time-Consuming Painting
For the last half of January, all of February, and most of March, I was working obsessively (in the evenings and on weekends) on a small painting of our backyard. The painting was very hard for me to finish because the scene I was trying to capture included about a billion leaves. I’m a beginner in acrylics and don’t know how to suggest leaves the way a more skilled painter would do. No, instead I have to sit there and paint every leaf individually, one by one, because I haven’t mastered any advanced techniques yet. Oh my gosh, painting all those leaves was so laborious. I kept complaining (jokingly) to Rob that I was “in a hell of leaves.”
But to be honest, I loved being in that hell of leaves. I loved working on my dumb painting every evening as Buntin sat in my lap doing “crabby cuddles” (purring and snuggling and then growling softly whenever I had the gall to move). I fell into the habit of listening to old episodes of Unsolved Mysteries on my phone as I worked. Unsolved Mysteries was such a great show, especially the “Lost Loves” segments, in which family members or old friends would be reunited after long years of searching for one another. Almost every night as I listened I’d get Buntin’s fur wet with tears.
When I finally finished my painting on March 21, I felt relieved but also a tiny bit lost. What fun little project would I work on next? Luckily, spring had sprung while I was painting, so there were lots of fresh possibilities. I could take pictures of our beautiful white plum tree that I like to call the Snow Queen . . . or plant more purple coneflowers for the butterflies to enjoy . . . or I could make a cake for Rob and garnish it with wild violets. Winter was over, and maybe the pandemic would be over soon too. It was a whole new world with so much to look forward to.
Tabitha and Julie Belle among the ferns:
Golden ragwort galore:
The wild azaleas in bloom:
American plum blossoms:
However you did it, it looks lovely. You are so talented in so many ways. It’s wonderful to see someone who has not lost their creativity in adulthood.
Blessings…
Thank you, Daisy! You are too nice!