Do you ever find yourself with a million things and nothing to do? I feel like this sums up my week. I’ve been really trying to save money lately which means little to no shopping. On the face that doesn’t seem so hard, but thinking and doing are two total different things. It turns out, I spend a lot of time shopping and don’t quite know what to do with myself when I’m not. Sure I can paint, but I can only paint for so long before I get bored. Plus it’s so fun to shop for new art supplies.
Again, there are a million things I can do, but getting myself to do them feels impossible. The house is clean or cleanish. My shed remodel project is complete. Houseplants can only handle so much water before they die. Work is slow and sporadic. And I find myself wanting to go shopping for everything and nothing in particular. I don’t need anything and can’t really afford anything if I actually want to save.
Why is it so hard to be content with what I have? I keep telling myself that I have everything I need for a variety of projects. There are always things that need done around the house and I’m more than capable of doing them.
Maybe it’s just that this week’s paintings were on the frustrating side and that led to my feelings of unrest. Maybe my unrest led to the frustrating paintings. I don’t know. I do know that I need a project though.
The painting one looked like a classic American Indian stereotype until it was nearly done. I’m really satisfied with how the painting turned out though. I chose the reference for the strong lighting and it didn’t disappoint.
The second painting looked like a dead eyed zombie for most of the painting process. I had to soak the paper and pretty much wash off the entire painting at one point because it was so off that I needed to just start over. One thing I can say though is that Strathmore Toned Grey Mixed Media paper can seriously take a beating. I essentially scrubbed the surface with a brush and paper towel and it barely tore up the surface. The paper even lays pretty flat now that it has dried.
The third painting was purposely done in black and white to give myself a break. I wanted to keep painting, but mixing skin tones is still not the easiest task. I’ll be back next week with more paintings. I’ve been eyeing some wildlife photos so I might take a quick break from people.