Another Friday, another class.
Backing up: After being sore for two days from hauling my French easel up and down the ravine (okay, I had help hauling it back up. Thank you, guys) I went online and looked for lightweight, aluminum field easels. Michaels had the cheapest but they didn’t have the kind designed for watercolor, with a tiltable canvas arm, so I sprung for the expensive watercolor easel. It was not expensive, at all. I’ve now bought myself three new easels in the last six months. I am so set! As soon as Josie gets a job and is ready to move out, the whole upstairs will become my studio!
I had planned to take an afternoon this week to mess around with the oils to try to get more familiar with them but Friday came in the blink of an eye and I had no time. Maybe next week.
But probably not.
The forecast was for cold so Rick told us to bring something to paint in the studio. I grabbed the cookie jar I’d meant to paint the last time we weren’t going to go out. Last winter, Sam’s Club had Star Wars cookie jars shaped like the helmets of Boba Fett, Darth Vader and a white Storm Trooper. When the price fell to below $10 a piece, I bought all three. I really love the Darth Vader but painting all that black was too intimidating so I grabbed the storm trooper.
It has a nice shape and it’s white and very shiny, so I thought that would be fun to paint. Lots of reflection. I also put my new easel in the car because the last time we weren’t going out into the field, we went out into the field.
It was a bright, sunny morning but very cold. We stayed in the studio.
One of the other students brought in a bottle of Windex to paint. Lit up, with the white cloth behind it, it was beautiful. Not only that wonderful blue liquid but the shadows cast by the bottle were ethereal, with a splash of that electric blue. He’s the one who brought in a bottle of wine with a glass a few weeks back. He brings in the coolest subject matter.
Anyway, I pulled out my storm trooper cookie jar and Rick said “Hey! Look what I did a couple of weeks ago!” and he pulled out an 8x10 of the Darth Vader cookie jar. It’s magnificent.
I felt like a 16 year old on the Voice, auditioning with a Christina Aguilera song in front of Xtina.
Oh well: I like to think that stupidly ballsy is one of my endearing qualities.
So…I painted the storm trooper. It turned out okay. There are actually parts of it that I like. If I’d had another three hours to work on it, I may have been able to drag the rest of it into likeable territory.
I would have loved to take a photo of my storm trooper next to Rick’s Darth Vader but I forgot to bring my camera. It’s not that I think mine can stand next to his; I want the contrast as inspiration as to what I’m aspiring to do.
I’m really lucky that I have a cast iron ego. IF it were fragile, I’d be afraid to ever show anyone anything.
This week, I had the great fortune of having to talk one of my needlepoint customers into taking the piece she ordered. She didn’t love what I designed. Not enough background. I’ve been doing this for over 40 years and that’s the first time I’ve had that complaint. I think I’ve been able to correct what was bothering her. I want all my customers to love what they order; this stuff is expensive and needs to be loved.
Don’t blame me if you order ugly shit.
Haha! No one ever orders ugly shit. It’s all GORGEOUS.
Really.
Although, a few years ago, someone wanted this reproduced in needlepoint.
It probably looked spectacular once it was stitched. It is certainly loved.