6.10.2016

stara...

we have arrived, once again, at that very distressing time of year when i start hearing voices calling to me from the corner of the room. "is it house elves or poltergeists", you ask? "far worse... it is a box of watercolor supplies", i reply.



despite last summer's vow to disband the Wednesday Watercolor Society, i have decided to return for more ego-crushing fun—though i should admit that i did the painting on a Wednesday, thereby breaking the one rule of that most noble organization. 

while i stress the fact that i am aware that i have less-than-zero skill at painting (or drawing, or even the fine art of paint-by-numbers), i was not disgusted by this latest effort, which is highly unusual given my usual performance. i would go so far as to suggest that i have shown some (microscopically marginal) improvement since the previous attempt. i was so pleased not-disappointed with the latest result that i grabbed more paper and gave it another try. i will spare you the horror of gazing upon the whole thing, but i did rather like the look of that section of sky. the artist-in-residence kept checking on my progress and he even commented that it was "a really good sky". as in life,  you have to celebrate the small victories. 



not wanting to pack away the brushes on such a low note, i cut a postcard-sized piece of paper and did a quick sketch of some birches. okay, so it is still not particularly good, but birches are awesome. small victories. 


my favorite animator has promised to join me at the next Society meeting. we have already settled on the theme of flowers, as i currently have a heap of mixed blossoms for inspiration. i especially liked the look of the colored orchids, so i separated them from the crowd and took many photos for future reference.  



so very pretty. 



on a tangentially-related note, i had another birthday this past week, sparking someone's insistence on calling me stara ("old woman" in Croatian). there was cake—red velvet to be precise—but no candles, because i do not need a massive fire hazard to remind me of my ever-advancing ancientness. [total aside, it is really hard to take a picture when you have a camera in one hand and a you are trying to balance a towering slice of cake with the other hand.]



since i was already biting the proverbial bullet wheat-wise, we decided to go all in and get dinner from our fave Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. for once i remembered to take antihistamines before coming into contact with the forbidden grain, so this year's celebration was free of regret, and a fantastic meal was enjoyed by all. 

in other news, there was finally a glimmer of hope when i spotted tiny girl zukes attached to some of the flower buds. i was feeling mighty proud of myself, while he was busy planning future meals... then the overnight temperature plunged down to the mid-single-digits (which is like mid-to-low 40's, for my fellow Americans). since then, it has been chilly, blustery, and mostly-overcast. i hope it warms up again for the sake of the plants, but, i would be very okay with a chilly summer. now, i am going to make a cup of tea, climb under a warm blanket, and resume my marathon-watching of the Great British Bakeoff. i am still working on season one. no spoilers, please.

2 comments:


  1. the cake looks amazing, truly. Im surprised you even stopped to take the picture, lord knows I'd have waited until nothing was left and then photograph the crumbs.

    Don't put yourself down, those are charming little paintings, and as in most things, it's the painter/poet/artist that comes through, beyond technique and expertise. I love the birches.

    (Trying not to remember what the cake looked like. Failing badly.)

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    1. i am late, as usual, in responding to your comment. i tend to forget to check in on my blog in between posts. that cake was insanely good. i existed on a near all-cake diet for that week. and thank you for the kind comments about my sad paintings. luckily, i do not cling to any desire to go pro. it is just something fun to do, and i happen to live with a guy who owns a lifetime stock of art supplies, so it is a no-cost hobby when the mood strikes.

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