Aiming for Eight

Increasing the number of quality oil paintings

I’ve been feeling down in the dumps lately, thanks to some personal issues and, of course, an aching back. So last night I did the only thing I could to practice the self-care that would make me feel emotionally better: I grabbed some paintbrushes and started working on the second draft of my boat painting. Now that I’m alternating my work between three paintings, oil painting is far more fun. I no longer have to wait a long period of time for one painting to dry. I always have something I can paint. My bedroom studio allows for me to work on up to eight paintings in rotation. 

I’m not there yet, thanks to a busy schedule. But I’m aiming for eight.

In this second draft of the boating painting, I added two new elements: a third boat (the white one) and buildings in the foreground. I also reworked the sky, and the distant buildings, which have more muted colors. I have a lot to work on with the buildings, especially with those in the foreground. I’d like them to be more colorful and pop. They also need details such as windows. Everything building-wise is teeny tiny, so I have to make teeny tiny details on the structures. The water needs work, with some slight indication of calm waves. I think I want to darken the water, but not too dark, as I need a darker reflection under each boat.

I know I’ve said this before, but as this blog is titled The Art of Self-Care, I cannot emphasize enough how important creating art is to me. Nothing else calms my soul like art. Last night, I admit, I wasn’t feeling up to painting, but I forced myself to do it anyway. And I spent two hours in a state of flow, a phenomenon which I will discuss in a future post. 

For me, painting is also a spiritual experience. I feel close to the divine when creating art. And it feels good to create. So I will keep doing it.

Eight paintings in rotation sounds like a tall order. But it’s a goal I am looking forward to accomplishing.

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2nd Draft. I need to straighten the water line of the small buildings in the background.