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something I am grateful for today
Feb. 6th, 2023 01:04 pmI sang — first time I have felt moved to in well over a year.
Evening Star
Jan. 26th, 2023 03:51 pmMy thirty-eighth acrylic [and first acrylic of 2023] is a miniature [4 by 6], done in one sitting, that was inspired by two considerations:
It's not brilliant by any means, but it was instructive and fun, so why not share it here...
- I felt like doing some more work with the bold colours and simplified shapes of Paul Sérusier
- limited palette: I wanted to see what I could do with the triad of turquoise, quinacridone magenta, and cadmium yellow light — the classic CMYK of printer ink. [Plus burnt umber to darken, and titanium white to lighten, which apparently can be permitted in a triad.] I was very pleased with the blues, purples and violets I got from these colours... the oranges maybe not quite what I hoped, but a step up from some other mixes I've used in the past.
It's not brilliant by any means, but it was instructive and fun, so why not share it here...
something I am grateful for today
Jan. 23rd, 2023 06:25 pmstaying on track
In retrospect, I feel like I had a pretty decent day. Ran an unusual number of errands this morning, all successfully, including a physio appt. Navigated the snowy streets without incident. Remembered to change the furnace filter. Stayed on top of the dishes despite being tempted to blow them off. Inked a page of comic strips. And got thru most of the day without needing meds. So yeah, I feel like I stayed on track today a bit better than some days.
In retrospect, I feel like I had a pretty decent day. Ran an unusual number of errands this morning, all successfully, including a physio appt. Navigated the snowy streets without incident. Remembered to change the furnace filter. Stayed on top of the dishes despite being tempted to blow them off. Inked a page of comic strips. And got thru most of the day without needing meds. So yeah, I feel like I stayed on track today a bit better than some days.
something I am grateful for today
Jan. 5th, 2023 06:13 pmthese:
I got a bunch of them for Christmas, and today I used them to sort and put away my watercolour paints — they are now organized at last! Yay!
I got a bunch of them for Christmas, and today I used them to sort and put away my watercolour paints — they are now organized at last! Yay!
Someone posted a piece of AI art somewhere and asked for thoughts and comments. It's the first time I tried to nail down my vague feelings on the subject. Here's what I came up with:
I'm still coming to terms with AI art. On some levels, it's just a new manifestation of something that has long been with us... for example, the human artist who repeatedly paints variations of the same picture and sells prints of them to people who are easily satisfied. It makes visual pleasure affordable and readily accessible. Similar to the way that portrait photographers [as opposed to portrait painters] did. In a way, AI art is a fancier form of clip art, I guess.
This doesn't mean that I wholeheartedly approve of it, just that I recognize that it arises from economic and cultural forces that are not new. It means that original human art will be obliged to become more sincere, less of a commodity and more ars gratia artis. That's bad for artists and their livelihoods, but it's not bad for art per se.
my gruntles have been removed
Jan. 1st, 2023 03:09 pmThe year is not off to a flying start, inasmuch as I am beset by oddities:
- I woke this morning with a migraine [not a hangover, I didn't drink] and unexplained dizziness which took a few hours to ease off
- My cellphone started misbehaving, by not displaying the correct keys I need to operate the current screen I'm using. I needed to pull the battery out, then back in, to get it to smarten up. It's never done this before.
- One of the smoke alarms started giving random false alarms. Time for a new one, I guess. However, since it's today, nowhere is open for me to get one.
my year-end wrap-up
Dec. 31st, 2022 08:33 am[as if you aren't seeing enough of those]
Looking back today, I see 2022 as one of my most challenging years, and not one of my happiest. The unintelligence and unkindness of the world at large continues to reach new depths, and there's little to give me hope for better in the new year. I face ongoing health problems at a higher intensity than any other year in this century. My creativity is at something of an ebb — most notably, 2022 was the first year in the past five that I didn't write at least one novel. I've pulled back from social media, no longer posting things I used to share regularly. For me, it was basically a year of hunkering down and huddling up.
But, believe it or not, I'm here now looking for some positives to focus on, and here are a few:
I feel like covid has taught me to not have expectations of what an upcoming year might bring, and not make plans. So, while I realize that such prognostications for 2023 are more or less expected at this time of year, I am going to demur, thank you.
Looking back today, I see 2022 as one of my most challenging years, and not one of my happiest. The unintelligence and unkindness of the world at large continues to reach new depths, and there's little to give me hope for better in the new year. I face ongoing health problems at a higher intensity than any other year in this century. My creativity is at something of an ebb — most notably, 2022 was the first year in the past five that I didn't write at least one novel. I've pulled back from social media, no longer posting things I used to share regularly. For me, it was basically a year of hunkering down and huddling up.
But, believe it or not, I'm here now looking for some positives to focus on, and here are a few:
- My love for being retired remains undiminished. I've never once regretted making this move.
- I managed to hit my weekly deadline for posting my comic strip without a single miss all year. I can't help feeling that this matters to me more than it should — certainly more than it matters to anyone else. But it's like a vestige of professional pride, I guess.
- When I did manage to work on my art, I learned and grew to at least some small extent. There were ventures into new techniques and media, including one of my fave pieces of beginner's luck.
I feel like covid has taught me to not have expectations of what an upcoming year might bring, and not make plans. So, while I realize that such prognostications for 2023 are more or less expected at this time of year, I am going to demur, thank you.
something I am grateful for today
Dec. 18th, 2022 09:02 amMelatonin.
My doctor recently recommended this [and magnesium] for the trouble I've had with sleeping during this past year-plus, so I've been trying it. I've now woken up from my third solid night's sleep in a row — the first time that has happened this year.
This morning, I not only feel refreshed, I feel interested in doing something. And this makes me realize that, somewhere along the line, not just fatigue but apathy had become my new normal, without me noticing. I'm hoping this is all a portent of better things to come.
My doctor recently recommended this [and magnesium] for the trouble I've had with sleeping during this past year-plus, so I've been trying it. I've now woken up from my third solid night's sleep in a row — the first time that has happened this year.
This morning, I not only feel refreshed, I feel interested in doing something. And this makes me realize that, somewhere along the line, not just fatigue but apathy had become my new normal, without me noticing. I'm hoping this is all a portent of better things to come.
something I am grateful for today
Dec. 15th, 2022 04:08 pmOriginally I had several appointments scheduled for today, but we were greeted this morning by dangerous icy roads and warnings to avoid travel wherever possible. Grateful that I was able to reschedule all appointments without penalty and just stay inside cozy today... especially given that I feel very rough, and was mildly dreading the idea of going out anyhow.
something I am grateful for today
Dec. 13th, 2022 07:56 pmhaving a shopping trip turn into a much nicer experience than expected: the store was nowhere near the zoo I expect in December, and I got to visit with people while dropping things off to them, and the weather was lovely, and it all ended up being a joy
My 26th watercolour is a portrait of my friend's cat — I did it a while ago and have been itching to show it, but now that she's finally received the original, it's okay if she sees it here.
Freddie is actually a good bit darker IRL than she appears here [much closer to black], but I decided to lighten her to allow some under-colours to show through a bit better. And I chose ivory black as opposed to lamp black for the over-colour because of its brownish tone when diluted, which matches the warmth that I saw in Freddie's colouring. This underpainting approach was inspired by something I saw in a book — I'm fairly pleased with how that aspect turned out, and it represents an unusual amount of artistic licence on my part.
Freddie is actually a good bit darker IRL than she appears here [much closer to black], but I decided to lighten her to allow some under-colours to show through a bit better. And I chose ivory black as opposed to lamp black for the over-colour because of its brownish tone when diluted, which matches the warmth that I saw in Freddie's colouring. This underpainting approach was inspired by something I saw in a book — I'm fairly pleased with how that aspect turned out, and it represents an unusual amount of artistic licence on my part.
