Sunday, April 12, 2009

I'd Like to Rest My Heavy Head Tonight on a Bed of California Stars

So, tonight I thought I'd do the Saturday Scavenger Hunt one day late. Once again, this has been a crazy busy weekend, so I figured I'd just write about what I did on Friday and combine it with the Scavenger Hunt. Alien CG picked the word this week and he chose Alien, of course. It was a great word.

Remember how I took a half day off on Friday? Well, I ran and that was great, but then I took on a little project. Stinky had a bunch of canvasses that my friend Bob and his Wife Allison had stretched for her 9th birthday. She had started paintings on several of them, but never finished them. I asked her if she was going to or if I could take some Gesso and try to get them light enough to paint over them. She told me to have at it and I did.

By Friday evening, I had at least five canvasses to work with. I took the girls to a show at United Action for Youth where a bunch of high school bands were playing and went home to paint. The only time I've ever set foot in a painting or drawing class was when I was modeling for them in college, so the whole thing was kind of alien to me. I figured the best way for me to learn was by doing and taking the tiniest baby steps in the world. The first painting I did was of that photo I posted on here last week - the one my friend took of the Sequoias.

I don't pretend to know what I'm doing. I use Acrylic paints because they're less toxic and less expensive and easier to use. When I first flirted with the idea of trying to paint, my friend Sara came over and gave my girls and I a tutorial about all the ways you can use Acrylic paints and it was really helpful. I'm sure all my paintings will have a cartoonish or comic book quality about them, because that's what I know. Anyway, it was fun messing around with texture and color and stuff. I'm sure I'll do a lot more. I still owe Coadster a painting based on a photo I took of her years ago. I just wanted to get a few paintings under my belt, so I wouldn't mess hers up too badly.

So, that was my alien experience this weekend. Happy Easter to any of you who celebrate it, and happy 3rd Iowa City tornado anniversary tomorrow for myself and my neighbors who's lives were disrupted by it.

11 comments:

Ananda girl said...

I've always found doing any sort of attempt at art to be very relaxing. You sound happy. Wahoo! That's the real point isn't it.

I must agree with your title...my head is always dreaming of California stars. Thanks again for these good memories that your California posts bring up, Churlita.

dmarks said...

With "alien" in mind, you never know when you might find yourself making a painting of Devil's Tower for no reason at all.

rel said...

Churlita,
Promising!
leave it to you to step into alien territory and succeed right away.
rel

DJSassafrass said...

California stars shows up on my iPod every once in a while and it always makes me happy.

Pamela said...

It's really really nice. At first I thought it was a quilt - but that's what I work in. Good for you.

laura b. said...

Wow, I am very impressed with your artistic ability. I know it is hard to find the time to incorporate one more thing into your life, but you totally deserve it :-)

booda baby said...

You're going to LOVE it!! If my experience is anything to judge by (and why wouldn't it be? I didn't know shit, either) - you teach yourself as you go along and get better and better and get to record all the stuff you see, even if no one else can see it. The perfect thing for your particular inner eye. I'm excited for you.

Mnmom said...

Good for you!! I miss having something creative in my life - does blogging count?

Tara said...

Is that one of your paintings? I really like it, especially the tree branches.

How fun to start a creative project like that!

Susan said...

Good for you for going with it! For some reason, though, I keep picturing you as the guy off PBS. ya know, big fro man?

I watch a lot of PBS.

Churlita said...

Ananda,

I agree. It was a nice creative outlet and was pretty relaxing.

DMarks,

I did make this neat little sculpture out of it with mashed potatoes...

REl,

I at least succeeded in doing something that I liked and that's the most important thing to me.

DJSassafrass,

Me too. It's perfect when it comes on while I'm running.

Pamela,

It actually could be made into a quilt with all those different texture patches.

LauraB.,

Thanks. It's fun to try something new. And since it's just for me, there's no real risk if it sucks.

Booda Baby,

I'm excited too. It must be meant to be too, because Dick Blick is having a 60% off sale on tubes of paint this month.

MnMom,

Blogging so counts. You can do anything you want on a blog.

Tara,

It's the only one of my paintings so far. I want to try to do another one this week if I can work it in.

Susan,

That's so funny. I just became a fan of that guy's fro on Facebook this week. His name is Roger, right?