Paint Party Friday: Finally Friday

 Finally Friday!

Paint Party Friday!

I must admit after an exhausting-ly, artful six weeks of a Painting a Day this week has seemed unproductive comparatively.
(See sidebar for individual paintings included in A Painting A Day running through April and May 2011)

Painting a Day Collection at End of Challenge

 BUT

This has been the last week of school this year!
AND

I could feel myself losing momentum!  

Every day when the alarm would go off I had a harder and harder time popping up! 

I drug myself to the shower and even that did not help as much as usual.  

I had my usual two cups of coffee and my eyelids just began to stop being so heavy.  

I don't think I left at my usual time one time this week (but I do arrive a good 45 minutes before school starts even when I am late thanks to my "leave-30 minutes-early-or-we-are-late" upbringing).
Today I have tried to cut my eggs with my butter knife upside down!
Maybe, my brain has already gone on vacation mode.

Our final project for our art students was really more play than serious work.
They had two hours to complete it and completed using children's supplies you could buy at Walmart.    

It was a crayon/watercolor resist project, simple instructions, big on exploration.

Draw two horizontal straight lines.. Draw two vertical lines.  Then add four random lines (two vertical, two horizontal).  All drawing is done in heavily applied light colored crayons.  Then a wash of dark watercolor paints is applied by wetting the paper first then adding first one color then adding a second color along next to it and allow the water to blend the colors. Working in layers with the watercolor continue to add additional layers as necessary. 

Sounds a little like a recipe. The kids had fun and took home a little more knowledge about painting.  Some knowledge is acquired through discovery and allowing yourself to do something that is not a serious artwork.
I tell my students,
"If you don't fill your trash can first with things you have tried, you will not learn how to be a good artist."
And
"The difference between someone who can and someone who can't?  About a hundred hours of practice."

Planning ahead

A good bit of time this week has been spent doodling while in mandatory meetings/in services, and looking for inspiration for next year's student sketch book challenges.  

I found some fun sites.   

Hot Toast and Jam's Mr Toast's Creative Tuesday
proved to be a good find and looks to be inspirational.  

Another inspirational find was Zentangles Designs.  

There are a number of websites and books on the zentangles.  

I purchased three books on Amazon today.  

Three books because one leaves you wanting more, 

two is okay,

but three is thrilling

and four would just be too extravagant.

I will report on the books once I have them in my hands.

As much as I have wanted to continue my painting a day this week, 

it has proven to be too challenging this week 

and I have fallen into bed in exhaustion every night as it is.  

However I am working on two paintings.  

Each is of a father and child interacting which I find to be a sweet subject.  

Hopefully next week will spring creative again!

Works in progress:  Still on my Table Two paintings started at varying stages of completion.

Last weekend was a great three day weekend.

Saturday was an organizing day in the kitchen, ending with a fun day of baking.  

(Strictly Saturday: Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie I do a Saturday post of a chocolate recipe every week because I limit my chocolate to once a week....strictly on Saturdays! )  

Monday continued with organizing, working in the dreaded garage outside.
We spent the necessary money on big sturdy shelving and by the end of the day the garage was looking much better.  

Another shelving unit and we may have it really looking good and just in time for the bicycles, scooters and fun wheely toys belonging to my grandchildren who have temporarily combined households with us while they build a house.   

On Monday the family got together to shuck corn and lay up in store for the coming year  (Shucks) and to enjoy eating a meal together of fajitas grilled by Papa, fresh corn grown by Papa, black beans and all the good stuff that goes with a meal like this. 

We ended up with 20 -22 people by evening.  

I  think that is a houseful.
And I think that is a week!
Happy Paint Party Friday!