more well-filling

I think I've been under quite a bit of pressure in the past several months, because now that I am able to do some artsy things I couldn't before, I find I'm soaking it all up quite quickly. Today I did more watercolor. One thing I know about watercolors is that the paper makes a HUGE difference. It's not just between sketch paper and paper specifically made for watercolors; the kind of watercolor paper makes a difference, too. I think for real paintings, I don't want to use anything less than Arches (which is really expensive, so I buy one sheet every few years--good thing I don't have a lot of time to watercolor, huh?) With oils you can paint on anything as long as it's treated to be impermeable to oils (ie, painting acrylic over plywood will do the job if you don't have anything else; otherwise, the oils eventually sink into the surface and disappear). But watercolors are different. Also, you have to think backwards--instead of starting with what is physically there and "building" the things that go in the foreground, you start with the lightest colors and paint layers on top of that. I've also been researching color, how to show distance (distant things are blurrier, cooler, lighter, more shadowy/grayer, and things up close are brighter, warmer, and clearer--look at the colors in an art nouveau style picture and it all looks flat because the background is such a bright hue as opposed to a distant gray). So that was fun. I don't do art for my job, which means it's a nice release with totally no expections and no have-to's. My stuff isn't perfect, and that's okay. It just felt good to paint again.

The tonight was organ night again, and again, there were people wandering around (don't mind me!)--so they got to hear all my mistakes and weird-sounding exercises. My hands/lower arms feel like they've had a workout; it's a refreshing, stretchy feeling. Hopefully I learn something sometime.

And, I'd really like to go hiking some time, but we've got to find a time that isn't booked with othing things. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic just like son #2, who hates just sitting in school or the car. I need nature! But with school all day and then homework, there isn't much time in the week, and weekends have been busy lately, too. Must change that.

And now my nose is feeling pinched, like I'm getting a cold, so I should go to bed while I can. Have a good night, everyone!