Perseverance

 4am Comforts of Home

“Perseverance”

12x16 pastel

This finished piece will always remind me of the dark days of 2020. The year was so challenging for almost everyone on earth as we battled the COVID19 pandemic. I started the piece as a simple still life. Always waking very early each day, I found the shaft of light hitting my teapot and desktop one morning particularly comforting. The idea for it came early in our first lockdown in March 2020. 

I added a couple summer blooms as the progress on it slowed to an eventual standstill. Later in the fall I added the shawl in the background and while it added to the sense of comfort I was seeking, I would continue to wrestle with it off and on throughout the remainder of the year. 

I guess the struggle with this piece was fitting for the times. It wasn’t until late winter, January 2021 that I was able to resolve this piece and finish it as I intended so many months before. Now looking at it, the faint light reminds me to always keep faith and hope alive. It reminds me of mankind’s perseverance and the eventual light we have found at the end of this long tunnel. The light now representing the vaccines which are being rolled out around the world bringing us hope for a brighter future. May God bless the world’s population as we soldier on through this pandemic and supply us all with faith, hope, goodwill, and most of all perseverance.

Work in Process

 Work in Process

Day 14 Strada Easel.Challenge 

This side is almost done.

I now remember why I sat this one aside. I started with a black background...because that’s what was in my set up. Then, part way through I decided it really needed something to bring the three objects together besides a black background. Fortunately I had a colorful shawl that fit the bill...unfortunately, it added a tremendous amount of work to the piece.  Like 2020, it was dark and overwhelming. As I progressed, the piece became too busy and the folds in the shawl was becoming too distracting. Lesson learned, be sure of your composition before you start. 😊  As painful as it is, I’m planning on cropping the painting into a square format (my favorite format)...and only including the left half of the teapot.  Why, you might ask? Because the focal point is intended to be the shaft of light falling across the shawl and onto the tabletop, highlighting the sugar bowl, edge of the teapot/steam and flowers. The curve in the teapot handle will gently guide the eye from the top right corner of the piece down toward the light (at least that’s the plan).

I don’t know why, but during the winter months I wake very early (like, 3am today) so, I’m done for the day having put in 4-6 hours already). In fact, I see a nap in my near future (after Benny gets his dog walk in).

 

A Work In Progress

 A Work In Progress

Day 13 Strada Easel Challenge

Fortunately, for the challenge we don’t have to complete a painting in one day. This one has been on my “list” to finish for some time.  So, today was the day to work on a portion of it. It’s far more complex, so it’s a pastel this time instead of an oil. It’s a still life that I tried to set back up with the shawl in the background...unfortunately I couldn’t get the patterns lined up like I had it. I’ll have to work around that issue. A long, tedious day!

Tea Time

Tea Time

10x8, soft pastel

                                    

During the winter months, it's always nice to have steaming hot pot of tea nearby.  I decided to  keep the same composition as the coffee cup and flowers from a few days ago and replaced my coffee cup with my blue tea pot.