Eventhough tough these festive days are wonderful they do eat time getting everything ready and making the home look beautiful & inviting.
On top of that my big "Mister" dog had undergone knee surgery just before Christmas which caused problems that needed attention. Looking after him almost 24 hours a day to make sure he would not injure himself while recovering from the operation took up most of my time.
However there were also lots of moments of reflection which came to a peak the other day when I pressed for the answer as to what was blocking me from doing my work and serious painting. I did get the answer!!
I won't go into detail but suffice it to say it is pretty much related to a person I did a portrait workshop with just under two years ago.
I now also know how to deal with it and will be back to my normal self and painting like a mad(wo)man soon.
I did manage to get a little bit of painting done, "Little" meaning just a very short period, during which I worked a little on that portrait which now has become an exercise portrait, one that I now use to try out different things.
This is what that looks like now:
The shadow side is still pretty much in its raw state and there are some nasty drawing issues but I was happy to get some work done. I also noticed that the overall work is becoming soft edged again which means I am loosing some of my internal sharp edges again.
Isn't it marvellous to see how our work can show the internal state we are in?!
I also worked a little bit more on that rose with the close up view point. It now has a background in a much higher value but lower chroma which instantly made the rose look much better. It still needs a lot more tweaking before I will be happy with that one.
However 2009 is about to start and it is going to be a wonderful year in every which way possible.
So on that note I would like to wish all of you A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
