Transitions
A new pastel painting that I completed today. 9×12 Soft Pastels on Art Spectrum Pastel Paper.
It’s been quite the transition for me and my family, as we embark on building our last home in the mountains, but I am of the adage that anywhere can be home if you share love and family. The transitions we are going through have definitely contributed to my dry spell in my studio. I don’t have a studio right now, just a small desk in which to work on my paintings and crafts. Getting back in the saddle of painting has been difficult for me not having the space in which to work, but it is doable..
As I look back on the last 3 years, I’m so happy to be here with family and to help care for our new grandson, Sam, 3-4 days a week over the last year, while our daughter and her husband go to work. Sam has me wrapped firmly around his finger. God knows he is the truest blessing in our family in recent years.
I mean, seriously, who can resist those big blue, joyful eyes! Sam has had personality galore since day one on this earth.
And another reason why it is important for me to get back to painting seriously … Sam. I want to paint a Sam portrait in a bad way, but I need to get in the swing again, and that may take a little time.
In the meantime, I have a dear friend, Cecilia, who has been after me for 2 years to start painting again. So I started about 2 months ago. Nothing worth sharing. Seriously. Just 2 small paintings to get me in the “zone” again. Then I stopped – again. Of course, she didn’t let me off easy, and neither did my Big Bear, or my daughter, Sarah. Cecilia sent me information to enter a Small Works competition, and all I could think was “yeah, right … I am not ready to put my work out there.” But, I put several references together and came up with a composition for a 9×12 painting, and here it is.
Starting is always the hard part … and the middle stage is the worst. I call it the “ugly stage” as the painting, whether in oils or pastels, is in transition. When I started working on the mountains in the background, I wasn’t happy with them, but I let them simmer for a day in my head. I worked on the barn and the Silo and the snow. Then today, in addition to working on little details of the barn and Silo, I finished the mountains and the sky.
While I was painting, the name “Transitions” popped into my head and I realized that in my painting, I have mountains transitioning from Fall to Winter, and whoever lives near this barn is transitioning from Thanksgiving to Christmas, and then from Christmas to a New Year. Then I thought about how many transitions we are going through at the moment, and I became convinced that “Transitions” was the title for this painting.
This is my first painting of 2024, and hopefully many more to come.
You can see this painting in my Shop HERE
Comments (2)
Cecilia
January 6, 2024 at 11:30 pm
Awe, thanks for the mention, I’m glad I could be there to support you and give you that nudge to get back on the saddle. Believe in yourself and you can do it! Just look around at all your great works of art and it will remind you of what you are capable of.
Susan
January 8, 2024 at 5:39 pm
Thank you Cecilia. Love you