A Lenten practice

I have been in a painting slump.  The holidays get me every year.  I am so distracted by a huge to-do-list that painting is relegated to the very farthest back burner of my life.  This is never a good thing. I always enter January a little bummed out because it is so hard for me to get back on the saddle after such a hiatus.   Blank canvases and empty sheets of paper glare at me and I panic a bit thinking of how to get the juices flowing again.

Recently a friend posted some lovely photographs of her recent paintings on Facebook...one after the other.  One more beautiful than the next.   It seems that she had been nominated (for lack of a better word) to a painting a day challenge for 5 days.   She fulfilled the challenge beautifully.  Low and behold, I was nominated to also participate in the challenge as well.

But what to do?   Part of my slump has been the fact that I attempted to challenge myself in the fall to small paintings daily but I was doing still life paintings in oil.  It took me a bit of reflection to realize that I don't like painting still lifes.  It does not excite me and I am not particularly good at it.   I would much rather paint faces or people!   Epiphany!  I should be painting what I love to paint!!!  Another epiphany occurred when I considered that since I am newer to oil painting I am still getting stuck in the development of technique.  I have been painting with pastel for years and it is easier for me to handle, so to start my creative juices flowing again, maybe I should pick up the pastels and dive in!

In Carol Marine fashion, I cut up some 6x6 squares and also some 5x7 rectangles of pastel paper to have at the ready.  I also combed through my photo archives of people near and dear to me to paint their faces.  Today, I couldn't help but begin with my brother Ric.  The photograph I used was when he and I were in Wisconsin for a Plein Air workshop in July.  We had such fun and someone caught him laughing his hearty, exuberant laugh.  I just love the picture!!!  So for better or worse, dear Ric,
I have interpreted your laugh in pastel!   That is my arm on your shoulder.   I smiled all day as I worked on it.   It could definitely be better, but for my first day on the challenge, I am fairly pleased.

I figure this will be a good practice to do during Lent.  If I can devote 2 hours a day at least 5 days a week (or 5 paintings a week in what ever way I can)  I will be disciplining myself to better use the gifts I have been given !  It is not plein air - put with 7 feet of snow out there, this is the next best thing!