At the very end of December, I was waiting for hubby to get off work. I had taken the bus and decided to do some wandering around the area. The buildings nearby, the UW-Madison Hospital were lit up against a purple-pink night sky with neon lighting. I found a nearby pond that had not completely frozen over yet, reflecting this lovely scene. I snapped the photo and promised myself I would come back to it, despite the part where it features largely buildings and not so much of the nature. As my previous posts have outlined, the desire to keep painting this winter has been challenging but it feels so good when I do it. To keep things interesting for myself, I am trying a very different approach. As such, I wanted to blog through some of the steps for, like posterity or whatever.
I had bought some unfinished wooden paneling in the summer that I had been intending to use along with some Golden Absorbent Ground and gesso. Months back, I started building up layers of gesso and the absorbent ground with the intention of using them for watercolor. Why? Two reasons; 1.) I love the idea of not having to frame the panel. Framing is a pain in the butt and it's expensive. 2.) It may allow for more push/pulling of pigment (and removal). Basically, I expect it to be more forgiving like acrylic can be. I wanted to capture some of the beauty of watercolor's opacity and my theory is that I can maybe some of that better on this than I do on watercolor paper.
While working on this, I find myself of course on occasion scrolling through my instagram. This week in Boise, it's Treefort. For those who are uninitiated, it is a week-long music festival. It's a glorious celebration of music and the city, and it's really goddamned painful for me. Years ago, I used to get involved with it with comic book-related events. Of course, since my separation from those people, anything and everything there can be painful. What hits extra hard is seeing the people I used to surround myself with enjoying themselves together. I miss that terribly, and it's a painful reminder for me to not be a trash-heap of a human being. I am happy for all of them to continue finding beautiful relationships with one another without my stupid ass ruining it. It's a reminder of how much I appreciate the few folks in my life that stay in touch and provide me with their time and energy. Miss Kitty, my kindred spirit of an incredible friend has embraced our relationship so hard that she is going through the entire discography of my all-time favorite band, Garbage. We are going to see them in concert in a few months and her response to the invitation was to deep-dive. I've rightfully lost many friends over my lifetime, because I have screwed up so many times, selfish and unable to understand social situations and cues. Somehow, I find magic in so many people and places in Madison, such a gift is undeserved. I have opted to pour my feelings into their piece as it feels just right for my mood, it's a work-in-progress. The bright neon glow, a beacon of beauty and light in what is otherwise a dark and cold winter scene where life is happening, but obscured by the night.
Comentarios