Doodley Dee

After being quite busy with work, graduate school applications, and sleeping, I finally found some free time. A lot of free time actually.  I finished my server training at work and with that, my schedule has changed quite a bit. This week I didn't work a ton and found myself being extremely bored at home.

Tuesday I had the whole day off.  I worked on some more graduate applications and then decided to do some painting.  I started a painting a few days ago, just playing around a little.  Many times I forget how much I really enjoy painting.  Last night I worked on an oil painting and I started to remember how it felt to paint.  There's something about oil paint that I just love.  I love the texture, the vibrance, the smoothness along the canvas.  If it weren't for the fact that I did not have enough canvases, I would have kept painting. The trouble with oils is that you have to let them dry, and that is not a short process.

This takes me back to my college days (yeah, sooo long ago!). I had a huge studio at my disposal, to share with other students.  Compared to my small apartment now, the studio was very large.  I miss being able to paint and not worry about getting something dirty, or leaving something on the floor to dry.  Many times I make myself feel bad about not painting as much as I used to.  I feel as if it is my duty, to create art that means something.

I realize now that I don't have to pressure myself to paint.  I know that does not create great art, if any at all.  I have come to find out that if I just play around with my paints I will end up creating something I am more proud of than I would painting something I pressured myself to do.  I hope my schedule will allow me to paint a little more than usual in the next few months.  I know the more I paint, the closer I am to a "breakthrough" if you will.  I come to a point where I will create a body of work that I actually want to show others and talk about.