Making a Painting Inspired by the Phoenix

I'm really trying to concentrate on getting the whole WrapADoodle baby blanket adventure together, but just couldn't resist the offer a couple of months ago to do a painting for an upcoming art exhibit on the theme of the Phoenix....

It's been chaotic around here lately with kids home on college break, holidays, wisdom teeth yanked out of one, another burnt his hand badly in a chicken breast cooking accident, grandson and daughter birthdays, and so on.

Yesterday today and tomorrow I'm subbing for an artist/art teacher friend for K through 8th grade. Highlight of the day today, after pulling a hair from my chin and noticing it was grey.....was when a kindergartner asked me if I had a baby in my tummy? It just doesn't get any better than that.

But anyway, this evening I finally got around to drawing a sketch in the little book I've been carrying around in my purse lately. The painting is due in a couple of days so there is a bit of pressure here to get it done.

Once I've drawn a sketch, then the process begins. It's like writing the first sentence of the story. It may wind up being changed a little or a lot, or be eliminated all together. It may be replaced with the start of a completely different story. But it is the beginning of the way I paint my pictures. The painting may not look anything like the sketch at all!

I was once asked to teach painting at our local Main Line School night and just had to laugh! because I have no idea how to paint. I basically use four brushes: really small, small, medium and large. Then, just squirt the paint out, mix it together to make the desired color, and apply. I simply do this over and over again until it looks right.

For me making a painting is all about decisions made along the way. So I spend way more time looking at it then painting it.

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