I try to be conscientious in my creativity. I use discarded materials as painting surfaces and I paint with water soluble non toxic oil paints. Yet recently, something had been weighing on my conscious. A stack of unfinished paintings, in various states of progress, some started and abandoned in Bogotá, others started and left untouched since the first months of my marriage, over three years ago. Not to mention half empty books of canvas paper I lost interest in.

Yes, I have several people interested in portraits at this time. But lets face it, I have an ADD style (and what artist doesn’t?) so I am usually working on more than one piece at a time. I am tired of cringing every time I pass these wooden and paper ghosts in the closet. I am taking them out, and finishing them.

How I wish I had a photograph of this painting from before! It was atrocious! I started it in April 2007, and worked on it now and then over the next year. The colors were very dark, and there was a bird, and a pink bracelet hanging over one branch. When I sat in front of it Saturday night I was horrified and overwhelmed. And then, inspired by some Emilio Pucci images I had been researching, I decided to go purple. After an hour, although not anywhere near done, the painting was transformed. It was now something I was excited to work on! Although in the light of the morning it did not look nearly as colorful or purple.

Then I went REALLY purple.  It occurred to me suddenly that this was a night painting, that the tree was lit from within, perhaps from lanterns for a party, perhaps because it is a tree house.  I was hoping I would have photos of it in a more finished state for today, with flowers even but this is as far as I’ve gotten.  I have a heavy hand (or you can call it “painterly” if you want to flatter me) and sometimes the paint needs to set a bit before I can continue.  Also, I was working on these two paintings.

These are two halves of a wooden box. FYI: I would love to find some old wooden boxes to repaint, if you have some you don’t want, send them my way!

The first one is a collage.  The  background image is torn from an old book. The tree was part of an acrylic painting on canvas paper I did in Bogotá, that I cut out with an exacto knife.  Why is a long story, but other parts of that painting, including another tree, Charlie, and Tom, are still waiting to me collaged into new works.

The aloe plant sat in my studio in Bogota and I miss it to this day. If only we could take our plants from post to post!  I painted this there, but it was a little rough around the edges.  I freshened it up this morning and am quite happy with it.

Not sure yet what do with the outside of the box halves….