NUDE 16

12X12"
oil on canvas
$125

I really needed a break from the "cute!" Nothing at all wrong with cute. Cute is good. The world needs more cute. It's just not me, as anyone who reads my rants well knows, on any consistent basis. But sometimes it's great for rounding out those sharp edges, on the canvas and especially in life.

What better way to get back to basics than your basic nude? These are good for me. "Strips" everything down so to speak. I have so far to go. But today, I'm going to appreciate where I am, right now. Four years ago, I came home from work with the knowledge that my well-paying 9 to 5 was circling the drain. I came into this very room, then mostly used for storage at the time although it was the designated "studio", found the basics, set up and tried to paint a Labradoodle. It was frighteningly bad.

I'm trying to come up with one line that cleverly describes my feelings today, but only one word keeps popping up. Hopeful. I'm hopeful that I'll someday be patient—with myself and the process. I'm hopeful that I'll someday trust myself enough to take the training wheels off and create work that defines my artistic vision. Hell, I'm hopeful that someday I'll figure out just what that vision is! Right now, it's..."what can I paint today that is unique and different?" And that's fine. But I want more. And wanting more is as good as having more.