New painting, "Hope"

"Hope"
10" x 10" watercolor   $125

In this time of social distancing, I think we all need hope.  I've really had to dig deep to get myself out of the blues, and I know many of you might be in the same boat.  Thankfully, I'm back to feeling good again, mentally.  If you still are struggling, my advice is to reach out to friends doing FaceTime calls or I discovered a Zoom app that is fantastic for big groups of people.  The other thing that I'm doing is taking one or 2 walks per day, trying to schedule them when the sun is the brightest. Vitamin D is so healthy for us!  But I really believe that the thing that made the difference for me, was exercising to a Facebook site, Planet Fitness, with the trainer, Erica.  I can't keep up with her at this time, but I'm hopeful that each time, I will get better and stronger.  It's free, and has a connection with TV show, The Biggest Loser.  Who knows?  Maybe I will lose a few pounds too, but the main reason I'm committing to this is that it helps my mental health.
Now, let's talk about my painting.  This is a watercolor color study , using only 3 colors: WN raw umber, Hobein Pyrole Orange, and WN Antwerp.   The process is shown if you look back at my blog on Sept. 1, 2018.  Or you can type in "color studies" in the search box at the top of my blog and that will bring you to all posts that involve color studies.  Adding words makes it really difficult and I fly by the seat of my pants for that.  Have a great week everyone, and be safe; stay home!

There IS HOPE!

Little Landscapes (5 minute paintings)

I promised myself that during this “Social Distancing”, that I would get my blog going again, maybe offering inspiration to those of you out there that might need a little art hug!  The truth is that I, myself have been going through a deep depression.  Not just from this, but because of so many things leading up to this. I had 3 flights back and forth our rental house in Florida, to Spearfish, SD to help my parents move into 2 different care centers.  And then on Feb. 24th, with my sister and I holding his hand by his bedside, Dad passed on to heaven.  He was such a kind, gentle soul, and I miss him so much.  My mom had been moved into a Memory Care Unit a few days before that.  We also lost Dick’s uncle and went to his funeral in early March.  It’s especially hard right now, because the nursing home, where my mom resides now, is under quarantine. I really would love to hug her lots right now.  So…. You can see it’s been a LOT to handle.  We left Florida and drove home to Minneapolis in only 2 days, driving 14 hours each day.  We arrived home on March 18th.  We actually had rented a home in Florida till mid April, but decided we’d rather be home in MN, if they didn’t allow travel. 

In this present Corona Virus time, I did all the normal things that others were doing.  Trying to stay busy, but I really couldn’t bring myself out of the blues until yesterday.  I went for walks once or twice each day and made myself paint, but only could do little 5” x 7” paintings.  So, I only lasted about 30 minutes each day in my studio. And the rest of the time, was vegging on the couch in front of the Hallmark channel.  If you are in my boat, all I can say, is keep in touch with your friends and family.  There are many FaceTime apps that make it so fun to see your family.  We used Zoom the other night and it really brightened my day.  I also have added doing exercises along with Erica on Planet Fitness Facebook page.  That is a good one!  I actually had wet hair and a very red face when I was done.  And it truly helped me feel better.  So, I can honestly say that I am digging myself out of this deep black hole.

All I want to say is, keep making yourself paint.  Find something that you did years ago that you really loved and you were successful with.  I’m posting my little 5” x 7” paintings today, so you can see those.  If you do a search on my blog, for Little Landscapes, you should find instructions for them.  It's on December 18, 2018.  I plan to send my little paintings to the residents at my mom’s nursing home.  I hope it brightens their day.  We will get through this, with all of us helping one another.  It's a great time to send cards to friends going through hard times.  Just an idea.  Love and Art Hug to you all!