Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s April.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.  Wasn’t it just January?  With the warmer weather and longer days, I am feeling my usual pull to home and garden projects, but I haven’t had much time with my current workload.  Home projects are usually a large part of my work, but with oil painting and writing becoming more prominent this year, they are getting pushed to the weekend and evenings, just like everyone else with full-time jobs!  Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll start by trimming hedges, mulching, applying fertilizer, seeding patchy spots in the lawn, and cleaning up the patio to get ready to open the pool.

Here are my four things for this week – Paper & Van Gogh (still), Masterclass, “it would be that way”, and playing with a new medium.

what I’m reading

I’m still bouncing between Paper and Van Gogh: The Life.  I’m still enjoying both!  I need to go on more walks or work in the garden and listen to these books so I can finish them and move on to the next ones on my list.

I am also about ready to pull out a few of my favorite gardening books for inspiration and information.  You can find those along with some of my favorite gardening gear HERE.

what I’m watching

As I have shared before, I think Portrait and Landscape Artist of the Year are the best shows on TV.  Anytime I’m not sure what to watch or want to get inspired, I put on an episode.  Even though they are familiar like old friends now, I still learn new things each time I watch.  This past week, I specifically wanted to look for episodes featuring Gareth Reed, so I could watch him work with charcoal.  I’ve decided to become better and more confident in that medium, and I thought it would be helpful to watch his process and take notes on the tools and materials he uses.  Then, I remember there are short tutorial episodes –  Masterclass by Artist of the Year.  And, wouldn’t you know, Gareth teaches two of them and walks through both his process and materials in detail.  Perfect!  I also loved watching the episode featuring Phoebe Hicks and her charcoal portraits.  You can find the show on Amazon Prime.

what I’m loving

“I think people would like to be artists.  What you’re doing is interpreting life…  You’re interpreting your experience, and it’s a privilege, in a sense, to be able to do that.  I’ve pointed out you’ll never meet an artist who’s dying saying, “God, I wish I had been president of Bank of America”, but you might meet a dying president of Bank of America saying, “I’d rather have been a poet or an artist.”  It would be that way around, wouldn’t it?”

– David Hockey

I saw this quote on a social media clip.  David was painting at an intersection, just talking off the top of his head with road noise in the background.  I think what he said is true.  There may be times an artist wishes they were doing something more profitable, reliable, “acceptable”, and respectable.  There are times when I look back at the simplicity of my corporate job with rose-colored glasses, but then I remember the days when I felt like I was dying a slow death under fluorescent lights in a cubicle.

I worked as a recruiter for years, pairing people with jobs, helping write resumes, and preparing candidates to impress at interviews.  I often said to candidates, “Life is too short to work at a job you hate.”  I finally took my own advice and left the corporate world.

what I’m working on

As I said above, I have decided I’m going to learn to use charcoal with more efficiency.  I’ll share more about the journey in their own posts, but that’s one thing I’ve been working on in my free time, which is just about nurturing my creative heart.  I love oil painting, but it is becoming more of my bread and butter, so I need some different areas to play.  I’ve also learned that working with one medium can inform and promote growth with another medium.

I’m hoping that charcoal will be fun, a medium I “click with” for sketching, and perhaps, eventually, another portrait option for clients.  I really do love the look of charcoal pet portraits, so I’m excited about working up to that.  Right now, I’m just playing in a sketchbook, doing 15-30 minute loose sketches, and getting a feel for which materials I like best.

What have you been reading, watching, loving, and working on?