What is courage to you?

The title of this post sounds like it might be very deep, doesn't it? Well, it's actually not...in fact, it was born of pretty shallow thoughts.

I decided to publish my newest watercolor paintings and that takes courage! LOL! I've shown a few in a private FB group that has all levels of watercolor artists, and I've shown a few friends, but to me this is the next step. I think I'm only brave here because not many are following my blog. :)

So here goes... on my birthday this past April, my daughter gave me something I had been wanting for a long time...watercolor supplies!

It took me awhile to actually put any paint on paper, but after rearranging my "studio" space (my kitchen table) 

and watching many "beginner" how-to watercolor videos, 

I gave myself permission to play instead of expecting something professional to flow out of my brush! 

I learned to tape my paper down and how to blend the colors and I started getting more brave as I realized it was just paper and I could always start over if I felt I messed up. It was very exciting to feel frustration being replaced by enjoyment! I have a new hobby! :) 

Once I was feeling more confident I started getting ideas of everything I wanted to paint! First of all was a wedding gift for my daughter and her fiance...I knew I wanted to do a sunflower for her and since he is a lineman (electrical), I went looking for ideas for him. It took me 2 months, but I was happy with the results! And they were amazed! :)

 So, today I am feeling brave about showing my work online! I'm working on more paintings that I can't show until they are gifted, but I'm happy to break the ice about being courageous even about small things!

I also want to mention that I'm meeting many women around my age who are doing something for the first time and I want to enCOURAGE them to step out of their comfort zones and be proud of their efforts!

A little late re my promise...

 ...but, then again, it's never too late! Of course I'm talking about my promise to post every day...oops! Do we always put a guilt trip on ourselves when we don't keep a promise? Probably, even though this was not a live or die promise, I still kept reminding myself of what I "should" do. I have so many excuses even though I don't have to answer to anyone except myself. Here I am today so, to me I'm back on track! :)

Since my last post I have been painting and fighting with fungus gnats! Hahaha...quite a busy schedule, as you can imagine! :) They might not sound related, but one of those gnats literally landed on a freshly painted picture and it was all I could do not to smash the little "f***er"! That is how much rage they bring to my day!

My houseplants are my sanity, as well as my pride and joy for the past year and a half, and I went almost that full time without gnats (different from fruit flies). These buggers love moist dirt. To make a long story short, mine arrived in a new bag of medium made specifically for cactus & other plants that need quick draining. I transplanted a succulent arrangement that I got for my birthday. I didn't notice the gnats until I had already filled that planter AND put some into my other plants! :(

 

Naturally, I went to google and to my houseplant group and tried all the tips they gave me. It's gotten better but dealing with them is very frustrating! :)

So this is my catch-up day and hopefully, I'll be here tomorrow to chat about something more pleasant than fungus gnats!! LOL

Today's priority was ....

 I spent the entire day concentrating on practicing my watercoloring! I watched several videos on youtube (so nice to be able to watch on my tv instead of the computer) and I found a new artist to follow--Peter Sheeler from Canada.

Love his work! He uses ink to sketch first and then very loose watercolor strokes for background or the illusion of something. Today I watched him paint this mailbox. He doesn't chatter while painting and I like that also...just some gentle music. :)

Here's an article about him from the UK and of course you can do a google search to see all his images and more: 

https://bluedoorworkshop.co.uk/about-peter/

So that was my day and now I have to keep my promise and post one of my own photos that will imply what my priority was today.

 

 Tomorrow....houseplants! :)