. . . tried to paint

something other than furniture, and ended up with. . . mud. Even though I had a new delivery of furniture to start on, I couldn't bring myself to work on those items; I'm kind of burned out on the furniture painting, so I thought I would take a day or two off. I had great intentions when I went to the basement to work. I had an extra 12 x 12 stretched canvas, small enough to get back in the swing of things. I had some inspiration, a piece of matboard that I had used as a spreader several times on other pieces, which ended up with some exceptional color combos. I spread on the first layer but didn't (couldn't) wait for it to dry, so added some blue, squirted on some red. . .I should have just left it alone for a while and let it dry, but I had to keep messing with it, and now I have a 12 x 12 canvas that despite my best efforts is just a muckle-dun background for continued applications of paint layers.

I have concluded that I need to do something artful more often than I have been to keep in practice. . . it's been weeks since I painted anything other than furniture. I have basically taken the summer off from painting anything art-related, but I am determined to get back in the swing of things. I was at Nordstroms the other day, buying a gift certificate for a friend. I just went to the counter nearest the entry, which was the men's suit department. I don't hang out there, and I didn't want to go any further into the store, because I knew I would find something that I thought I couldn't live without, but I actually could, and I didn't want to be tempted. Besides having a mirror that I lusted after, there was a series of five collages above the suit racks. The salesman, being ever helpful, told me to back up my car to the door and he would help me load them up. I wish. I have noticed the art in Nordstroms before, but these small pieces have inspired me to try actual real live collage again.

Then a special treat . . . my sister dropped her son off at the airport and came by to visit on her way back to Topeka. We went to Johnny's, a bar and grill not too far away, and had drinks and appetizers. We sat outside under the umbrella and talked and laughed and discussed family issues and business issues and husband issues. . . fun and relaxing. She also brought me a big box of packaging material that she saves for me because she knows I can use it for texture or whatever in my art. My sister's name is Hildegard. She has owned her own ad agency for many years. One of her clients is Chuck-e-Cheese. Betsy is terrified of the huge mouse at CEC, but she calls her great-aunt Hildymouse.

We discussed briefly the question I posed in my blog yesterday about payment for my painted furniture pieces. . . mainly we discussed our husbands' reactions to the question. My husband, when I asked him what he thought about it, said basically that I wasn't going to get rich off painting furniture but if I could help out the guy getting started in his business, make some money, any money, and enjoy myself, it didn't really matter what I got paid. She said her husband's reaction would have been, "You didn't make that clear before you painted anything? You should have done this and that . . . blah blah blah." Do not, however, get the impression that my husband is laid-back compared to hers. I would say they are both Type As, but in different ways. I probably should have made some arrangements for payment before I ever started painting furniture, but I'm really a trusting soul, and I am extremely laid-back.