It has been about a year since I've last posted. I took a long break from painting, but recently figured out a way to start again. This is from a photo I took in the Himalayas. Looking back over the years, I can see I've grown a lot, both in brushwork, and use of colour.

 

Sadly I lost the phone with the beginnings of the above. Everything was blocked out in orange. My father teased me with the name of Picasso. It's a gift for a friend's birthday, two years ago, and has taken that long to paint. I loved doing the cliffs.

Trying new things

This is not a style I normally work with, yet I wanted to really explore the paint and have fun. I think I would take a little more care, and pull the dark further if I were to do it again. I would also work at adding depth to his eyes. I love the play of colour that came out though, especially on his wings. I liked experimenting with it enough that my next work is playing off of the idea.

Patience...

It would be easy to zip in and paint quickly. It would be easy to give up once the first layer of paint was on and it looked "good enough."

But that wouldn't be "good enough."

Because I can do better, and in order to grow, I must patiently add paint in layers, paying attention to detail.

Sometimes, art is a good teacher for someone who was always trying to finish things fast. Except for chores. Oddly enough, unless something fun was in store, I did them very slowly. I guess I was too wrapped up in the stories I was telling to bother hurrying.

Anyways, this is an acrylic painting I'm doing as practice for class. I might enter it in our school Easter Art War III though. As long as my Sixthies (invented word I think) don't recognize the painting. They're one of two panels of judges :)

Another attempt at displaying wonder.

Unfortunately she got a bit dirty, and her hand is a bit out of proportion, but I am proud of this one. Especially the patience it took me to do a lot of layers on the face and hands. I think becoming an artist is learning to grow and see.

 

Sorry it has been so long. A new quarter began and I felt I was struggling to swim against a very strong current. I think the current is still strong, but my muscles have adjusted, so it is slightly easier.

This is an attempt at a self portrait. I added the suitcase to show how you can add things that show a little about who you are. I've moved more times than I care to count, hence the suit case.

Inside is a  printer's paper tube from when I was two in Cameroon, where we would roll them down hill. There is a fossil I found in Dallas. Sticking out at corner closest to me is my Eclaireurs Evangelique neck scarf tied in a "square knot" that I am proud of. Just above it is a dress my aunt gave me when my first sister was born. It was brown and had puffed sleeves, so ignoring the fact its African design would not be found on Prince Edward Island, I called it my "Anne" dress.

 Lying on the dress is my tobacco pouch that our guard gave me. It's never held tobacco, but has held both m&m's and coins. Across the top lies a home-made bow, one of many I made over the years. I still have not found a home-made arrow as nice as the straw we used to pull off from the roof over our sand pit in Burkina though. A leaf shows both my love of the outdoors, and represents the many leaf forts we used to make. Well -- my family still makes, but since there isn't much place to do so here in Delhi, I abstain.

So there it is: an attempt at a self portrait.

Essay at a rock

It felt like the end of Prince Caspian. I had had a wonderful time in Europe with my brothers, whom I hadn't seen in ages, and with the family I lived with in France for a year as a teenager.

Now I was alone at the Zurich airport, with many hours to go before my flight, and unwieldy pink suitcase to lug around.

After much debate on whether it was worth it to lug the suitcase back into Zurich to more exploring on my own, I spotted what looked like a path leading up to a bench on the hill. The path was paved and accesible. I set out.

The first time I was there, I jumped over some nettles, into a little green natural chapel, where I spent some time in prayer and reflection. I also asked for and found some alpine strawberries.

Eventually I meandered back down. Later, at supper time, I wandered up again, wanting to have a picnic supper at the top. This time I took the left fork of the trail. I was delighted to find some large boulders clustered around, and spent several minutes jumping from one to another in delight, before settling down to a picnic of gluten free bread and cheese.

Finished, I attempted to sketch my favourite rock from above, in memory of these small delights that day.