Color Meditation

My lovely friend Beth teaches an art class every Tuesday.

Occasionally I am a guest in the class.

She was telling me how her class is starting oils and she's having them do color wheels and value scales.

I like that stuff because I'm a geek, and she doesn't like it but had to do it.... and I asked if I could join the class.

Beth is a good teacher and she was absolutely right to start never-oil-painted-before-people with basic mixing and paint handling.

I didn't really know what I was going to do beforehand  but I pulled out a little 5x7 practice panel and transferred all my leftover still-wet paint to a new palette paper.  I did a little color wheel and it was so meditative.  I didn't really have to think very much which was exactly what I needed, and it was good to move paint around and look at pretty colors.

It's just what I needed.  No thinking, nothing intense, nothing serious, and a little practice panel.
It was literally just a Color Meditation. Very calming.

*******

GRUMPY-RANT-WITH-MANY-HYPHENS

I'm going to have a short grumpy rant that is probably unjustified but whatever I don't care, this is my blog and I'll grump if I want to. I'm trying to very seriously figure out how I'm going to get through the next six-months-at-least at home every day, because I'm really losing it.  One day at a time yeah I know blah blah blah.  I'm not one to wish my life away but I'll be glad to see the end of this isolation and being in one room all day every day by myself.  It's not good and I know I'm really on edge.

Which is partly why I'm going to have a little-too-grumpy rant about a well-meaning Facebook comment.

When we artists put our work out there it invites response, and we all know people say stupid things with good intentions.  Like this:

"Next time, use a larger canvas, it would be even more stunning BIGGER! (Not giant size, too expensive!)"

******

Don't tell me what to do.

Don't tell me what I "should do next time".

Especially don't tell me what to do regarding my painting.

Don't take my work and expand on it and tell me I should do your expanded idea.

Don't tell me what's too expensive.

Other people trying to give their direction to my work annoys me severely.

Usually the people doing this are people who dabble in art here and there but in this case the person actually is a very good painter, so honestly they should know better.

I'm just not in the mood.

One day I'll be as evolved as Drusilla, who gets stupid comments like this occasionally and doesn't get annoyed.