Back in the School of Neverending Stairs!

SCHOOL IS OPENING AGAIN YAY!!

But not yet, we start Sept 13th.

However, there are several orientations happening this week, to re-acclimate students and orient the new ones. I built the presentation and volunteered for several hours to sell dance merch.

I was actually happy to encounter alllll the stairs.
All. The. Stairs.

All of them!

I only had to go to 3 but I had to go up and down several times.

The escalators were actually working but that will last about half a day when school starts.

I will have to go allllllll te way up to 8 on Tues the 14th because we are back in-person for PA and Studio PA meetings!!

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My right shoulder is messed up in a minor way.
So before it gets worse I decided to bypass the doctor and go right to PT.

(I have learned a thing or 2 from being a dance mom.)

Basically, my shoulder issue is an ergonomic posture issue from working from home.
PT people said everyone is coming in with shoulder issues and lower back issues.

I do not want to do much PT because it is $45 a visit-- that's WITH insurance.
But I will go 2x a week this week and next.

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My aunt and I have always shared one deep love in common- swimming.

She swims all the time, because she has a pool in her neighborhood.

I told her I desperately want to be in the pool.
She said what about that pool you used to go to a long time ago?

I thought about that, sort-of, well not really because it wasn't all that clean which is why I stopped going..... they have renovated and it is much nicer than it used to be.

So I thought it was good advice.

It is much nicer and cleaner.

There is a fitness room too.

So I got a new membership for me and Daya.

I cannot wait to get in the pool again, but it will be after next week because of pool renovations.
Daya is going to the gym tho.

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I have a secret superpower.

I have known about it for many years but wasn't sure if I still have it.

Yep, I can still do it.

I can memorize combination locks instantly and forever, but only if they are mine.

Since my main lock lives down at the boathouse now, I needed another one for the pool.
So I got to test my superpower and it totally still works!!!!

Also--- AUGUST IS OVER YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Repurposed & Wipe-Out

I have been saving little piles of paint after being out painting.

The way I have been saving them is to put them on the small palette that hooks to the side of my box, and storing it in the box with a lot of tape.

This is really not a good solution.

So I was thinking... I need something small and flat with a lid.

And i dug through the recesses of my tupperware drawer and found....this.......

Daya's old sandwich container!

That will work!

So I packed Dora & Boots into the last little bit of space in my backpack and went painting before the last Move|NYC show.

There is a park near City Hall and Gibney, where Move is located, with a nice fountain.

So I went there.

I got there at about 11:45- LATE! and I had a hard stop at 1:30.

I started painting,

Someone sent me a text and I looked at it and saw it was 12;30 already....!!!
One hour left! Not good, I had barely started.  So I set a timer and then could not think about anything else.

I started rushing.

I started stressing.

I started getting sloppy.

For the next half hour.

And then I had a moment where I realized the best thing to do was STOP and call it a wipe.

This is not a painting I can do in under 2 hours. (I bet Thor could tho!)

I think I need about 3 1/2 hours for this painting.

Ken Goshen talked a lot about failure in his live class last Tuesday, and how our failures are our best friends and best learning moments. 

That fountain water is truly a challenge and I am mulling it over, because I need to go back and do this painting again. I should have taken a picture of the fountain from the painting spot but I guess it doesn't matter.

Here is the painting before I wiped down the panel.

8x10

It's not even halfway done and not worth continuing.

And I also wanted to get a wider view, which for some reason I really struggle with- so I'm not thrilled about the composition.  If I can do Times Square I can do this.  I'll get it next time.

And I will be thinking about fountain water all week.

Move|NYC Show

So.... yesterday (and today) are the Move|NYC shows.
I have tickets to all three shows.

Daya is in zero of the shows because of her stupid toe injury and the whole thing is crappy and I feel quite heartbroken over it, so does she but she won't talk about it, and it has been very difficult.

Anyhow.

I have tickets to three shows that my kid is not in because it's still important to show up for her.

But I really loved the show and I love the program.
They have headshots done of the kids and they are all on display.

They also have the kids write aspirational resumes.

I wanted to get Daya's picture by her headshot but she said no so I respected that- then her friend took one and I guess that was ok with Daya but it was not ok for me to do it. :(

******
And Daya and I had a fight.
After the first show.
The stupid kind that just really hurt.

After the first show everyone went into the reception studio area with all the headshots. 

Families celebrating. Everyone happy.

Daya is nowhere to be found.  I texted her, no answer.

So I called asking where she is and can she please come say hi.

She said she was in the office working and no.

I don't know, that really just hit me really the wrong way.

Everyone is there with their kids and mine won't even come out and say hello quickly.
I'm there for her and she wouldn't come out to say hello and when I asked the program director she was puzzled too.

She went and got Daya and we had a bit of a fight, I was really upset at her response.

Whether or not she thinks it should, I felt really hurt.

Anyhow with Ms Chanel's help we got through it and I told Daya next time just come say hello and tell me you can't stay but we'll talk after the second show.

Daya and I in general do not communicate well and we could use some professional help with this but Daya refuses so....it sucks.

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I don't think Daya really understands or appreciates the depth of support I give her.

I do think it is important for me to be there even though she isn't dancing- she's still part of the program.
And I always show up for her.

Even though I hate being alone in a room full of families celebrating together.

And I wonder if she even remembers that time right after my eye surgery when I probably shouldn't have been out, I needed assistance getting around, I couldn't see and was in pain and I STILL went to her dance performance at Steps.

And whatever else is going on, I ALWAYS show up for that kid.

So just come out and freaking say hello for 30 seconds!

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I'm going to the third show today, it is this afternoon and I think I need to go out and paint beforehand and just reset myself, as I'm still clearing out feelings this morning.

(I am listening to a book my friend lent me called Burnout, it is very excellent and I was listening to it yesterday right before the show. The book talks about going through the stress/emotion process cycle and just letting it complete so that's what I'm doing. So relevant.)

Terrace Plein Air - Night

Here's a painting I never posted- I couldnt properly photograph it when it was wet but I posted abut it here.

The daylight version is here.

Anyhow this is a sort-of better photo, it is dry and varnished.

8x10 oil

Wednesday Drawing!

The celebrity psychic Richard Lael Lillard modeled for us again.

He had a ghost in the lamp and a mysterious creature under the couch, so I put them in the 1 hour pose

graphite

Here's the 20 minute pose, vine charcoal

Richard liked my drawing so much he is using it on his Facebook page!

Isn't that fun?

I'm sending him the drawing, too, because it's better with him to be enjoyed rather than just living in my sketchbook.

Turquoise Insanity (Again)

I needed more paint refills.

And more new brushes because I'm really going through them, especially the small ones. ****

So here is my order from Jerry's, which was waiting for me when I got home from CT.
(It was very nice to come home to a box of paint.)

See that turquoise paint tube?

Some of you (Drusilla) are already aware that I'm a little bit insane.

And back in the Spring when I stocked up on paint, Jerry's had Lukas 1862 single-pigment PG 50 for something stupid like $6.50.  (If you can get a tube of PG 50 for under $20 you have done well.)

So I got 2, and now I wish I got more because they must have realized the error.... and now it's $17-something, which is a normal price for this pigment. I wish I had bought 10 of them at the incorrect price!!

But I decided to get a Phthalo mix of turquoise because it is cheap and I wanted to compare.

And sometimes when I am out I like to mix a nice violet with magenta with my Cobalt Teal.
Since I also got a magenta refill which is slightly different (and better) than my old tube, I ran a color chart.

Without spending more time than I want to on color correcting this photo, my conclusion is that PG 50 is still the best and my favorite.

I can distinctly tell the difference under my easel lamp, but it is not too noticeable in the photo.

Approximation match is slightly greener and duller. 

Out of the tube my fake turquoise is darker.

*****

There are 2 "rules" people love to preach dogmatically in painting.

1) use LARGE brushes and

2) don't use black

The first one is good advice in general and I agree with it.

I do recommend using a larger brush than you need.

However....... for the plein air work I have been doing lately- complex stuff on small panels... I need small brushes. I avoided them for a while because USE LARGER BRUSHES was so embedded in my brain and I just didn't get the results I wanted.

David and Thor also use small brushes, and David and I talked about it the other day.

He said he also always hears "use larger brushes!" but we both agree it's a better rule for beginners to stick to because it breaks people out of getting too fiddly and detailed rather than seeing overall large shapes.

I am not a beginner and I already know how to see in large masses so I will use small brushes as my needs dictate. I know how and when to use them, and that's the difference.

ON BLACK:

People are fixated on debating whether or not to use black.
Yep, it's a big thing that always comes up.

All academic painters use black that I am aware of.

Beginners and color theory people like to preach no black, I guess ?? because the impressionists didn't use it.

But even though you can mix a good black with ultramarine and burnt sienna, actual black will still give a darker value.

And--- most importantly- black controls chroma.

I am not a beginner and I already know about pigments, color theory, and color mixing, so I use black because I know how and why and when to use it.

Rules are ok as learning guidelines but it is important to know when to break them.

Henri in CT

I spent the weekend with Cathy in CT, right in the hurricane tropical storm that..... wasn't.

But I didn't bring paint with me because of it.

There was a rat rescue event and I got to see DRU AND BRANWEN! YAY! I was so happy to see them, it's been too long.

Cathy has more foster kittens.

Dizzy

The not-so-stormy-storm.

Cathy wanted me to paint a cat on her wall so I did.

Marble

August Strikes

 You know that minor toe injury Daya has?

It's not so minor.
It's a..... ok, here's what the PT guy said:

She has a grade 2 strain of the flexor hallucis longus (fhl) which is a tendon that connects the muscle that flexes the big toe to the bone. She also has a bone bruise on the big toe as well.
I explained that the tendon should not be stressed for 2 weeks and will take 4-6 weeks to fully heal.
I gave her a few exercises to strengthen it as well as taping to help her walk without compensating.
I would recommend she return in 2 weeks so we can work in her mobility reassess her tendon and progress her exercises.

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So Daya can't dance.
She's supposed to be back full-force in what is a really important intensive and she can't dance.

She has another intensive that I already paid for in 2 weeks, she can't do that one either and I still haven't heard back if I can get a refund.

I am...... really upset.
That doesn't even describe how I feel.

Kind of gutted, actually.

The timing could not be worse.

If this injury happened in a month, or, really any other time it wouldn't be such a big deal.

She still goes in to Move NYC every day.  But she's out of the show and this just really, really sucks.

Wednesday Drawing is Back!

Wednesday drawing is back! I'm so happy!
Not having it really knocked me off my routine.

We are listening to Frankenstein.

1 mins

7 mins

20 mins

Here is the 1 hour pose, I was so tired by this point.

Times Square Plein Air

Times Square, 8x10 oil

About 4 hours, 100% on-location.

I am super happy with this painting, I consider it to be a personal best due to the level of difficulty and the environment.

Here is the second painting I did after, 6x8 oil, about an hour and a half:
David Paints Times Square

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There is a reason I have never painted in Times Square.
First and foremost, because it's Times Square.
It is INSANE.

Also having worked in the office there for 14 years (15 if you count covid??) made it a place to get away from, not seek out!

I took a day off work and went painting with David Nakabayashi, who I have mentioned before.
He said, "Let's go to Times Square!"
I said "....ok!"

When out painting, bathrooms are a thing... as in not having them.
People often ask.... what do you do?

My answer is that I dehydrate,
I'm a very hydrated person in general, but when I'm out and I know there will not be facilities, I plan ahead.

So I woke up at 4:30am so I could caffeinate properly with my morning tea, which I require in order to be a functional human.

David and I met at 7am.
We were both on time!

The plan was to paint from the top of the TKTS steps.... but they were closed due to bullet damage from a gunfight last night!! Apparently there is structural damage and the steps can't take the weight of people up there until it is fixed.

So we painted in the area in front of the steps instead.
It was INSANE.
Not too bad early in the morning but as the morning progressed, the insanity came out.

David said 'Whose idea was this?"
I said "Yours.  I hope it is ok if I hate you a little bit."

We both took pictures.

Natalia who runs the official Times Square NYC Instagram saw us painting from her office and came over to interview us! She posted a video on their instagram and featured us!

My instagram has been blowing up a bit....