Thoughtful Thursday!

End of Summer

"Mountain sunset" by Hilary J. England, oil on canvas, 8" x 11"

End of Summer, and it's going out with lots of heat!  I was working on this the other day, and even in the evening, the heat and gnats were enough to make me leave at the halfway point and go home.  When I got home, I decided not to abandon the painting, and paint it "par coeur" (from memory) so, it's half plein air, half par coeur.  It's a hybrid!

I'm looking forward to the change of seasons -- I always do.  This summer was both hectic and a little chaotic -- it slipped by quickly, and yet, I still feel that frustration of not getting all the things I wanted to, even though I was very busy.  I guess it's just the way it goes sometimes.  

I have a list of nearly 100 portraits to complete, and I'm chomping at the bit to get them done, but as I'm also simultaneously working on my Master's, the recent calculus/statistics course I'm embroiled in is taking a lot of time away from my other projects.  As frustrating as that is, I know I must first apply all of my energies into that course, because it's once and done.  Second week of November, things go back to routine for me, so it's not that far off, and my competitive nature will not allow me to have a bad grade in the course, haha.  It just won't.

So, with that, back to work, and I hope Autumn is beautiful for us all.

~Enjoy!

The quiet creek

  

"The quiet creek" by Hilary J. England, oil on canvas, 8" x 11" 

Here is a little study I did this week, down by the creek that splits off through town.  The day was warm, and the kids were all playing by the edges of it, squishing their hands in the mud.  It was such a timeless scene, one that could have vaulted back to the 1600's, and still, children would be enjoying their time in the creek.  These four girls and little brother in tow, all towheaded and in their play clothes.  It was very sweet to watch them enjoying the mud and without a care in the world.

The sunlight was so strong, and the shadows were alive.  I had to try to work as quickly as possible, to try and catch that moment.  I feel like I was cracking off "my shell" from winter, and trying to get the rust all gone from my mind and hand.  It was a wonderful exercise, to be sure.

I am looking to start a new series -- I am officially shelving this summer's project that I was going to move forward with.  I am moving in a new direction, and decided, I am not interested in such a big scale project, when in essence, my heart is still here among the local people, the forgotten people of America.

So, that's the direction I'm going to go in, and I will very much love exploring the little towns and people that reside in them.

Day 17

"Wash day" oil on canvas panel, 11" x 14  

Day 17--Musical Beds

Closer to home.  Just a few days to go, and I am looking forward to going home and seeing my family and just being home and comfortable.  This is the first time I really feel somewhat homesick on a travel abroad, so it is what it is...alot went on on this trip, so I guess that is normal.  It is still up in the air whether this trip will technically be a failure for me, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I was unable to get even half the work done that I had anticipated, due to various setbacks, plus, being in shared quarters, it's difficult, no matter which way you slice it.  I tried to improvise things a bit, but there is a delicate give and take that must be done for the comfort of others as well, so that I was not able to get the amount of work done I would have as if I was on my own, which I originally intended.  For the sake of the residency experience I had made a decision to not leave the compound earlier on, and the group of artists, even though the accommodations were growing inadequate (not due to size, just to maintenance), but now I may regret that decision.  If I had left earlier, I might have had a chance at getting more work done, but that opportunity is gone now too, so either way, even if the accomodations are improved, I will be so far behind there will be no catching up.  I just have to accept and deal with that fact, and work with what I've got when I return to the States, to develop my series.

And, what I have is only a handful of sketches and five paintings, which is pitiful.  Last night, our room reached nearly 100 degrees inside, no breeze, and the moisture in the room was so dense, our pillows were soggy and smelled moldy.  Our air conditioner has not worked in over a week in the heat and intense moisture, but that is due to a maintenance problem rather than electrical issues. We were told that four of the five shared bedrooms DID have running air conditioners, even on the generator, whereas we (my roomie and I) did not have air conditioning for days now, and were told by the men that staff the property that the issue would be resolved, and sadly, it never was.  

After the room reached that zenith of heat, no amount of sleeping in your underwear could make it livable, just left us open to mosquitoes and predators (the human kind) by forcing us to sleep with all windows and even the door open for a little cross draft, so we were forced to decamp in the middle of the night, and join a room of 3 (that was also over original capacity of 2) who were kind enough to invite us into their already crowded quarters.  Now, there were 5 of us in this room, like artist refugees, huddled around the air conditioner, sleeping with our mattresses on the floor, and even though the room is very large, it was still an awkward experience, and one I do not wish to continue with for the remainder of my stay, mostly because I know I will never get a decent night's sleep for any of these nights left, just because I am a fussy sleeper.  This means I will be looking to leave here if the air condtioning situation can't be rectified today.  It's just too many people in a room, although another room of gracious artists did say we could join them (3 in a room), I feel kind of bad about that too, like a gate crasher, as their room is very small, but we'll see how it goes today.

So, that's my situation for now.  I got about 2 hours of sleep last night, and am groggy and grouchy.  I don't see a very productive work day in this weary and disjointed state, but I'm hoping to (again) try to push through the discomfort and get this painting done (it might be the final one here, not sure yet), and if the conditions aren't improved, have to have my hosts arrange for me to stay at another homestay or resort until Monday, where I can have some air conditioner and be able to sleep without feeling like I'm stuck to flypaper.  Not an impossibility in India by the way, as I had it in Goa at that modest little holiday home called "Angels" that I stayed at privately prior to coming to Lilypad.  As I understand, if the air conditioners cannot be fixed for our room today, the owner/ residency hosts will extend us the gracious action of sending us to a hotel a kilometer or so down the road that has air conditioning so we can spend the night in comfort, and then transport us back to the compound for breakfast and working, etc.  That is sounding very good at this junction, and although I like my room and my roomie and I had/have a good system in here, she is opting for the comfort of air conditioning as well...

That's the long and short of it.  Our residency hosts have been trying hard to get everything resolved, and for that I feel sorry for them, as they are also dealing with the gripes and discomfort of a group of 10, all are frustrated in varying degrees, by various issues such as the wifi, etc. and so, hopefully, we can just get this situation fixed today and enjoy the last several days here we have left.....In the meantime, I will try to finish up my last painting, and maybe if I can get another done by Saturday, I will attempt it.  I'll have to see how it goes, depending on the weather, the workspace, etc.

New Painting

I haven't posted in a while, since I've been busy, and busy painting, and I really just didn't take the time to photo my work, which is such a struggle for me, and I just decided against it altogether...a sort of protest. So, now I have several paintings to photo...but I'll do it all at once!