A new week

I began again on Saturday.

It was wonderful. Frustrating too, I must admit. It has been a few years after all. And all thoughts of jumping in with both feet and being at home immediately faded rather quickly.

Okay, okay. Too mysterious. Oil painting. It was the first medium I used when I began art lessons and was my favorite. I eschewed all other media, except pen and pencil, for the wonderful oils. It was much easier when I was taking lessons and I only had to show up with my bin of oils and supplies. When the art lessons shut down, still a group of us met to paint and it was a bit more tedious to drag along that big easel and all the other necessities. Still it was good and fun and relaxing. Then interest died off and we began painting at home. That takes a bigger commitment and more patience. And room to set everything up and leave it set up. Either that or the constant moving and storage of easel and wet canvas. And so, sadly but realistically, I turned from oil and began working in other media, particularly pastels and color pencils. While these present their own satisfaction, it is not the same as painting.

It has been about five years, or so. But I went out this past weekend and supplied myself with fresh paints and brushes and cleaner, etc. And I sat down Saturday night...to paint. Ahhh...the pungent scent of the paints brought back a rush of memories, of fun and creative rushes and satisfaction of a picture finished. I could hardly wait! And I had myself fooled into thinking it would be like picking the brush up the day after I'd completed my last oil.

I was disabused of that idea immediately. Before I put brush to canvas, I had to re-learn paint mixing. Oh no, this was not going to be so simple as I'd mis-led myself to think! But that's okay though. It was very much like the beginning lessons in oils.

And I enjoyed it so very much. It was great to have my hands in paint and the aromas of linseed and oils in my nostrils again. That helped relieve the frustrations. Soon I was slinging paint on the canvas and happily forming the sky and horizon line.

I'm happy and grateful for the inspiration that "NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration" provided which moved me back into this medium once more. I'll never be a part of the NASA art program, but I enjoy still all of the paintings that NASA's achievements have moved me to create. And I look forward to many new worlds to engrave in the paint.