Got a late start in Studio Grande today. Things to do, none of which (in hindsight) were really necessary.

I believe it’s called procrastination.

I understand why. Been rolling with the oils lately, like second nature. But today it was wax. That was the plan and I was sticking with it. And I did. I started small, a couple of 6″X6″ and one 12″X12″.

But I didn’t follow the plan exactly. In fact, except for the wax part, I didn’t follow it at all.

Instead of using the oils as a base, I began with a blank board. Blank except for some smudges. But smudges were OK because my new found plan was graphite drawing. Except there wasn’t a pencil to be found…in an art studio. Go figure.

Well I probably could’ve found one if I actually looked. But the charcoal was RIGHT THERE. On the counter. It was a sign, I’m telling you, a sign.

I started out with a couple coats of clear wax medium. Then I took some soft charcoal and scribbled a goodly mess. Then a quick fuse. Then I scraped some lines, bringing out the white, covered the whole thing with a couple more coats of medium and did it all again. And again and again and again. A couple layers up I began adding color via pastels and grownup artist crayons. Eventually it developed into a landscape although that was not the plan when first begun. Remember–no plan.

Looks much better up close and personal. Much. You’ll have to trust me on this. This one is close to finished but not quite there.

I got a couple more little ones going but no photos. Maybe tomorrow. Then I started on a 12X12.

This is the base oil painting. Started with a couple layers of clear wax medium. Then I incised some scribbles, brought them out with a glaze of burnt umber oil paint. Added some pastel. Made a total mess. Fused it. Covered the whole she-bang with a couple more coats of medium. I was really getting into it but oh man, it was getting late. So I decided to stop.

Here. In the dead zone. Artists know what this is. For my non-artist peeps, the dead zone is similar to when your kids are adolescents and you begin to think there’s no hope. You stick with them and eventually they turn out just fine. For dog people–just remember what it’s like when the puppy is five months old.

I think that explains it rather well.

Tomorrow I’ll show the finished piece. I’m looking forward to getting back to it.