30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 18

I’m on my feet when I paint in the studio. Rocking out, hopping around, playing a mean air guitar. Painting, for me, is a physical process.

Or was, until I started spending time creating art on the iPad. For 18 days now I’ve been sitting on my butt way too much. Bum planted firmly on the sofa. Feet up on the coffee table. Maybe a bowl of popcorn by my side. And a cuppa tea sans (accidently) soaking paintbrush. As studio conditions go, well, it’s not a studio.

This digital stuff is a whole ‘nuther way of making art.

Women in Red # 18 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter

But today was different. This is Women in Red # 18 and she wasn’t created like the rest of the series. Oh sure, she was made on an iPad 2 using Procreate. But for the better part of her creation I was spinning my wheels–

on this–the  ancient and sturdy stationary exercycle, the one that was already old when I bought it 25 years ago in the Salvation Army store. But today I had an AHA! moment that was sheer genius. I bought a used over-the-bed hospital table, rotated the handlebars on the bike and now have a totally fine bicycle desk. I’ve adjusted the height so it’s perfect or sitting up straight, not the usual slouch I have when working on the laptop or iPad.

It’s not a workout workout, I don’t envision raising a sweat as I blog. But it keeps the blood going and after almost an hour of light pedaling tonight I ended up with jello legs.

Buh-bye chair-butt. Buh-bye.

Oh yeah, about today’s painting. I don’t know who she is, there was no reference photo, just my imagination. I dunno, I think she looks Greek. Or maybe Roman. What do you think?