Gorilla My Dreams

We've discovered that one of the downsides of the ongoing De-Stuffing of the domicile is that...well...more of the domicile is now visible to the naked eye.  Actually, more of the flaws are now visible.  When did we put that dent in the wall?  When did that light fixture grow ten pounds of cobwebs?  And anyone who lives with canines can attest to the existence of the "dog stripe" - that line of grunge the same height as the dog that appears on vertical surfaces throughout the house.  My thought is that there is some sort of ionic flux going on between the dogs and the walls that causes the positively charged dirt particles to leap off of the dog and on the the negatively charged wall.  That's my hypothesis anyway.   Maybe we just need to wash the walls.

Or better yet, the dogs.

So now we're also busy Flaw Fixin'  as we continue De-Stuffing.

I desperately needed a Fun Break, (and jetting off to the Bahamas was out of the question), so as the paint was drying on the dining room walls, I sneaked off to do some painting that didn't require a roller and a tray.

  Gorilla Study

7" x 5", acrylic on paper

© 2010, Lisa Walsh

The thoughtful gaze on this guy intrigued me.  I wanted to try a direct painting approach again, but it quickly evolved into layers of scumbled colors that I really had some fun with.

Oooooo...texture and optical mixing!  It sends shivers down my spine.  Am I finally developing a ... (sound trumpets here)...Personal Style?

I think the paint fumes are beginning to get to me.

My Muse is opening windows for ventilation.  To...uh...something or other.....and beyond!

Stuff Wars

Recently we had begun to notice that our humble home was slowly and surely being insidiously taken over by Stuff.  Stuff began appearing in places I swear there wasn't any Stuff before. Stuff was beginning to ooze out of the closets and make it's way onto any available adjacent surface.  Old Stuff was making it impossible to put any New Stuff away, and Just Plain Crap was getting in the way of everything.  And then people kept giving us more stuff (thank you, but seriously, if we get any more pillar candles as gifts we'll be able to turn this place into a working monastery).

So to keep ourselves from inadvertently starring in an upcoming episode of "Hoarders", we decided to do a top-to-bottom, complete and utter Domicile Purge, which has kept us insanely busy the past several weeks.

And of course, now that we have donated our first Huge Pile of Stuff to the local charity, in about two weeks I'll find myself needing one of the donated items.

Not having time to paint or post the past several weeks has made me grumpy, jittery, and itchy (in that order).  Today I was determined to get a painting fix and ignore the still looming Sea of Chaos around me.  Normally, I'm a glazing fanatic, happily adding layer upon layer of glowing transparent color.  But today called for a Fast Fix, so I did a quick study using only direct painting methods.  

Kookaburra study

7" x 5"

Acrylic on gessoed paper

© 2010, Lisa Walsh

I love birds with attitudes, and crows, jays, ravens and kooks are some of my favorites.  All of them exhibit some of the "Bad Bird" persona that I find endearing and amusing.  A Laughing Kookaburra was the first bird I worked with that drew blood.  And of course it was my own blood, dripping down my face from a wound neatly speared into my forehead from that impressive bill.  I harbor no ill will, you can't blame a girl for defending her nest any way she can.  

And she kept her nest completely free of any unnecessary Stuff.

My Muse is still packing boxes.  To habitability, and beyond!

Escaping the Doldrums

Forgive my lack of posts, dear readers, I seem to be fighting the Last Dregs of Winter Blues, which seem to make it difficult to do anything more than let the dogs out, open a can of Diet Coke, and mindlessly surf the web.  Thankfully the weather maven has seen fit to actually let the sun poke through the clouds today, lifting my malaise enough to prompt a trip to the easel.

I picked a rather sun-drenched subject, perhaps due to a subconscious yearning to be on a beach somewhere near the equator right about now.  My cat, Gracie, was more than happy to model for the photo.

Sun Sponge

8x10, acrylic on panel

© 2010, Lisa Walsh

After clearing the driveway for the umteenth time the other day, we decided that, in the Still Too Far Away Future, we are going to retire someplace where the annual precipitation does not have to be:

• Shoveled
• Plowed
• Blown
• or manually moved in any way shape or form

And if the as-yet-undetermined Retirement Spot is an artist community, so much the better!

My Muse is checking out vacation brochures.  To desirability, and beyond!