Life and painting

It's a good thing I prepped by February models early because life has thrown us a curveball: A couple days ago, Seth's mom was moved into hospice care. 

Right now she's holding her own, but we are all making an extra effort to spend time with her. 

Seth's brother is here again. It's sad, but also, it's nice.

In the quiet moments between work and family, I've been painting. Not little Butterbean. He's my official NaMoPaiMo horse so I can't start him until next Thursday.

The same can not be said for Antara, who is my model for Heather Bullach's Introduction to  Oil Painting Workshop: Painting Black. Heather recommends using red primer. Since I am partial to Tamiya grey, I went ahead and base coated her today. This is three thin coats of acrylics. My studio lights aren't properly dialed in. She's more red than she looks in these photos.

Mostly, however, I've been ticking away at my failed 2022 NaMoPaiMo horse, Taco.

I could barely look at this model for more than a year. He was the living embodiment of every one of my personal failures.

Not anymore! Now he's an emotional support pony. I have fallen in love with him all over again, and I have no doubt I'll get him past the finish line sometime during NaMoPaiMo.

It's funny how life works. After years of barely being able to paint at all, now it feels like a lifeline. I have no idea what the next month will bring, but I'm sure it will include lots of family, lots of friends and lots of little brushstrokes.