Oodles and oodles of Paint

Somedays, I feel like I am just pushing paint around on the canvas. Today is that way. This canvas is 11 x 14 and these tiny faces are giving me fits. They are barely a likeness, which always frustrates me, as that is my BIG thing - get a likeness and the world is a good place! I also see the curtains (mom made those I think) don't follow a straight line continuously behind my aunt...that really bugs me!

I'll bet I have painted and taken them off - 10 times. I am not going there anymore, gonna work with what I have done. Then, I get that -"oh, there's a lot of this color on my palette, just put it on the canvas and fill it up, push it around." Don't do that.

My intention was to do a value study, got to the faces and had to go with color, cause I was having trouble by not using white, it was too small of an area, so it turned into a full color painting. This one may get off the easel temporarily and make way for a larger piece for now. Then once all that gummy thick paint has dried, I will return to it. Some artists say never do that, they like to paint while it's wet. Sometimes I don't return to it. We'll see. This one just doesn't look the same through the camera viewfinder as it does in real life, either. So, there you have it, I have ranted long enough about it. This artist perseverates and endures - a lot of the time.

The subjects are my Aunt Gwen and Uncle Harold at a New Year's Eve party at our house in 1961. My parents had one every year in the unfinished basement. They would spread cornmeal on the floor and dance to music like Benny Goodman and big band music like that. My mom had lots of 78 (?) speed records. Hubster is always amazed when I know the words or the tune to some old 40's tune, but hey, I grew up with that!

My aunt passed away in March (I think it was) and my uncle soon after. Our families spent lots of time together when I was little. I have many fond memories of them.

While I was painting yesterday, in between strokes I think, we got a seat recovered for the old 1950 Chevy truck we have. Hubster repainted the frame and we fixed the 'spring' frame and recovered it with a new cover. Now he is trying to figure out how the pully system underneath the seat works, so you can move the seat forward or backward and lock it in. They just don't write very good instructions in some manuals we have found. Also, he finally has the brakes figured out, new master cylinders or rebuilt ones, something like that and they work! No brake fluid leaking out and brakes holding the air they need. Good thing, cause this truck is really heavy! We are such do-it-yourselfers. I even took it for a little spin today. Reminded me of when I learned to drive on my Grandpa's farm when we visited...I got to drive the tractors (very simple) and once in awhile the truck. The steering wheel is a handful, and the old engine roars in a sort of purr. Ha!

Now we are going out to the vegetable garden to make it bigger for this year and to 'till' the ground and add some manure. Know you wanted to hear about that!