The other day I finished a couple of new bag pieces. One is called “Pinky,” and the other is “Scrutiny.”

I suppose I like them after not looking at them for a couple of days now. They are hard to photograph, but here they are. 

Pinky:

Scrutiny:

These look simple enough, but they take some time to make. I was remiss in taking photos along the way. Now I know I should be taking progress shots for the blog to show my whole process because it’s a bit involved. Plus, it makes for a more interesting blog entry, don’t you think? Well I do.

Before I start on the next one, I’ll be painting this smaller, 20 x 20-inch canvas. I’ve only painted the black outlines and some underpainting so far. It’s called The Bat, The Cat, The Cake, and The Snake:

The orange is actually going underneath some yellow gold. I’ll scratch through it to expose some of that orange. The whole thing will all be very colorful. You know, as usual. 

While I work on that, I’d like to play with some little watercolors since my drawing table is (mostly) cleared off. That is unusual, but I cleaned up after finishing those two bags. It’s a Christmas miracle.

I was thinking about trying out a set of Viviva Colors watercolor sheets. It’s a company out of India that makes a palette of watercolors on paper sheets, making them portable. I don’t really need the portability, but the company wanted me to try them out for quality sake. I’m glad to give them a try. 

I was thinking about trying out pan sets anyway, which is similar I guess. Pan sets seem easier, except in the case of mixing colors. I usually use Holbein tubes, which are goddamn expensive. If I had every color, I probably wouldn’t need to mix colors, but I only have sets of eighteen. That seems like a lot of colors, but sometimes I need variations, especially for landscapey things. But who knows? Maybe I’ll invest in a small pan set to see if I like them.

Oh…maybe not! I just checked on Blick. Holbein makes half pan sets of 36 that are over $300! That’s quite a lot of money. The cheapest one of twelve is $130. I’ll have to try a different good brand, or just stick to the tubes. The thing is, I like using the tube colors after they dry on my porcelain palette. It’s a little bit like using them as pans, and easier when the color is already mixed and dried on the palette–not so easy when they are wet out of the tubes. In fact, it’s a little wasteful. Too much color gets on the brush when mixing wet, then it needs a big rinse-out before I can apply it to paper.

Oy, I sound so fussy, don’t I? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.

So, it’s Hannukah. Happy Hanukkah folks–for those of you that observe. I guess some “celebrate.” I more or less observe more than I celebrate. Sometimes I do the candles, and sometimes I don’t. If I don’t, I still think about it and the whole tradition. Does that count? Probably not. 

And then Christmas is going to be here before you know it. We don’t really celebrate that either. I buy a couple of gifts for my nieces and nephews, and that’s all. These sort of holidays are for kids, just like birthdays. I think it’s kind of weird that adults still celebrate their birthdays like children, but that’s me. Maybe every day you’re alive should be a celebration. Hannah and I feel the same way about stupid Valentine’s Day. We don’t observe that day either. Every day is Valentine’s Day here.

But maybe we’re grinches. Life-appreciating grinches.