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It’s been awhile

Hello everyone! My last email was in late December, right before the holidays. Remember when you signed up to receive this thing, and I promised I wouldn’t SPAM you with lots of unnecessary emails? Well, I’m definitely following through on that. You’re welcome! 😆

Long story short, and possibly TMI, but I haven’t felt like sharing much of my work lately. I’ve still been painting most days, as usual, but I’ve been working on getting my BPD under control, and coming off of a recent manic episode that proved to be too much. I’ve also been waiting on a recent med change to kick in, so... It’s helping a lot— that’s always good. Anyway, enough about that…

A girl of a different kind

I think I may have mentioned in a previous email that I was going to follow up my painting Dreaming About A Life To Come with another painting of the same girl. In this painting, she’s still reading her book, just like the last painting. She’s sitting underneath a Redbud tree that’s nearing late bloom, with some irises blooming in the foreground. All of this happening in the late afternoon as the sun is starting to set.

To be honest, I thought I was finished with this particular painting about a dozen times, then I’d add something else, change something, add another thing, and so on. Finally, I felt happy with what I had, and decided it was time for the varnish. Once the varnish is applied, that’s it. No more painting. 🙅‍♂️

I’m not going to lie, I like painting the subject on a flatter background because it pops more from canvas and takes on a three dimensional look. I still like the paintings that are entirely done with my smaller palette knife. The ones with the free-flowing skies, wavy walls, or whatever the background may be, but it’s extremely time consuming. ‘Time consuming’ being the understatement of all understatements. I walk away from the canvas after several hours of painting, seeing all of these tiny palette knife strokes in my field of vision. It takes about 45 minutes for them to go away. Sometimes, I need a break from those type of paintings, so that’s where things like A Girl Of A Different Kind are born.

As with all of my other paintings, I’ve written a poem to match… BTW, I have a poetry section on my website if you haven’t checked it out yet. Just be prepared though, because it related to a lot of the stuff that I spoke about in the second paragraph above. It’s here if anyone is interested.

A Girl Of A Different Kind

Rapt in the pages of wonder
Each letter, each word, each page
Curiosity filled her old soul
She was more than just her age

While others could be found playing
To her, that happiness was here
She found peace in the solitude
As long as her books were near

The stories were more than just stories
Each became part of her heart
The adventures would leap from the pages
From this world she’d never depart

Friends are for the lonely
Enchanting lore is all she requires
To live like those in the pages
For these are the ones she admires

That sunset lasted forever
It had shined all it could shine
And under it sat a dreamer
A girl of a different kind

Wrapping Things Up…

If you’ve made it this far, THANK YOU! I only have a few things left to say and you can be on your merry way. 😋

Since there was such a long delay between my last email and this one, I’ve still been painting, as I mentioned above. I have another painting that I just recently finished that I’m waiting to frame, and another that’s probably 2-3 weeks from being completed. I’ll send another email out soon. No, it won’t be four months from now either. 😝

I’m also getting ready to start on one of my most ambitious paintings yet. A very large 30x40 that will probably take me no fewer than 2 solid months to complete. I plan on starting another large 24x36 at the same time. Oh, the insanity— what am I thinking???

I typically need to have two paintings going at once, because as parts of one are drying, I can be working on the other and vice versa. By not using a brush, but a palette knife, and chasing the detail that I’m after, I’m not able to work on one painting from start to finish. Believe me, I’ve tried. What usually happens is that things start out well, and a day or two later you end up with paint all over your hands. The same paint that you tediously applied the day before. It takes oil paint a long time to dry. Especially when you apply it really thick.

Well, that’s about all for now. Thanks again for reading! I’m looking forward to getting started on these new paintings. The future looks bright, and very colorful… 😎

Until next time,
Patrick

P.S. In case you missed the link above, more information about A Girl Of A Different Kind can be found here.