Angelic Matreshkas

I'm starting the New Year with the "Peasant Angels " Matreshkas. The inside nesting dolls have wings painted on their backs but I made paper mache' wings for the outside doll. This is part of a plan for the new year of having a set of dolls in the kitchen window for a month at a time - except I won't do it in hot weather in case they react to being cooked in the sun.The peasant angels are my own design. I painted these in 1995 on "blanks" that I purchased. I still have a few more blanks. I haven't done any in a long time but I've  just started a new set- part of my plan to play in art.  After having Mrs. Santa Claus out for a Christmas decoration, I thought it would be fun to give the other hand-painted sets a turn. I had forgotten all the details of them so I'm seeing them anew. I would not have remembered when I painted them if I hadn't labeled them.

Some artists I know are making resolutions to paint a picture a day for 100 days but I'm not making resolutions for art or for otherwise.  I'm going to follow the suggestion of Rick Hanson of simply planning to nurture what makes me feel good. For me, that mostly means finding time for art but I'll do it in various ways, not a rigid plan. The nesting dolls should help in suggesting a relaxed and playful approach.  Another thing is to just let it go if it doesn't work out - one recent painting has turned out to be a write-off - or a paint-over in this case. It wasn't a  total disaster as there were more things I learned. Every painting is a learning experience after all. This one just didn't say what I wanted it to say - but then I had started another one (even while attempting to "fix" the unfixable) that is going in the direction that I want to head--- freer and yet more complicated too. I'm going to continue to work in different media too. I enjoy working in pastels for long poses in Life Drawing. I found myself thinking it might be fun to try pastels for plein-air work too - so I may try some when the weather gets right for outdoor art work.