It is Friday afternoon and I am standing at the kitchen counter. I am not making Meatballs, or Meatloaf, or Linguine with Shrimp and Asparagus, or One Pot Japanese Curry Chicken and Rice, or Cranberry Pepita Buttermilk Cake, or Butternut Morning Glory Muffins, or Jambalaya, or any other recipe.
I am about to put paint on my palette to finish my first watercolor from the “Beginning Watercolor” class at the Springfield Museums taught by the inspiring Andrea Mackin; a great teacher with both a passion for painting and sharing her passion with curious students of all ages.
Her enthusiasm and positivity remind me of this Emerson quote:
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” That’s the spirit she brings to the classroom. Here she is teaching us about how to begin the watercolor (Curious students stand around the table and watch her paint and listen to her words and take notes):
I have an art studio (and photography studio) in our basement but I am putting the finishing touches on my first watercolor in the kitchen because Susan is away for a few hours and our dog, Freddy, a mini-labradoodle does not like to climb down the stairs to the dark and damp basement. Our vet referred to him recently as Nervous Nellie.
The basement is not as foreboding as I make it seem. Our Christmas decorations are stored in the basement. Our paint cans, vases, some pots and pans, crock pots, suitcases, framed art, bikes–and the washer and dryer are located in the basement. Here’s a photo of my studio set-up.
I finished my first watercolor on Friday and I am pretty happy with it.
But what about Watercolor Dreaming, Bruce?
When now I lay me down to sleep I quietly say The Lord’s Prayer and then my Mantra, taught to me so many decades ago at Villanova University by two Transcendental Meditation angels. And after I have said my Mantra long enough to be lulled to sleep I recently have been watercolor dreaming.
Dreaming about what will I paint next. I have already started a male cardinal on a branch in the snow; Japanese in its simplicity.
I plan to paint the sunrise I saw in Ogunquit last year:
And I have a vision to paint what I call Jacob’s Ladder. A watercolor inspired by Joan Miro, Marc Chagall, William Blake, and Dali.
Stay tuned.
P.S. I was a student at Villanova for two years and then attended Manhattanville College where I graduated with a degree in Art History and English; my senior thesis was on William Blake.
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