Hey Monday!

Well, it is Monday, but I can't say it's felt like one. It's actually been a really good day! It feels so nice to have both kids back in school and Gary finally finished with all that training and back on his regular schedule. I think we're all pretty happy to have a little normalcy around here again.

I went to the gym today! I honestly can't even remember the last time I went to a gym, so that was interesting. Ha! I really enjoyed it, though. It's a very private place, and they don't allow phones or photography, which I love. The equipment was fantastic, although I don't know if it's really that impressive or if I've just been out of a gym for so long that I'm easily impressed. The staff was super nice, too. There were people of all ages and sizes, men and women, and just a really good mix of everybody. It was nice.

I'm going to try to go twice a week for now. I don't want to commit to more than that because I'm already doing some exercising at home. I'll keep walking and using my rowing machine, but I really want to focus on strength training at the gym, especially for my back. I need it. I just want to get a little stronger in my back, slim up my thighs and tummy, and get more toned. I’m not trying to get masculine or anything crazy. I already have broad shoulders, I sure don’t want to do that! 😂🤪 I think twice a week is plenty to start with, and we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I'm back home now working on a couple more commissions. I'm slowly getting through them, but every time I finish something, I seem to have something else added to the list. That's a good problem to have, though! My friend Melissa, whom I absolutely adore, messaged me last night wanting four little paintings of her nephew Peter for Christmas. He is the cutest little thing. Thankfully, I have plenty of time before Christmas, so I'm not going to worry about those just yet.

I ordered some really good watercolor paper, too, and I'm excited to try it. I've been trying not to spend a fortune on paper because I'm mostly selling prints and keeping my originals. I do plan to start setting up at some local events eventually to sell some original pieces, but for now, I've been trying to be a little more practical about what I'm spending on supplies. The thing is, good paper makes a difference, and since I'm doing more portraits for people, I really want to use something better.

I ordered three different types of Arches watercolor paper. Cold press, hot press, and rough. I've used their cold press before, but I've never tried the other two. I'm especially interested in the hot press because it's so much smoother, and I think that might make a big difference when I'm painting faces and trying to get all those little details right. The rough paper is going to be interesting. I have no idea if I'll love it or hate it, but I have a feeling I'll enjoy it for landscapes and ocean scenes. I love those big watercolor washes and the way paint moves around and does its own thing. Those unexpected little blooms and wonky edges are some of my favorite parts of painting. I don't like everything looking too perfect or controlled.

I'm particularly interested in trying the new paper for Peter's paintings. The picture Melissa wants me to use is of him sitting in a rocking chair holding a little teddy bear. It's precious, but there's a lot of detail in it. I even asked her if she wanted me to simplify it a little and just use him as a reference, maybe have him sitting on the floor instead. Nope. She wants the rocking chair, the teddy bear, and everything else. Ha! So that's what we're doing. I really want to get his little chubby hands and cheeks just right.

I'm a little nervous about those paintings, and I don't know why. I've done plenty of portraits, but some just make me nervous before I even start. People don't see how much paper I waste trying to get things right. It's ridiculous. I have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself when I'm sketching. Sometimes I'll start in a weird place or spend too much time on one little detail before I've figured out the rest of the drawing. Then I end up erasing half of it, and watercolor paper doesn't particularly appreciate that.

You can erase on watercolor paper, but if you keep going over the same spot, you can mess up the surface. Then when you start painting, the paint doesn't lay down right, and you end up with these weird little marks or indentations. I hate that. I try to sketch lightly, but my eyesight isn't great, and I need to be able to see what I'm doing when I start going back over everything with my pens. I'm sure there are better ways to do some of this, but I have my own little way of doing things, even if it probably makes everything harder than it needs to be. Maybe one day I'll learn to slow down and quit wasting so much paper. Probably not, but there's always hope.

I'm going to finish up this family portrait for the Morgans, and then I may wait until my new paper gets here before starting anything else. I really want to see what kind of difference it makes. Hopefully I don't love it so much that I start wishing I'd used it for everything I've already finished. I'm not redoing anything, though. I'm happy with how everything has turned out. I just think it might change how I paint certain things going forward, especially the portraits.

Anyway, that's about it for my Monday. It's been a good day, and I've gotten quite a bit done. My kids are about to get home though, and both of them are about to get a serious butt chewing from their mama. I went into Norah Harper's room earlier to get her dirty clothes basket, and I swear my eye started twitching. I had NO idea her room looked like that. Then I went into Gage's room, and I about lost my mind. He's usually my neat child! He's a lot like me about wanting things a certain way, so I was absolutely shocked to see his room looking like that. I don't think I've ever seen it that messy.

So, neither one of them is getting on VR, playing on their phones, or doing much of anything until those rooms are cleaned. I'm not even letting them get comfortable before they get started. And I already know what I'm going to hear. "Mama, I'm tired. I've been at school all day." Well, guess what? I've been up since 5:30 this morning, and I've been doing things all day, too. We're all tired. You're still cleaning your room. Ha!

I'm not in the mood to negotiate with anybody today, so they're just going to have to deal with it. I guess I'll go spend a little time with my kids and play the mean mama for a while. Y'all have a good one!