Dec. 13th, After the Sweat Lodge

I had to put something down, I just smeared some paint around, and after I was done, I looked at it, and it was my favorite symbol! totally unintentional...

A bit of a start on the Solstice Backdrop...

So here it is, tomorrow the color goes on via our local youth group, I can't wait! I had the measurements all figured out for a 9x12, it turned out to be an 8'x10', ay! So it took a few hours to figure out, but it's all laid out now...that was the hard part, the fun part will be filling it in...

And here's the sketches for a Solstice painting!

Working on a 12"x12" model of the 2nd pic, which will be turned into an 8'x8' backdrop by Dec. 19th (What am I thinking???)

For Sean Fitzgerald

A dear friend of mine got into a car accident on black ice and left us way too soon...I spent the weekend of his memorial listening to his music and wailing. Here's what I did to soothe myself...it turned into the ocean...I love going to the water when I'm troubled...

Paint Diaries Oct 20-Nov, 2008

Here's the night before I started my new job. At the time I thought this was vibrant. After all, it's my favorite color, what more do I need?


Here's my reaction to the first day. I loved it!
The second day was even better than the first...
Then these landscapes started coming out; don't know what that's about, I'm not a landscape painter. Of course I'm not an abstract painter, either but that's what I'm doing. I guess I will be... I especially like the second one...
Some more abstracted landscapes; thanks to my son for picking out vehicles to complement them!A trail up and down a mountain, and an ocean wave...


Somewhere in here, a nesting pattern started to develop:
(This next one was on Election night, that blue is about me hoping Obama's gonna win!)

I don't know what was going on, but it was Nov. 12th and I was feeling great...
And this one must have been at the end of a long day, couldn't take anymore...

The Origins of the Paint Diaries

So I started a new job which I love Love LOVE!, but which has taken me from my former, glorious, 4 Day Weekend, Every Single Week! state, all of which I tried to spend in the studio, to NO WEEKEND FOR YOU!, which has left my studio all but abandoned...

To keep my inner artist sane, I took inspiration from the whole painting a day movement, and more than anything, from my ART AMIGO "Howyadoin?" Bret Taylor who has successfully painted every single day without fail since (last New Year's, was it?). I got myself a bunch of spiral-bound watercolor paper pads, and I have begun the practice of painting at least 5 seconds a day, to dip a knife or brush in paint and put something down about how I feel or what color or line or texture I need to see...

In this blog you will find the results since I started...I haven't yet managed to do this everyday--isn't that pathetic??? But I'm workin on it...Some of this will be pure diary, some experimental fun, some will be concepts that will eventually make their ways into the finished paintings you will find at my original blog, elizaollin.blogspot.com

Thanks for being part of the ride,
eliza