The man who wouldn't stop melting
I had to paint this guy 4 times because for some reason he melted every time I tried. I didn’t think I was using more water than I normally do, and the temperature in the room wasn’t hot. Yet the paint kept dissolving into itself until I was left with just a blob of paint, and hardly any recognizable features of the man.
I think this was the third try. This time when I saw his face dissolving before my eyes once again, I grabbed a piece of paper, and made a print out of him before his features completely slid around the panel and vanished.
It turned out fine in the end, I was able to finally get the paint to stick, but it was a weird experience. I painted another portrait after this one, and the paint stuck to the wooden panel like it normally does. Not sure what was going on with this guy, but I’m glad I kept working on him.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.
Henry Ford
Sooo thankful Substack finally has a center alignment option. It’s the one thing I missed after I shut down my old website and blog.
I titled him Square No 31, and he’s available on Daily Paintworks or Etsy, whichever you prefer. Just don’t purchase from both sites because there’s only one available.
What I’m reading:
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - a historical fiction book about Ernest Hemingway & his first wife, Hadley.
I’m looking for a BIG escape these days. I don’t usually read romance type novels, but I’ve recently cracked that door open because love sure trumps doom scrolling all the worldly hate, wars, violence, and the cold dystopian feel to the world. We could all use more love in our lives.
So, romance and Paris it is. I screamed Calgon take me away, and the book did just that. Now I’m having a hard time putting the book down. All I want to do is read all of Paula’s books, and I just might. 📚📖📕 I’ve put her newest one on hold in my library app already, but it won’t be available for months.
I took a minute to refresh my memory about Ernest Hemingway by watching this short 30 minute documentary, and his later years (45 mins).
As I was going down these Hemingway rabbit holes, I got a notification that another book I had on hold in my library app was available. Oy! The timing isn’t great because I’m about 1/3 of the way through Paris Wife, and don’t want to rush through it. I’m thinking this is a book that isn’t going to end when I’m finished reading it because I’ll want to keep exploring Hemingway’s life because it fascinating.
At the same time, I also didn’t want to ignore the library hold, so I borrowed Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I read this book many years ago. My memory of the story is fuzzy at best, and I can’t recall if I finished all 907 pages of it. I’ve read just about every book that Larry wrote, so I most likely read it all, but I can’t remember.
Whenever I’ve thought of Lonesome Dove over the years, the story seems to swirl together with Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Grapes was one of my all time faves back around the same time I was also into Larry’s books, so the two books have melded together in my brain over the years. It’s gonna be fun to refresh my memory. I might just have to reread Grapes of Wrath, also.
I hope the spring/summer is long enough for all the books on my tbr list, and that I still have time to paint. 😉
Edited on 4.22.26: I’m going to return Lonesome Dove to the library. It’s a huge chunk of a book, which needs more time & attention than I have to give atm. I will circle back to it later this summer, perhaps? We’ll see.
My artwork is available on Daily Paintworks, Etsy, and eBay.
You can also find me on pinksky & blsky.
I’ve also been posting notes here on Substack in between these longer posts.
Feel free to subscribe, comment, share or like any of my posts.
May you be well and happy.