CrashOctopus Blog

Trouble by Meg Lyman

6×12″ oil on canvas

SOLD

I’ve been going crazy with the oil paints recently! I finally bought some new equipment to help me organize the mess, and consequently, have a system where I can switch from working on gouache to oil and back without much trouble. This was my first oil painting in 18 months, and it was a re-learning process. It made me remember that, at least on a small scale, canvas is a lot harder to work with than gessoed board. Larry Elmore mentioned the difficulties of painting an eyeball that’s the same size as the bumps in the canvas, and I’m nowhere near that level of detail, but I feel his pain. I think I’ll stick to loose, abstract work on the canvases I have, and buy boards for the future. The difference is in the details:

Art frustrations are always learning experiences. ;)

Well, I have a bit more art to show you, but honestly, it’s been slow. Motivation is waning. It’s too cold for my fingers to hold the paintbrush. Life is so busy with holiday preparations. I have a cold. But the most legitimate excuse of all: meet Seamus!

I fostered him for a while before my life went nuts, and now he’s healthy and back in the house. He’s a joy to have around – sweet, affectionate, and friendly. He has FIV, like my other cat, but that just means he takes longer to get better if he has a cold. Which he does. I’m calling him Wheezy McSnotpants until I can no longer tell where he is simply from the breathing noises.