Oh, the drama

I have to tell you, I have never really known exactly how these new paintings would work. I had some vague ideas and then it was a big leap into the void.

A colorful void.

But I was a little nervous about taking a stab at figuring out their final step this week, the one that would involve the people. But it was time, so I grabbed this small one.

The color isn’t done, but it’s close enough.

I took it to the table and took the tape off: There are little masking tape silhouettes of people on all of these paintings. Some have tons, some have only a couple.

Then I took the wooden people that match the taped silhouettes and put them where the tape used to be.

I tried some different configurations.

It felt like the people were kind of distracting.

Then I looked at the tape and stuck it on the wooden silhouette.

Better. And then I put the people back on the painting. Eureka!

Can you see them? They’re there in the middle.

So now I know they’re going to involve some silhouettes with the tape back on, and some without. There is still the work of figuring out which people have color and which don’t, but that’s just work. Work is the easy part.

And then these new backgrounds for a second round of Cultivate are shaping up. I’ve got 6 out of 8 pretty much done, including this one.

Finally, I’m also preparing a next round of Wood & Water images for printing. I have a small group of five or so that involve these cute little things growing in different ways.

So I made lots of progress this week, but tackling that task I was really scared of, figuring out the people, was a great reminder of how much energy there is in taking on whatever you might be anxious about. And how much of an energy drag it is when this type of thing is unresolved. Afterward, it felt like I was walking on the moon for a couple of days, everything felt so easy.

And before I get to my big wind up, I have to share this with you. Do you ever stream video on Netflix? If you do, try checking out one of your favorite shows with the captioning option “English audio description” turned on. I’ve found it pretty funny, but it’s also useful if I want to listen to movies or series as if they are radio shows.

Okay, so this week, here’s to stepping up to confront the scary parts, but also, here’s to the good laugh that hearing a matter of fact description of human drama can give you!