New Painting: Paper Wings

"Paper Wings", 10x10" mixed media on wood panel. Available. 

I've got a lot of art supplies hanging around my studio. Some things were given to me, some I bought just to try out. I've got a few oddball colours that I don't really know what to do with. It can be fun to start a piece with the intention of using something new... the end point is always a surprise. And sometimes that something new is added at the end, in a last ditch effort to save a painting that is just not working.

This piece went through many, many stages. A lot of them really ugly. At one point I scribbled all over it with a soft pencil, because I was at a loss for what to do next. It was once predominantly red, then yellow, then pink. It was really dark at  one point. What finally pulled it together was a bit of never before used interference green. It now has this glow that I can't quite describe. And I certainly can't photograph it. While I think the photo looks pretty good, it doesn't really do the original justice. It will, however, have to do.

Last week I did something a lot of people will think is a little bit crazy, given my age. I quit the job I've been at for the past 11 years. I'd love to say I did it so I could become a full-time painter, but alas, that is not in the cards for me just yet. I am going to another company, for a position that I hope will be a little less stressful, a little less all-consuming, and hopefully full of new things to learn.

It may seem to some like I've tossed my job security out the window (I know this because people have told me so, usually preceded by a "you're crazy"). I don't look at it quite that way. Just because the company I've spent so much time with finds me useful now does not mean they will still want me there in a few years. There have been a few people let go lately that were long-term, dedicated employees. Corporations don't have any kind of loyalty to long term employees anymore. No matter what I do, it's a gamble. The future is never guaranteed, and all we really have is the present. If I'm no longer enjoying how I spend the majority of my time, the time has come to figure out something else.

However it works out, I'm pretty sure there will be some surprises.