Painting Daily here ...always available model

     Ignoring the serial snowstorms, Joe drops me at the Boston MFA every Thursday to paint a series, in my case, self portraits. I love my classmates and teacher. Sadly, there are only two more classes. When I get home, I paint some more, all in acrylic. NO MORE. I am transitioning back to oils, alkyds (faster drying oils because of the resin) and maybe encaustic.  I ordered a cardboard carrier for wet paintings, and it will be a joy to return to this easier medium.

      Whereas I painted 18 self portraits, two were a different size and not included in these photos. These are all 9 x 12's, on cardboard backs of legal tablets or in the last few, on canvas boards. I won't have any problem tossing, but in deep concentration, I learned something on every effort. After class is over, I will either return to a bigger canvas and my engagement with art history subject matter (see LindaHicksweb.com) or enjoy the suggestions of Carol Marine in her book Daily Painting for a 6" x 6" painting a day. This is a fabulous book that I bought yesterday and highly recommend...relevant to many creative endeavors. Click on the photos to enlarge or scare yourself. Do you have a favorite?

         Since my blog is a storage site for my crafts that I return to see how I did something years ago, I will add that Erika had a birthday on Valentine's Day and is now nine. We gave her a small guitar (she often fiddles with Joe's). She likes to see herself on her quilted birthday card so I printed photos of her on EQ Printables, cotton lawn inkjet fabric sheets. Pardon the photography. I developed the soft birthday card in Comic Life software and sprayed the batting with a glue (bad idea). Then I simply sewed around the two photo fabric sheets, batting between, and added stick-on rhinestones. I cut the edges with pinking shears which you can see only at the bottom of the poorly cropped photo, but it looked very nice "in person" for a quick, simple, but attractive finish. I also finished Erika's crocheted scarf, "the draft dodger"!  Click on photos to enlarge.Thanks for visiting if you did!

Warming up by beginning over: a crocheted scarf

     Do you think the people who moved to Florida and Phoenix can appreciate the warmth when they are missing the contrast of this cold weather? I love cozying up to a fire with a book or some craft in my hands. It hasn't happened. I have been on the road for the holiday season. When Joe was driving, I crocheted, sometimes evenings with a light in the car.

    At a meeting, I had seen Donna Jean crocheting an alpaca silk georgette scarf for her sister for Christmas and thought it pretty for crochet, a doable size. Usually I prefer knitting. Hadn't I, years ago in the 60s, crocheted Peruvian hats that Adrienne inspired? We singled crocheted, starting at the top, working down. More recently, hadn't I crocheted beaded bracelets that Anna taught me, the most difficult craft ever? Wouldn't it be cool to be like those ladies who effortlessly knit or crochet projects in meetings.

     A beginner again, I went to the LionBrand store in Chelsea, NYC, and showed the free Draft Dodger Scarf pattern I found online at Cobbler's Cabin.  A store helper picked out Superwash Merino and I had my H hook. I only used half the skein, but got two since I could not decide on a color. All I had to do was Google how to slipstitch, single and double crochet, videos on line. Let me tell you, the stitches were not so difficult as remembering to switch from single to double crochet to single to double over and over. I took out rows and rows and rows. How difficult could it be? How can I teach a grandchild if I can't conquer it myself, so I persisted. It does look like a beginner's scarf but Hannah wants it. I can't wait to start another, maybe with a bigger crochet hook.


    Google "Draft Dodger Scarf" or "Cobbler's Cabin" to look over the pattern that people in offices off-time were making for presents this season. Perhaps even a simple pattern such as this, from long ago, revived online, is good mental exercise. I start my painting class this week, but won't forget the frustrating fun of climbing this mountain. Click to enlarge photos.

P.S.  I found an inexpensive Leisure Arts book in a knitting store with instructions for the right and left handed.  I am thinking one should crochet a bit looser than I did. Still learning!