Reporting from the cold

It's freezing here tonight.  Our 1920s era steam radiators are hissing like mad but  the cold won't abate.  I'm all for it, personally.  Roll on cold weather.

I've been a little more stagnant the past couple of days.  Not stagnant, really.  Busy I suppose.  But not painting, and that makes me feel turbid.  I did this-



It's quite small, maybe 3x4" so as to fit an old frame I had.  It's a wee little thing, originally holding some small portrait of an ill child praying or somesuch, painted an almost easter-y yellow and white, so naturally I figured something blood splattered would have to go into it.  I'm pretty happy with the result.  I'm going a few of these things.  After the faun and the hare, I've got a starling and a fox in the hopper.  Kitten to follow, I'm sure.  They have a place in the story I'm putting together.  Appendix material for religious iconography, unless I change my mind on it.  Either way I like the results.  I'm using watercolor and gouache for these.  Gouache is finding it's way into my toolbox.  Slowly but surely.

There is also this.  I have another show coming up at the hostel, all new work going up.  I had this in the works, and when I was about half way done I realized that it was perfect for a flyer for the thing.  So it's that now.  The name of the show is "Somos Animales Salvajes" and as such pretty much everything there will be in some way beast-oriented.  Nothing anthropomorphic this time around.  I don't think.  It's possible.

 I'm going to be able to do a few things differently with this showing.  We've gained more freedom with the space, so I can hang things however I want.  That'll be nice.  I smell another trip to the Bargain Barn, Santa Cruz's premier post-apocalyptic junk shed.  I've gained a better eye this time around, so I predict better results.

Not much else to report.  I'm heading down south, back home for the first time in over a year.  A one day affair, but I hope to visit some old haunts.  I also hope to drop off a birthday gift, a month late because I'm too lazy to find my way to the post.  The trip itself is for a funeral.  All in all, I'm trying to limit the inevitable unpleasantness as much as I can.  Luckily, this has served a fairly effective distraction from my general unpleasantness up here.  Jackpot.