With all the new food we are offerring and the increased amount of cooking and prepping, I have not felt much like painting lately. All my energy has been spent doing the work for the cooking. But it is turning to spring finally, and I am finding that my hands are literally itching to get busy. When I watch a movie I think about beading and crochetting and embroidery and when I am at work I look at my furniture and want new pieces to paint. Truth is I have way to many pieces to paint and most of them are in our garage. But, well, I could not resist picking up a really well used and abused shelving unit (which the shop desperately needs) and thinking, wow... This will be great to paint!! The truth is it has glass shelves which are really nice and when it is painted with all of the "calico" on it and in vibrant colors it will be quite a show piece. I can't wait! What is more, it shouldn't take that long to paint!
In the meantime I have a sofa I am working on. I think I mentioned that. Did I also mention how much I hate plaid? I HATE PLAID! Now don't get me wrong. I would love plaid if it had neater colors! For some reason, when companies design plaid for furniture it turns into ucky colors on a blah background; and you end up with a sofa that is only fit for a dog kennel. Now that I have thoroughly trashed plaids and probably alienated half of you out there, let me state that this sofa actually had a semi-not-quite-but-almost-tolerable plaid in that it was rose, burgandy, and, well, blah brown, over a yucky off white(did I mention that I consider white a none color?). In short it was somewhat ugly, but I loved the frame and actually thought I could sharpen it up a little and change the cushions and it would be terrific. Well, I started on the cushions, and am about 3/4 of the way finished with them. I love the way they are turning out. I am not sure I am going to keep the one with the quail on it going up hill. I forgot the pillows needed to be turned on end and when I painted the quail they were actually just walking along on a flat plain. Still, I like the look of the pillows, and as you can see the painting is not quite finished yet. But I wanted to show you the beginning and now the middle and soon I will show you the finished piece.
I am also working on a wooden screen. I love these pieces and got them for a song. But they have been really abused and need some major work on them to make them beautiful again. Mostly that means sanding and painting. They have ink marks on them and God only knows what kind of crud on them and, well, they need some pick-me-up. I will begin working on them at the same time I work on the cabinet, and like this sofa, I hope to show a beginning, in-process, and final look at the pieces.
In the meantime the food is cooking and we are here. Did I mention we are now open 7 days a week? Michael Patterson (the artist) is working on Wednesday and Thursday so we can have a few days to catch our breath. It is wonderful to be able to have this time to paint, watch movies, and spend time together. Although I am found at the shop on my days off occaisionally. I love getting my breakfast and coffee!
Art abounds on Whidbey Island.
No comments:
Post a Comment