Sometimes I Surprise Myself

Erik Holland is a local artist and 10-year resident of the Riverside Artists Lofts. We're friends on Facebook and when he posted that he was offering a five-week class starting January 13th, I thought it sounded just like the thing I had been looking for - open ended, any medium.
He said the class was limited to five, to put a check in the mail. I did. I've been interested in two-dimensional art, probably all my life. Both my grandmother and father were oil painters. I've taken classes in every medium so I dragged my materials to this class. I felt this might be the opportunity to find me. Two dimensional art has been illusive.

And this is where I'm set up, my canvas and my palette.

Marilyn, his neighbor from downstairs, came up to paint with us. He said a student had given him this toilet and since there was no where to put her table palette, the toilet was put to service.
I had a fantastic time. I knew I'd love acrylics, but I just didn't know how to use them. I'm not looking to frame anything. Moving the paint and color is the fun. I had that experience when I took a community college oil class when my mother was failing. The teacher was terrible but the fun of creation was fantastic. I have four more sessions in this class, and boy did I get lucky. He only teaches a couple times a year. He offered this class for a friend. We're going plein air for the last couple of classes, if the weather holds.
I was walking back to the parking garage with all my bags and my wet painting, when I couldn't pass this shot of the Truckee River. A young man walking by with his two small daughters, stopped and said, that is a really nice painting. My first one! I wanted to kiss him but I was covered in paint and I would probably have scared his girls.
Erik said our homework this week is to look at everything and assign three values to it. I cannot believe that I pulled off the road on my way home, all because now I'm seeing everything in three values. This tells you also that it's still cold and dry here. It was 10 degrees this morning when I pulled out onto the highway.
This is my first exercise in acrylics. It was such a satisfying experience and I had a blast. It's the first art class I've taken where I wasn't an anxious nervous wreck. I'm in way over my head, but there are no grades and I don't care.

Ian was on duty at home. These are the old appliances.

These are the new, and I can't wait to try my new high efficiency washer. I think I love laundry. We have to get flexible dryer ducting to be able to push our machine back. We're not sure on that, but its going to be great to see the piles of dirty clothes go away. I don't understand what people do with their clothes if those don't wash them every week. I don't understand how people schedule laundromats into their schedules. This experience has humbled me.