Expecting Spring (title pro tem)

acrylic on cradled birch panel, 20 x 24 inches

Paintings often go through a stage where it feels there is no hope for it. I just had one that seemed stuck at ugly. It just wasn't working, even though I could still see my intent in it. I couldn't figure out what it needed. Almost gave up on it, but set it aside for few days. Today decided to give something a try. Suddenly out of the mess the painting I envisioned emerged. What a joy.

I used glazing from the support up, letting the colors emerge and deepen where the various layers overlap. This was the first time I'd tried using light-weight molding paste to add both texture and a translucent white in my glazes, and I am very pleased with the results. This is a painting you can enjoy looking at close up.

Here are some detail photos:

Synesthesia: what music looks like

A music doodle

back of old envelope

Today is a stay-in and muddle about day-- snow and gusty winds and tending the woodstove. A painting taken off the easel, a pot of soup on the cookstove, some time at the computer.

I subscribe to the Research Channel. Today I checked out a recent post with this link about Synesthesia. I found it fascinating. It presents a possible mechanism for synesthesia in lay terms, and then goes on to say that it is not an abberation, but likely a normal part of human experience. It seems that the crossover of sensory experience may be an important componant of creativity of all sorts (art being only one way of expressing creativity). And it may be that all people have it in some form, just not ways that are readily recognized. I recommend watching it. If you do, be sure to wait for the poem at the very end. It is beautiful.

ResearchChannel - Red Mondays and Gemstone Jalapeños: The Synesthetic World

I am a synesthete, but I didn't know that's what it is until well into adulthood. It just seemed normal for me. My recollection is that quite a few people in my family had this kind of multiple sensory perception, though not all (which explains some of the peculiar conversations about music). Then at some point, I read or heard about people who "heard" colors, and that the word for that sort of thing is "synesthesia". Mine involves sounds and a feeling of movement: shapes with colors dancing. At times over the years I've found that lots of people who experience crossovers of senses, not like mine, but juxtapositions of various sorts.

The music being played during part of this video captured me. I'd love to find it and paint it! Unable to resist trying to capture some of the color dance in my head, I grabbed a pen and drew the scribble above on the back of an old envelope (what else?). I was just getting to the melodic overlays when the music ended.