Artwork and life

Someone said to me that snow scenes were dead easy... being white on white! Let me tell you that they are the most difficult to paint... minimalist in the extreme! I am coming to grips with watercolour painting and I'm beginning to understand the way in which the water makes the paint work! This is by accident rather than by divine and expert tuition; although, I have now devised a way to extract tuition from the reluctant tutor without her feeling threatened!

If I could only develop a bit more expert knowledge and my own style, I could paint a picture for each of all my family members and give as a Christmas present!

Having spent the week caring for a grandson who contracted a winter gastric flu bug from thoughtless 'outlaws' last weekend, and has been very poorly, I am now screaming to do my own thing and continue with both my painting of bathrooms and bedrooms... and, my watercolour attempts. However, I don't feel too good, and I think I may have caught the flu bug. Downing loads of sparkling water, vitamins and healthy foods, I hope to get a good night's sleep and awake refreshed and bug-free. Yeah, right!

Grandson and I had a good old chat today, and he is very sensitive and thoughtful, particularly about relationships and has a genuine concern for his wayward and totally differently-minded brother. A brother who manages to get into all kinds of trouble, who is selfish, bullish and erring on the criminally-minded. It is a dilemma for my grandson who feels responsible for his own brother. He is only eleven but carries the world upon his shoulders. All I could do was ensure that I would always be here for him and would do all I could to help. How could two brothers be so different in temperament and in sense of right and wrong? It happens! I recalled the extreme differences between my own brother and myself. It's hard to accept that sometimes, siblings can vary so much and be extreme in their behaviour and thoughts. At moments like this I feel ancient and wise; also helpless and useless. Sometimes we have to sit back and let time and events happen. I know that one of my grandsons will do well and be a likeable, kind, honest and trustworthy person; while I suspect that the other will, or may, learn the hard way. Both have a happy home life with caring parents who have always instilled right from wrong... so, we can only assume that their differing temperament is due to nature rather than nurture.

Genes are genes and set before birth. All I can do is be there for both and try to help them on their own path through life... for the short time I have left on this planet!

It's good to listen to my grandson, for he takes my mind off my own loneliness and today he mentioned my lovely departed man and how he missed him. I sometimes forget that others miss him too, and that I am not the only one who suffers.

Painting

My Art class last Tuesday was not good! I hadn't a clue as to what I was supposed to be doing and when I asked those next to me... they didn't know either. Consequently my mountains were crap... although my sky and water was quite good.

At the end of the two hour session, when the tutor happened to walk close to me for the first time in the entire evening, I asked where I'd gone wrong. She sat down and demonstrated how to do the mountains. A bit late, I thought. Two hours of frustration had gone by. She said, when I mentioned it... "Did I not demonstrate...?" "No", I said, and added, "it would be helpful to me if next session, you could demonstrate to the different groups so that we may all benefit." She gave me a kind of blank expression and said, "Yes, I suppose I could do that." She then walked off and out for another ciggy. Is it me? I ask myself. People next to me hadn't a clue either and listened intently as she demonstrated to me how we should have done the mountains two hours earlier!

So, onto another kind of painting whereby my daughter, granddaughter and I spent the whole weekend painting three rooms in my house... why? Because I'm so fed up with looking at Builders' Magnolia that has been splattered with squashed mosquitoes and grand children's dirty fingermarks.

The result is excellent... but then, I knew exactly what colours to use and what the final result was to be, and exactly how to go about it to achieve the finished look. So different to my Art Class.

At least I can paint walls, ceilings and woodwork!