Thursday, February 17, 2011

A journey down two floors

It has been another crazy few days.  For some reason, my muse is working overtime and not wanting to allow me the luxury of sleeping for more than three or four hours consecutively.  This makes for a lot of time when I am awake with my mind racing.  I have always been one to jot down notes in a small journal type book which I keep with me all the time.  Later, the notes are transcribed into the appropriate notebook set aside for the aspect of life dealt with in the original note.  Yes, I realize this sounds like I am thinking and organizing myself beyond what is necessary.  But, the problem is, I need to write things down in order for them to stay in my memory bank beyond a few hours.  Maybe I have come to the point of mental overload.  But, at least by writing things down, I have a better chance of knowing when I need to be some where, what I intended to purchase when I headed out to shop and why I sat down in front of the computer. 

While art is a major part of my days, I also have a new project at hand.  I alluded to some upcoming news in my last post and let the cat out of the proverbial bag when tweeting.  I am moving to a new flat in about six weeks.  This is beyond my wildest dreams as I will then have an actual room set aside as a studio.  While the flat is not large by any definition, it is a size that is very suitable and manageable for me to keep in good order.  Especially, since the art supplies will all be in one room rather than scattered throughout the entire flat with canvases propped up against every available portion of wall space as well as hanging throughout the flat.  This is a good move for me.  The dining area will remain just that, a place where one can sit at a table and have a meal.  The front room will be a place to entertain friends who drop by and the bedroom, a place where I will at least rest if not sleep.

Storage is abundant in my new home.  The studio is actually supposed to be the master bedroom and has a large walk in closet.  To use all this space just as a bedroom would be a waste of space, so much wiser to use this room to work in with all my supplies housed in the closet.  The smaller bedroom is more than ample for my needs as the amount of actual bedroom furniture that I own is minimal - a bed, a dresser, a small bookcase, and a small table that holds a boom box.  Do we still call them boom boxes?  I suppose it would sound more impressive to say "sound system", but the truth of the matter is that this piece is basically a component to play CD's and listen to the radio.  Hardly a sound system of any sustenance.

The best part of all this is that I now will have more wall space to house my paintings and collages.  Since the walls have been refinished and painted, I am reluctant to blemish them with nails and hooks.  I like to move my paintings around and that would make the walls look like a small war had taken place in my unit.  And so, I discovered what I refer to as floating shelves.  The hardware fastening the shelf to the wall disappears into the actual shelf which then appears to just "float" against the wall.  Various sizes and finishes are available with me thinking that the espresso colour might look impressive or maybe I should paint the shelves the same colour as the walls.  That would make it appear as if the paintings were hanging in the usual manner, but without all the nasty hardware.  I quite like this idea, but I will keep an open mind until I think about this a little further.

All this information plays over repeatedly in my mind which leads to thoughts of subject matter and colours to be used in future forays into the acrylics.  Little sketches are quickly pulled together and filed for future reference.  I am thinking of having a theme to different areas of the flat.  The bedroom will have a zen feeling and so the paintings should be simple, clean lines, not too many colours.  I am inclined to think that I should be researching feng shui to get the setting just right which I am certain will address the nature of paintings to be displayed.  The loo has charcoal coloured tiles in the shower/tub area and the room is very small.  Only one painting will be able to go on the wall and so that one painting has to have the "wow" factor.  Not "wow" that is so wrong for this room.  I think I would like to aim for "wow" that painting really is the finishing touch to the room.  I have not decided on other themes for different areas, but I am sure the upcoming sleepless nights will provide me with an ample supply of ideas to test drive on my supply of canvas. 

With all this information floating through my mind, I am pretty sure the paintings I put up in my last post showing them in their raw, initial stages, will make the final cut and appear on a wall somewhere in my happy little home.  Molly Cat has not seen her new residence as yet, but I am certain that with three windows and the patio slider, she will have ample view of all the birds that hang out in the trees that are in full view.  Since the couple living below me feed their feathered friends every day, I can imagine that Molly Cat will have a very busy day viewing the spectacle of the flock in a feeding frenzy.  I am also told that there is a cheeky little squirrel who makes a regular appearance.  This little fellow is so cheeky that he bit the kind man's finger as he was offering food to the little devil.  Joe is fine, his finger is healing, but I have not dared to ask if his furry friend is welcome to visit any more.

I will keep you posted on new paintings as they come to be.  The friends helping me move may be aghast at the quantity of paintings to take down two floors.  But, then again, they know that I want to be prepared and have a quantity of paintings to choose from when I make the final cut as to which one will be displayed.  At least with the floating shelves, I will not be making countless holes to test out where the art work will make the most impact.  Once I have the new studio room in working order, I will post some pictures of it so you can see where the majority of my day is spent.  I think I have even more reason to paint now.  With the dedicated space, painting, collaging and dreaming will provide even more pleasure than they already do for me. 

I know my mind is racing faster than my fingers can type or get to my notebook to jot down notes.  This is evidenced by the fact that on a race through the shops this morning before meeting with my lawyer, I neglected to pick up batteries for my camera.  So, next trip out, tomorrow I hope, I will pick up the batteries so I can take pictures and show you what I am currently working on.  Now making that notation and placing the notebook in my shopping bag.

Sincerely,  Rutheemac

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