CheeeeseCake: Unfinished!

See why I am not a "Daily Painter?" I can't seem to finish something to my satisfaction in one day!  This breakfast is not done..."Unfinished Cheesecake" is the title and it applies in several ways.  There are some good juicy parts and some, frankly, lousy stuff...but all in good time....the foundation is good and I promise you, it will be completed and look good enough to finish, I mean, eat.  But not all in one day....
see, I am just too easily distracted by the fine details of the rough edge of the pie...I must have painted that part at least 1000 times...none to my satisfaction and when I had a depth of about 1/2" of wet paint, I'd scrape it off and start over again.  Frankly I began to look around the studio for something else to paint on (I love to go back and forth between pieces) and since I took this oath to do one a day....nothing was begging to be completed.

So...I took the dog for a long walk, she chased ducks and geese while I photographed them; she got her feet wet while I snapped future paintings of waterfalls and rocks, then we got an icecream cone and came home to work on the wonky fork......

I'll finish (and post) the cheesecake (it is 10 x 10) but tomorrow I am NOT painting my breakfast and I WILL BE painting on 2 or more pieces at the same time.  Geeze, I thought I had it in me but we are not all created equal.

My highest respect and best wishes to Carol and Carmen who have successfully become "daily painters" in several forums, hats off to you both!  To those who followed my sweat, take a look at the daily painters links....it's a whole new genre.......

Later,
Cindy

p.s. this is not to say that I might not re-challenge myself with this gig....maybe pastels and maybe all 5 x 7's...? we'll see, as always: stay tuned!

Today's Breakfast Painting

Whew!  Nothing fast nor simple about today's breakfast painting...I think I finished it at about 4 pm...still see a few things it needs but hey, it met the daily deadline.  And, truth be known, when I finally declared it done, the peaches did not look as appetizing as they did at 7:30 in the morn.  Good thing I opted to sneak in a little cereal.

The morning light on the deck here is wonderful and makes nice shadows...I remembered to take a photo as there was no way the rising sun was going to sit still for me while I struggled with the colors of the peaches.  This was actually fun to paint once I forgot that they were peaches and just concentrated on (all together now:) "shapes."  Kinda slipped into a trance...

So here's the photo of the day...sans the "extra touches."  Remember, this is all about doing four in a row...since I laid awake last night worried about what I might gather up that qualified as breakfast for today, I have already made my decision for tomorrow: cheesecake!  Not your mamma's breakfast I know but I have a fun piece to paint and maybe if I eat a corner after it is painted it can then qualify as my morning meal.

So enjoy....if tomorrow goes well I might decide to make it five out of five!!  Still haven't done the cereal...
Cheers,
Cindy
p.s. they are getting bigger: this is 8 x 8

Daily Painters Must Eat!

So today, day #2 of the "paint my breakfast series" I made a strategic change: I ate one of the muffins before beginning and promised myself I could have the other two when I finished!  Amazing!  Much less stressful experience. 

I also increased the size of my piece from yesterday's 3 x 4 to a board 6x6...big difference!  And finally I decided that I would not worry about those lucious blueberries...just paint the silly muffins. 

And so here they are.  Not fantastic by any means but much better than the piece you'll never see from yesterday.  And as "perfect is the enemy of good," I am (today anyway) very happy with "good." It can only go up from here.

I enjoyed downing the models with a fresh cup of coffee and have now diminished my supply.  Thus I suppose I should prepare to paint cereal tomorrow unless I get busy in the kitchen.  Meanwhile this afternoon's challenge will be a piece of (store bought, i cheated) cheesecake.  Chocolate marbled.  I hope it tastes horrible or I will complete this challenge of food paintings a much bigger woman!

Enjoy your day...and check out the little gems on http://www.cindymichaudart.etsy.com/

Cindy

Why I'm NOT a "Daily Painter"

Those wonderful "daily painters," seriously, they continue to inspire me!  They vow to paint an entire (small) painting a day; that means they paint fast, they paint wet into wet and it is finished all in one session...every day.  Not my usual style.  But I love them (and their work) so I challenged myself to see what it involved.  Five days (ok, maybe 4) and I would paint my breakfast (or something) first thing in the morning.  I love breakfast so not eating til I was done would be my incentive.

Do you see a posted painting?  No.  Not today anyway.  But I am here to say I tried.  I set up my 2 beautiful homecooked (thank you husband!!) blueberry muffins, lit them perfectly, laid out a palatte, found my brushes...already I was tired.  Started painting....getting hungry...kept painting...starting to struggle....more paint...not so inspired anymore....dab, wipe, dab....the muffins were now warming under the light and the blueberries were sparkling and begging me to....still painting.  By now I am swearing under my breath and faint from hunger. 

One more swipe of paint and I literally ran to the kitchen to slather on some butter and down those muffins.  The painting?  Well, it won't win any awards but it is done and after the 10,000 hours the grasshopper says we must invest I figure I will eventually be either 20 pounds heavier or have a decent blueberry muffin painting to post.  Stay tuned to learn which option wins!!

Cindy

p.s.  so I will spend the rest of the day in the studio trying not to weep over the morning failure and enjoying the multi-media piece of two cardinals I am working on.  To see these when they are finished just visit http://www.cindymichaud.com/.