In Search of the Elusive Green

First let me say that the past two weeks have flown by.  So my intention to post at least once a week is already blown…oh well.  I have started a new painting. It’s a larger one- 18″h x 24″w. It has dragonflies and fairies and that’s all I’m going to reveal for now, so stay tuned.

I’m searching for a deep dark rich forest green. Kind of a dark emerald color. I want a color that doesn’t go dead and that’s vibrant without being harsh.  I’m having a debate with myself about mixing vs buying. Buying is easy except you can’t always tell what color you’re really buying. But I buy most of my paint at Daniel Smith, where they have painted samples, not just printed charts of their colors.  The advantage of premixed paint is that you will have a consistent color every time.  But I don’t remember seeing th color that I’m after so I decided that I would try to mix the color that I was looking for. So far I haven’t quite hit on the one that I’m looking for. And it’s also quite possible that my problem is that it’s not the particular shade that I need but that I need to use the right complimentary color with the shades that I already have.  So here’s what I’ve gotten so far:

I just consulted a book on color and was reminded that using black will dull a color and is not usually a very good choice.  And the ones that I mixed with lamp black are a little on the lackluster side.  The one with Payne’s Gray is close.

Sorry I haven't posted lately

I forgot the log in address and I just found the email that contained that info. So now that I know I will started updating. My plan is to post at least once a week. We’ll see if that happens. The artist mind is one of no time and no space,  so schedules and appointments are hard keep up with.  A friend said why don’t you write them down? Well that’s a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that…. well I did think of that but I either don’t remember to do it, or if I’ve done it I don’t remember to look at it later.  So the plan is once a week to update this blog … we shall see…..

So my current project is on the front burner of my mind. Right now I ‘m taking care of the those mundane things in life that must happen if I am to function on planet Earth. I’m moving my money out of one of those nasty big banks that is too big to fail. I’m moving to First Mutual, the only bank in my state that is recommended by http://www.moveyourmoney.info. They list the banks that have been responsible and are responsive to us.    Ariana Huffington  states the case for sending a message to the powers that be:

“…we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won’t wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can’t count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves — and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America’s community banks.”

So I am handling the annoying tasks that are involved in moving my money. I remember the good old days when changing banks was simple- before automatic bank drafts and online bill pay.  The hardest part has been figuring out who exactly to contact to change the auto drafts.

And at the same time I have changed phone companies from Verizon to one of those services that is not a land based phone line.  I would name them and recommend them, but right now I am upset with them (Sorry, too long a story to go into now)  The great thing is that I have cut my phone bill by about 2/3’s.  I’m contacting everyone to let them know that we are only using out studio number now and not the home number and it’s  quite a task.  Anyway those are the types of things that are occupying my time now instead of painting and writing music.

Ciao!