It Took Me Three Years...

... to finally start painting my easter eggs. This is N°1. I used acrylics to paint this bunny, which I don´t like using so much as I always ruin my paintbrushes using them. I do clean my brushes, but still they like to dry up and harden or loosen their tip. I´ll have to go buy some new paintbrushes soon to get better results when painting the whiskers. This is where I set up my easter egg painting studio... my favorite spot in the kitchen.

Illustration Friday: Monster

This girly monster is something I painted with oil pastels at least seven years ago. It was one of the first things I painted after years of not drawing and painting. It still took me a few more years before I drew and painted a little more often, but it represents a new beginning to me and I still like to look at it as a little reminder.

Studio Friday: Secret Stash!

I kept these empty eggs in my drawer for about three years now... Every Easter, I wanted to paint them and hang them up in some fresh birch twigs! I wonder if I´ll make it this year?

Fear

Yesterday evening I started to go through my old magazines in hopes of finding some images I can use for an archive of reference materials for future drawing projects. This is part of my "homework" for the home course in graphic design that I had signed up for last year. I must admit that I have hardly done anything for that course and I have been wondering if I should sign out again and if this is really something I want to do. I always had an excuse for not doing anything for this course. First, it was my upcoming law exams, then the exhaustion from the exams and my unwillingness to put new pressures on myself, then the lack of energy I was feeling in the first months of my pregnancy... But now? I think what´s keeping me from really digging into this is plain old fear. The old fear of not being able to live up to my own standards. Perfectionism. The fear of not being able to do this right. Of course this is stupid. When I started this course, my goal was to simply learn how to draw better, try out new techniques (that I might never have tried out on my own), get to know the basics of composition etc.... I just wanted to build new skills! So what am I afraid of? What do I have to prove? So what, if I will not be very good at this? And how will I ever find out if I don´t try?

I´m back...

I can´t believe it´s already one month since my last post! Just when I was getting out my drawing stuff again, I learned that my dear grandma had died at the age of eightyeight. So I packed and off I went to support my mom, who had a lot on her shoulders already. I only got back home again about ten days ago and have been very busy with wedding preparations. Now, there are only a few things left to do, concerning the wedding, and I finally found some time to start the baby blanket I planned to knit. This does really well for me, as I was feeling a little strained after all that had happened. But apart from that I feel really good and baby seems to feel great too. It´s kicking wildly!
Oh - is there anyone out there, who can maybe give me a hint on how to prevent the border of the blanky from turning over (as you can see on the photo)? Did I knit the border too tight or too loose? Will blocking help, maybe? I would appreciate getting your advice!