SUNFLOWER DOWN...

I have been showing you
 the progress being made 
on my paint by number painting. 
 It has been a labor of love and 
I am now done with it. 

 I am not saying
 that an artist's talent is required 
to produce this work of art.  
All that is needed is 
a relatively steady hand,
 a good magnifying glass, and 
a fair amount of time,
 but I am quite proud of it and
 thank you all 
for your moments
 of praise 
throughout the process.

On the left 
is the way the company intended 
the painting to look and 
on the right 
is my version.

 I love the choice of colors
 that were provided with the kit and 
I will take the glowing reviews 
about my ability to mix 
the colors from my own acrylics, 
which was because of a mistake 
that I made early on and 
not because of anything the company did.  
I think I did 
a pretty decent job of that task.
 The darker, jewel like tones 
remind me of an 
old world painting and 
I am was 
quite proud of it.

Each night 
when I finished painting,
 I would set the canvas on the floor,
 leaning against the game table, and 
throughout the evening 
of TV viewing,
 I would look
 at it...

...and look at it, and 
even though 
the Captain, my best critic,
 would say it was looking beautiful and 
then I would show it to you and 
get good reviews,
 that devious little sunflower
 which was the focus of the piece,
 would look back at me and 
deny everything 
that everyone 
said. 
 I could not get it 
out of my head
 that there was something
 a little off.

So, I decided,
 that I would "freshen" it up a bit.
  
I knew I could do it. 
 I knew that I should be 
better at art 
than I really was. 
 I knew that I am a fool 
who believes 
in magic.


"I am always doing 
that which I cannot do,
 in order that I may learn 
how to do it."

Pablo Picasso

Easy for him to say!

Here is my first try at renovation. 
 What are those petals doing?...

...then the second try.
 I kid you not!...

...third times a charm. 
 Not so much!

After too many 
coats of paint to count, 
the final version came to be.

 I had wanted to 
just throw it in the garbage,
 but through all the tears,
 I could still see 
that I thought it was
 so pretty for so long, 
I knew I couldn't do that.

I am nothing if not persistant, 
so here is the
 last try:

Now, 
here it sits 
in its place of honor, 
in a frame too small, 
but one that I had on hand, and 
on the black shelf 
that is once more 
above the sofa.
  After all that, 
I am not saying 
it is perfect by any means, 
but if viewed from afar, 
 it is again gaining favor, and
 soon as some new paint
 that I ordered comes in, 
I will start on
 another work 
of art...

...and this time 
I think I have
 learned to leave
 well enough alone.

No matter what
 the painting 
tells me!

All kidding aside,
 I am very happy with this company and 
its product.
  I am not getting paid to say this 
but I promised you
 all the pertinent information 
so here it is
 in case you, too,
 want to work your own magic 
(with better results) I might add.

www.originalpaintbynumber.com

Each canvas
 (and it is an actual piece of canvas 
that the subject is printed on) 
is 16X20 and costs $11.95 each. 
 I took mine to Ben Franklin's and 
had the canvas put on a board.
  I felt
 it would be easier to paint on and
 it was also a reasonable price. 
 In this particular painting 
that I just finished,
 I am very happy with their colors 
but I did like mixing my own 
to match as closely as I could and 
plan on doing the same 
with the new canvas. 
 It is a challenge to me.

 Thanks for all your kind comments 
that I always receive and 
stay safe, well and, please,
 wear your masks. 
 Now the word is
 to wear
 gloves also.


...Judy...



Thanks so much to Linda for the feature of the Cottage and her continuing conversations with the garden last week.  I appreciate it so much, Linda.

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