Considering how long it took to create this website, I had good intentions to post to it regularly. My last post was sometime this past fall, and I am now facing spring, good intentions be damned.

My reality forces me to face the gnawing of unfulfilled obligations, most notably when I feel my jaw clenching. All of this reminds me of my astute ability to procrastinate. The reasoning I assign to my lack of accomplishment is that I was, and still am, pressed by details. The time spent tending to those details has proven to be a barrier blocking the best of my intentions. Interestingly, not so much so that I cannot be led in various directions, including being sidetracked, and whether productive or counterproductive - sidetracked is a direction.

Finding myself facing the long span of this thing called time and recognizing how much of it had passed, I came to the juncture where the sidetrack intersected with a structured direction, leaving me to ask, "Where'd the time go? And who has the time to figure that out?" I know it won't be me. No, I continually find myself awe-struck at needing more, and relentlessly reminded that I won't get it.

Contemplating time and its abstract concept led me to where I sit today, tickling the keyboard and letting my fingers type out the explanation of my absence from what I could call my everyday life.

It is all so abstract.

And that, in a nutshell, is where I have been all these months, painting abstracts, acrylic abstracts, to be precise.

My biggest challenge has been combining acrylic paint with additives such as pouring mediums, seeking the correct blends, and understanding how mixing different brands of paints and various colors with different viscosities leads to different outcomes. The challenges did not outweigh the benefits, and learning how to combine the right combinations of paint and additives to create the medium known as "Abstract Pouring" (which includes a variety of recipes, additives, tools, and techniques) has captivated me for all these months.

I have heard about the importance of keeping your mind busy and how learning something new helps keep your mind intact and helps older people live longer and healthier lives. I may get twenty or thirty more years at the rate I am going!

There was one other issue I wanted to address before showing a preview of my newest "hobby." In the process of this newfound interest, I realized that I needed more room in my home, including all of my wall space, to accommodate all the new paintings. Realizing the space issue was a frustrating discovery when I considered that I was only at the beginning of my painting journey, I had to find a solution. Moving was out of the question, and friends last longer the less you use them, so I could not expect them to house my work. So, what was left to do? Remodel a room in the house and sell as many pictures as possible, at least those that I was willing to let go of.

When my life's path took this new and unexpected turn, it was, as they say, "Off to the races," and I opened a store on Etsy. Sounds easy, huh? That is a story for another day, maybe even another writer. It is sufficient to say that easy is only a concept in my life.

Now that my Etsy store is open, it was worth the work. I can advertise my books, my husband's ukuleles and the guitars he makes in one place, and I am happy to say I have already sold one of my husband's Ukuleles!

Now that my Etsy store is open, I should squeeze in time to write again. For a long while, I have had a story simmering on the back burner of my mind. The main character is a fellow whom I have named Chunley Fed. Getting to that story now, while I still have a few keyboard keys that don't stick and whose letters are still visible, helps to create an incentive.

Yes, perhaps this is an excellent time to bring Chunley Fed to life and that simmering pot to a boil.

Ewww.

Replaying that sentence conjures up some twisted thoughts. It also peaks and makes my interest grow.”

Creating my first acrylic pour was an intense and messy experience. Once completed, there was no turning back for me. I lost what was left of my mind and fell in love with this medium.

Everyone sees something different - even I see something new each time I look into my paintings.

For instance, when I started this adventure, I knew there were a gazillion methods and techniques to try. I have not even begun to touch the surface of the globe of options, yet I think I am finding an exciting variety just messin’ around on my own.

And then there are experiences that take me right out of this world!

Check out my Etsy store by clicking on my Etsy Stores name.

artbooksandguitars.etsy.com

Clicking any photos or paintings in this post will also take you to my store. There, you will see dozens more paintings available for purchase. New paintings are being produced weekly - I hope :)