sustenance

It's raining really hard outside.  I've left a glass on the deck to collect rainwater, which I will drink later. I did this a few days ago and discovered that rainwater tastes kind of metallic.  Perhaps the metallic taste is due to pollution, or perhaps it's due to the lightning and thunder that has lately accompanied rainfall here.

Meanwhile, rather than working in the studio, which had been my plan for today, I am reading and thinking.  Here is a very interesting article on beauty.

About two months ago I agreed to do another commissioned painting.  Commissions can be quite a challenge for me, because usually the starting idea changes a great deal during my process of making work, and the end result is as much a surprise to me as to anyone else.  In this case I am feeling good about doing a commission because this client is willing to trust my process.

After some initial conversations and a studio meeting, I made a visit to their home to get a sense of the space and how my work might fit into it.  We agreed on a size and a price, and since then things have been simmering in the back of my mind.

I had already begun with some preparatory work, using photo references to paint thinly on pieces of canvas which I intend to stitch into the commissioned piece, though still not knowing how it would all come together - and then, last week while I was prepping paper and canvas for landscapes, an idea came to me as to how I might stage this commission, and I think it's a really good idea!

So here I am, feeling good and excited, relaxed in the process and with a direction for the next step.

And look, the rain has slowed and my glass has fresh water in it.
:)