Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Day 17 of 30 paintings in 30 days

This is day 17 of 30 paintings in 30 days and I am linking to Leslie Saeta with my latest entry.

Now I haven't really shared my personal life while making these paintings, but I need to explain a bit about the title of this one I call "The Day the Water Died."  The size of this is 8" X 10" (20,32 cm X 25,4 cm).

The back story on this one is yesterday we (my entire block and the block to the north of me) had no water.  A water main broke and spewed water over the entire area while I slept.  My next door neighbor told me water ascended quite high in my yard.  Upon inspection, I could see the detritus that was left after the water had receded from my driveway. 

I had started this painting the day before when I painted the back tan.  I then added the green.  The next day, I added the black.  I had such a mess, I rushed to the sink to wet a rag to hopefully remove some of the black.  That's when I found I had no water.

At first I panicked, then thought I simply had to keep working with what I already had.  Thankfully, I had just made a full pot of coffee, and Bleubeard had plenty of water.  By the end of the day, it wouldn't be fresh, but at least he wouldn't pass out due to dehydration.  And he didn't have to worry about his sandbox flushing, either.

That's when it struck me to use several of my handmade shimmering mists.  I love these mists, but the shimmer doesn't show well in a scan or even in a photo.  Now I could have called this something very different, because I saw a human shape in the image when I turned it this direction, but I wanted to pay homage to the day the water died.

As always, I am grateful for all your lovely, LOVELY comments.  I actually ended up liking this piece a lot, and I hope you do, too.



18 thoughtful remarks:

Valerie-Jael said...

This is beautiful, and shimmer mists give a nice effect. Sorry to hear about the water, things like that always take us by surprise. Have fun painting! Valerie

Vicki Miller said...

Love this AND the story. I think Bleubeard was very lucky!

froebelsternchen said...

Lol.. I enjoyed reading this though I am sorry for you for this negative situation... can feel with you ---
good water today dear Elizabeth!
Happy Bleubird !

But I think those are this moments where new techniques are explored!!!
Great No 17 of your pieces !
xxx
Susi

froebelsternchen said...

sorry his name is bleubeard ....

BJ said...

Hey Elizabeth great painting!

Just wondering whether you did or are doing the Maths course "Getting a grip on mathematical symbolism" It started on Monday and I did 2 weeks then and the week 3 yesterday! I might do the optional parts today. I found it rather basic but it has cemented some stuff for me to enable me to better support my son in his school work.

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

LOVE the colors = )

Darla said...

I like the piece a lot. Sorry you had to do without water to end up with some great art though.

Darla

Nancy said...

I like it, too. The black spatters and drips add a lot of interest. Oh, to have the water back on!

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the water..hope it's back on. It's always frustrating when that kind of thing happens, but glad you made the best of it, and that your little fella had plenty of fresh water too. xox

Gaby Bee said...

Dear Elizabeth,
It’s been awhile since I've been over. Where has the time gone?
I'm sorry to read about your water problem. A whole day without water is perfectly horrible. I can imagine!

Wishing you a wonderful, art-filled day!

Gaby <3

Dianne said...

yes indeed...I also like this a lot! and I can see the 'person' too. :) this is quite lovely! sorry to hear about the water situation. hope it is resolved by now. we just had to buy a new water heater & it is luxurious to have hot water again after several days! I am not sure I would have survived as a pioneer woman who had to tote water from the creek...

~*~Patty S said...

Sounds like a classic case of we don't know what we've got until...we lose it...
Hope everything is back in good working order again E!
You rallied and ended up with a very fine creation...I can see a figure too.
Happy humpday!
oxo

Halle said...

Bummer about the water situation but it made you create this wonderful piece. :)

TwinkleToes2day said...

What a fabulous title. Your painting is fabulous and I bet it shimmers beautifully :D

Craftymoose Crafts said...

I like this piece and "enjoyed" the story behind it. With both of our past floods, all I could think of was...at least the water stayed OUTside your house!

Rebeca Trevino said...

love it.
after the first images, i was going to ask 'how the heck did you get paint splatters so high on the walls . . . " then i realized it was intentional.

ps: so organized!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Everything happens for a reason-so.....without your water dying you would never have got this effect! I'll see it better on Monday when we get home! Glad that you'd got your coffee and that Bleubeard's comfort station was ok! Love to you both, Chrisx

Cindy McMath said...

I'm glad everything turned out - what a pain to be without water, and a good thing they fixed it (fairly) quickly. Well done "making do" with the situation!