My mind always seems to be full of ideas, so I must consider which one would be a good one to post and achieve either a personal point or a general, useful point.
Exploring unfamiliar things stimulates and engages my mind. Sometimes it also inspires learning a new skill. Playing guitar led to electric guitar, steel guitar, keyboards, banjo, mandolin, and even writing songs. Oh, yes, harmonica too. Collecting Victorian novels, engaging in philosophy, and expanding my horticulture knowledge are some examples.
In the past four months, I collected my artwork and materials and became reacquainted with what I knew and what I wanted to learn.
I have used pastels, colored pencils, oil paints, acrylic paints, and watercolor paints. I engage extensively in watercolor and acrylic. I added gouache and casein paints to the mix. The learning curve reveals pluses and minuses as always. So, I have returned to focus on watercolor with mixed mediums. I invested in professional-grade colors and brushes that are currently highly regarded.
Like playing guitar, cutting the lawn, and now painting, all this activity is good for me as aging challenges my abilities. Use it or lose it, but using it keeps you healthier in more ways than one. My forte is thinking through a project, planning it, testing it, and executing it. This works well for me, probably my liberal arts education shining through. Tests of Windsor Newton oil paints.
