Oh Papaya

'Oh Papaya' is a kind of play on words.
In Portuguese it reminds me of,
'oh papai', or 'oh mamae'.

Children exclaiming in the street 'oh papai/mamae, eu quero, eu quero' when he/she wants a lolly or something.

So it sprang to mind -'oh papaya'.
I bought some Papaya's on the way home tonight.

They're cheap in Brazil.
About 50 cents each.

They taste good, look good, smell good, but don't step in it.
Cheech and Chong - rambling.

I looked up the etymology of Papaya,
and it's Spanish in origin and used to mean 'fruit' in the 1590's,
followed by 'tree' in the 1610's.

But it doesn't say anything else.

It's got a nice rhythym.
The word - it has a nice ring to it.

It might be a good name for a dog or something else congenial.
What else is congenial?

Not much.
An imaginary lover perhaps.

Real ones aren't congenial are they?
Long term they aren't.

Oh, I know - those rubber lovers that lonely psychotic virgins buy to play with at home.

Stop right there!

Here's 'oh papaya'.

Still Life 'floater'

This looks like a croissant 'floater'.
My first shot at a reflection

It's a leaf.
Painted wet on wet.

I Can't Paint Day

I'm having an 'I can't paint day'. I've started a piece for St Georges Day which is on April 23rd, and it was going along well the first day (yesterday), but I managed to stuff it up today. So, I started something else. A 6 by 6 sill life. Bloody still life's. Well, it was a complete shamoosshhh! So, I quashed it. Went for a walk around the block. Did some real work, and now I'm back at it. I've started another self portrait - I think I'll refer to them as 'self discovery tours' as they seem to lead in all different directions that are quite unexpected. I also started another still life of an onion and a garlic. Surely I can paint an onion and a garlic. Frustrated! So, I decided to find out what I should be painting. What's my personality type? I went online and did this personality test which told me I was an ENTP. Here's the definition and where you can find out what you are. So then I tried to find out how this ENTP personality type might adapt to painting. Should I be painting abstracts, figurative, portraits, still life, expressionist, impressionist - well of course I couldn't find out. Why hasn't someone made a list of all the artists personality types, so we can discover which genre might suit our personality? Indeed shouldn't it be the first thing educators do at school? When you're five years old, you get tested, and streamed into different classes. Why didn't anyone ever offer an Art class to me at school? Why did I get pushed into accounting? I hated accounting. Educators need to get a grip on what the student wants, not what they want. Let the student decide when and how they're educated. Find out their personality type, and learner type very early on in their education and focus. Instead we waist all this time 'finding out who we really are' because the educators didn't do the job right in the first place. End of rant. So, I found out that Rachel Ray is an ENTP too. Mmmm no help there. Well, she's a cook and so am I, and she's creative, and sociable so yes there are similarities. Anyway, I'll keep painting and see what happens. At least 'artist' is one of the careers first suggested for an ENTP type. It means we can start lots of things and not finish them. We can dream. We can imagine things that don't exist and create them. We can have 5, 10, 50 paintings on the go at one time. That's salubrious!

I hope you're getting there in whatever you're doing.

Me: If not, like Churchill said 'never, never, never give up' right?

ENTP: Well, give up if you hate it and try something new. That's my ENTP advice.

Me: Be quiet ENTP. That's not good advice. Remember, never start what you can't finish. You're always changing your mind! You drive me nuts!

ENTP: Yep, it's coz I'm ENTP. A visionary! Get over it!

Me: You're right. Here's my onion.

ETNP: Aren't you going to finish it (laugh)?

Me: Later (cringe).

Daily Paintings

I painted my coffee cup tonight on a little 6 inch by 6 inch canvas. Why? Well, I have all these 6 by 6 canvases hanging about my little enclave and I need to paint on them.

There's a movement afoot called 'daily painters'. People who paint small original artworks on a daily basis. Various articles have been written about them. I noticed Daily Painters a few years ago, and since then I've seen other sites popping up like Fresh Daily Painters and Daily Painting Originals. It's a good way to make a buck and sustain oneself, whilst working on larger works.

So, I'm tempted to join. I need to get into the habit I think, and practice my brush skills.

The problem I have with it is that a lot of the work on these sites doesn't suit my tastes. Don't ask why. I just find it uninteresting. Of course anyone could say that about what I paint. It's boring, weird, or just plain unattractive. That part doesn't worry me. I listen to what people have to say of course, but I also have to think who says it, and well there are a whole lot of other factors that come into it. I mean it's completely subjective. What does concern me is how I might fit in. I've been giving it some thought. I'm not much of a still life painter. I get bored easily. Daily Painters suit a more deligent, patient, and technically minded personality. Not like me. But, then today I was thinking of Giorgio Morandi. Now, his still lifes are captivating. Perhaps I could use bottles, vases and cups as a theme? I think it might be a good idea. Morandi, yes. So, if you're wondering why I start painting cups, saucers, vases, and bowls and things just think of Morandi.

My Coffee Cup.

'Milky' not 'Smokey'

From nectarines, to apples, to peaches. Nevermind.

I've changed the background colours, and painted over the fruit again, with a light velatura. Well, it's what I think a velatura is. A light mix of medium (oil) and paint.

I'll go back in and work on the colours and form again, and redo everything. Lotta fun, and I'm learning as I progress.

I think the painting is developing more depth, which I like. I ike the smokiness coming from the velatura, although it could be a scrumble. A similar technique, but with less medium; applied with a dry brush. The velatura is applied with a wet brush, and more medium (oil). At least this is as I understand it. I'll go back and review these techniques as I think velatura is supposed to be 'milky' not 'smokey'.

Sei la.

Garlic Kiss

5.9 x 5.9 oil on canvas

Mmm - just about everything I see is wrong with this. But, as a measure of my progress I will keep posting and going back and making alterations as I mature.

Red Glasses

5.9 x 5.9 oil on canvas

Nectarines - Still Life

5.9 x 5.9 oil on canvas

Tap in Pink

5.9 x 5.9 inch oil painting on canvas