A progression of moods

As Monty Python says, "And now for something completely different!" Only, not really completely different: what's carrying through is the sort of watercolor nature of the work.

It's odd: what painting classes I've taken over the years have mostly focused on watercolor, and inevitably led me to conclude that watercolor was not and never would be my strength.

Truth is, it was the disheartening results achieved in those classes that kept me from discovering I was a painter for so long. So it's amusing now to see me pursuing a much more watery version of acrylic painting; I even broke down yesterday and ordered a watercolor kit and a pad of watercolor paper.

I think it's the transparency of it that I'm finding so appealing. If I really do want to pursue some mark-making, I'd rather they be beneath rather than on top of the paint... but of course, that's fear speaking: If I apply marks over something I already like, I might wreck it, whereas the marks beneath that don't please can be obliterated without a pang. 

At any rate, I'm calling this one Progression of Moods. And you can hang it this way (moods gradually degenerating from calm to anger to loss and confusion) or upside down (as shown at right) to show them going from fear and confusion to frustration and anger to resignation...

I suspect we go through all these phases in any given time period, and in any given order; this is hard stuff to adjust to. As the death toll mounts and the economy falls it grows harder and harder to imagine life after the time of cholera...