Moving into the Zone

This one was fun: I'm working on bolder, larger strokes; less blending of colors. I don't know whether we're looking at birds or fish here, but for now I'm calling it Moving into the Zone.

As we settle into this new way of being in the world -- as much as one can settle in, I suppose -- I listen to the broadcasters who are working from home, talking about what this enforced seclusion is like for them, and I don't see how this could possibly fail to bring us closer together.

We are all so hopelessly, fallibly human: prone to worrying about the slightest things, apt to look for ways to alleviate restlessness and boredom, coming up with both inventive and remarkably similar solutions for doing without, staying safe, alleviating loneliness(for extroverts) and finding alone time (for introverts).

So what -- the radio folks ask -- are we learning -- or rediscovering -- about ourselves?

For me -- well, I do notice my art is getting bolder. But old habits, long left behind, are coming back -- in a good way: earlier this week I finished knitting a pair of leg warmers (I haven't knitted in years), and today, because my regular bakery is closed, I made my first loaf of focaccia bread; can't wait to taste it! It might be awful -- cheap flour, ordinary salt, Costco olive oil -- but still: this is my first loaf of bread in almost 40 years. How lovely to discover I haven't lost my knack for kneading!

Learnings: Here's one I painted over a little more than a month later.
                   So again, just because I love it when I paint it doesn't mean it has staying power.
                   BUT -- it was a useful transitional piece: bolder strokes, fine lines...
                   The HoJos colors? NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! 

PS: The bread turned out horribly: heavy and tasteless...