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Art Daily

A few weeks ago I mentioned I'd packed a month of prompts into this jar to give me a daily nudge to do a little art, mainly painting. I wasn't happy with the first few pieces I did -- it's been a long time since I've painted anything -- but all I've done in the past is talk about painting again. I don't want to be all talk anymore, so I have kept at it.

The prompts aren't difficult, for one thing; I just had to keep pushing myself until I liked it. Now every night I'm beginning to look forward to a little art time.

I'm not always painting, either. For this prompt I was supposed to explore one of my favorite things from childhood (books, of course.) So I cobbled together a little book out of recycled paper and hand-wrote in it about how books saved me and changed my life. Nothing major, just a few sentences -- but it felt very good to remember what made me a writer.

As for the painting I'm doing, I'm just letting myself improv everything. I don't even know what this is, other than colliding circles in colors I like. I'm learning that the act of painting is what makes me happy. Sometimes the results do, too -- and I've been happier this year than I have been in any other January in memory, so maybe it's working to boost my spirits. If you want to see all the prompts I'm using, Stampington has a .pdf here.

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