Late again, I’m busy preparing for my UK trip, which is just three weeks away. Paul suggested we do a quick visit to Liverpool while I’m there, and since I’m the one with the Expedia hotel discount credits, I got to decide where we’ll stay. I honed in on the waterfront close to the Tate and found one in the Beatles’ old stomping grounds. Paul is in charge of the train tickets and keeping me entertained. No small task, and it’s a good thing two more bird paintings have sold this week at the Ali Gray Gallery so I’ll have a bit of mad money to spend while I’m away. Speaking of art sales, I’m happy to report that of the twelve paintings I had in last summer’s show where only my giclees sold, I have just one piece left. That odd delay also happened with my first show at The Commons, I only have one of those sixteen birds left now too. Lesson learned, it’s about the time and place, not the work, so there’s hope for the charcoals yet.

Another lesson learned is no work is safe from being repainted until it leaves the studio. Case in point, Peony, who I declared finished last week without feeling the love, then I redid the beak in a pale grey and VOILA, she was done and back in the gallery. I also revised the Crow, below, and retitled it Corvette. It’s now a companion to Savannah, at the top of this post - that’s its midway progression above as it slid into Fauvism, an art movement, which included Matisse, that got its name in 1905 because of the artists’ use of shocking colors. According to Google “Fauvist painters radically detached color from its descriptive function in nature. For example, instead of painting shadows with black or dark brown, a Fauvist might use vibrant purples or deep oranges to create a sense of emotion, rhythm, and visual harmony. Their work prioritized subjective, emotional expression over objective reality.” I totally relate. I’m ready to go all Wild Beast on a new canvas but first I need to do another collage for the workshop I’m running at the gallery before I leave for Newcastle. Only three more weeks to go, Maureen - best get on with the day.