I painted the 3" version of the soon-to-be-painted 16" x 20" Poolside work I plan next.
Again, rough values, no small brushes or detail.
To give you an impression of the size of these, here are the two sketches I've done of this one next to a dime.
They're small. And fun, actually. I'm surprised by the satisfaction I get in painting these rough thumbnails of what is to be a larger work.
I learned with this sketch that lighter is better. The warm areas feel balanced to me. The cool of the blue, the warmth of the wooden fence in the background. The sunlight on the woman herself and in the palm fronds. You can't see it in these smaller versions, but she is eating up the sunshine in the peace found by a backyard pool. I hope to capture that in the larger work.
I'm satisfied with the palette I've chosen for this. Next step is to get over the chicken sensation I get before starting something new. Yep, starting a work always makes me jittery. But I ignore it, or it would never happen. I'm excited to see how it turns out.
If you read this web site, you know that it's a personal site. As it says in the banner, it's my playground.
Mike Sansone recently asked me what book I would write if I could write a book. I told him that I would write a book on business listening. He then recommended that I start a new blog separate from this, my personal blog, on that topic.
So I've decided to sail with the wind for once in my life.
If you would like, you can get my professional thoughts on business listening at my new other blog: Listen Well.
Maybe someday, I'll condense it all in a book. And thanks, Coach, for helping me remain coachable.
I started my next painting today - sort of. I decided to paint a 1" thumbnail of the painting first with a big brush. The actual painting itself will be 16" x 20". This exercise forced me into sheer values. Below is a magnified view of the literally thumb-sized sketch.
Next, I'll do the same thing but on a 3" scale. This is a good way to test colors and temperatures, I think. Then onto the big canvas.
It was a great day and a great weekend. Isn't life delicious?
Have you ever heard these compliments said about someone?
"She's so easy to talk to."
"I love talking to him!"
"We always have the best conversations."
Would you like these to be said about you?
If someone finds you "easy to talk to" and if they love talking to you, then it's based in your ability to listen and stay with what the other person says.
Listen. This is the most important part of any conversation. You might think a conversation is all about talking, but it will not go anywhere if the listener is too busy thinking of something to say next. Pay attention to what is being said. When you listen attentively to the other person, injecting a thought or two, they will often not realize that it was they who did most of the talking, and you get the credit for being a good conversationalist - which of course, you are!
When you engage in conversation, do you worry whether the other person perceives you as a good listener? Or do you worry whether you are perceived as a good speaker? I think most of us want to be noted for the good points and keen thoughts we displayed. But is that always what's most necessary and valued by the other person?
You know, this idea that blogs are good for conversation... I'm starting to question that. Yes, they provoke discussion, but they aren't really a tool for listening. Blogs are a tool for talking. It seems to me that if a blog wanted to attract conversation, it would hand over the authoring to the reader. Wouldn't that be an interesting twist...
I watched the video at this link and was fascinated.
Then I found this other video on YouTube.
This is like multitasking the mouse. If they can combine this with accurate voice command, I think computing would be very different than we know it today.
