Spring Cleaning

It turned out to be a beautiful spring day. I could not be any happier since it was my day off, and days like this one you have to enjoy. I took a short walk to Astoria Park, in Queens, to sit in the sun and breath some fresh air. The morning was warm and breezy and so full of light. Warm weather is what most of us here in the East Coast have been waiting for. Winter wasn't bad at all, it was actually one of the warmest, but it was a little too long. Now Mr. sunshine is out and has us all very content.

After a peaceful day at the park, listening to music, reading and taking a nice little nap I came home ready to work. But the spring cleaning bug bit me as I looked at my messy palette. I was known by my peers as the neatest painter in the studio. Always wiping down my palette so that paint wouldn't build up. That was then, lately I have been too lazy to clean up after working. This isn't good since the dry mess doesn't let me see the colors I'm mixing.

It was time to scrape it all off. It usually takes me a while to get the glass clean but thanks to a new razor blade the job got done in no time.

With a clean surface to work on I was ready to paint and finish a still life I have been working on. I get a kick out of a clean palette. It's so pristine that I don't even want to get it dirty again. Before laying out fresh paint I took some time to look at Gregg Kreutz's Problem Solving for Oil Painters. I just needed to get some palette inspiration, and the trick worked since I got in the mood to start working.