2:45 PM: it's been a strange day. it all started at 4 AM when we got up to prepare for our trail walk. it was still dark out, but felt somewhat cooler than other mornings. the average nightime temperature for this date is 45F, and it's been 50-57F. that makes a huge difference when you are hiking up a steep trail briskly. it feels hot. combined with the clouds of mosquitoes, it ain't too much fun. but we're committed to 3x a week minimum, and you can feel just how beneficial it is for your body.
once i got to the studio though, i felt strange. and it took me a couple of hours to get to work. now, as you might imagine, mikela and i are very much in sync. we always know whether the other is having a productive day. so i was perplexed when i couldn't get to work, and actually felt bored; something i never feel in my studio. we just talked on the phone, and she revealed that she's been working on what may be the only piece of the curriculum she finds boring.
i had intended yesterday to make a radical change to gaze 26. the image shifted from one based upon a 1st c. male fayum portrait to one based upon a vermeer. from a man to a woman. from a full frontal pose to a head cropped just above the nose, with the focus on her enormous sleeve.
i knocked myself out, so lets see how this painting looks in the morning. i'm going to clean my brushes, go back to the house & lie down with mikela.
