Dancing With Fruitcake

Category: Painting

  • Merry Christmas

    A decorative painting featuring two lit candles surrounded by pine branches, holly leaves, pine cones, and a white flower, with a snowy background.

    This is my 6th painting since starting my Acrylic Painting classes. The teacher said I’ve come a long way since May. I’m not sure how true that is, but I’ll take the compliment.

    Christmas doesn’t bring me joy. It feels fake. We decorate our homes with fake trees and tinsel. We buy presents nobody needs for people we don’t like, with money that could best be used elsewhere. We travel to spend time with people out of obligation, people who wouldn’t do the same for us. We watch dozens of silly Christmas movies, hoping to catch a feeling, but we don’t. We realize that all we are is a pawn on someone else’s chess board. We cook the party food and act like we’re happy to be at the party, all the while knowing none of these people would come to our party.

    The best part of Christmas is that in another week we get a chance to start a new year. A fresh start. Will we do things differently in the new year? Will we lose the weight? Go to the gym? Become a better person? Leave something or someone behind? Find something or someone new? It’s at least fun to plan, whether we carry it through, or not.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Shepherds Cottage

    A painting of a black and white dog sitting on a wooden fence labeled 'SHEPHERDS COTTAGE', surrounded by flowers and greenery.

    This is my latest painting. It is my fifth from acrylic painting class. Someday it might be fun for me to look at each of my paintings in order to see if I’m making progress. So far, my favorites are the Irises and the Little Girl in Flower Garden, with the latter being my most favorite.

    We will start the next painting on Thursday (two days from today). It’s going to be a pumpkin framing a fall scene. It will be a good painting for decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

    We’re going to do a gorgeous Christmas painting after that. I wanted to use it to make our Christmas cards for this year, but unfortunately it won’t be complete until December 11th. That’s too late to get the cards printed and in the mail, so we’ll have to wait until next year.

    This class is so good for me. Painting with others is fun. Everybody is at a different skill level, and we all learn from each other in addition to what the teacher shows us. I wish the class were two days per week. Since it’s not, I’ll just have to paint at home on my own, but that’s always a crap shoot.

  • Little Girl in Flower Garden

    A young girl in a pink dress and a large white hat bends down to admire flowers in a garden, surrounded by a wooden fence and lush greenery.

    The Little Girl in the Garden Painting was my fourth painting. So far, this is my favorite. I was a bit intimated by this one in the beginning. I didn’t thinik the trees would come out right or the little girl, but it was much easier than I anticipated. My paintings are still hit and miss. I never know which ones will look right. I hung this one in the dining room.

  • Parrots

    A vibrant painting depicting two colorful macaws perched on a branch with yellow-orange fruits and green leaves against a bright blue background.

    These parrots were my third painting. I like the painting, but I’m not fond of the shade of blue on the background. I like everything else about it.

    The acrylic painting class I take is at our city’s parks and recreation center. It’s a class that is offered to people over 50 as part of their seniors program. It has been really good for me. It forces me to leave home and do something fun with others with similar interests. I enjoy it immensely. I wish I could go more than once a week. The teacher is wonderful. Most of the people in the class live in my neighborhood or within a couple of miles. That makes it even more fun because we have similar lifestyle experiences. I’m really looking forward to the holiday paintings we’ll be doing.

  • Flamingos

    Three pink flamingos standing near water, with a dark background and hints of greenery.

    These flamingos were my second painting in my acrylic painting class. I really like flamingos and am slowly adding touches of pink to my gray and purple bedroom. I also had a Giclee printing made of this painting and put it in a matted frame to set on my nightstand. My son and daughter-in-law gave me several organizing containers that are pink with white polka dots. They add a cute whimsy feel to the room.

    I love flamingos because they are awkward and goofy, and perhaps I identify with that. When they walk in a group, they look a little like paranoid private investigators, peaking around corners and pattering around. They’re so weird and cute and wonderful!

  • Irises

    A painting of purple irises with green leaves set against a gray background.

    In May, I began taking Acrylic Painting classes. I was nervous because I’m at a very beginner level. The first painting was Irises. The colors match my bedroom colors perfectly – purple and gray.

    I had promised my mom last year that I would send her a painting of flowers. She had seen some flower paintings at her doctor’s office and wanted some for her house. I sent her the Iris painting. Using a digital copy, I had a Giclee printing made of the painting that came out pretty good, so I put it in a matted frame and hung it on the wall in our living room. Both of us have the painting now and everybody is happy.