Dread-locked.

Oh well.....time flies and so did I! Obviously, I've taken a bit of a hiatus from the blogosphere but it was definitely time well spent. In the past several weeks, I've spent days soaking up the sun on a Florida beach, perusing the National Gallery in Washington, DC and pounding the cobblestones in Boston's Market Square. Oh, I love being a grown-up.

Now don't think just because I've been working on my frequent flyer miles that I have been neglecting my creativity. Perish the thought. I have, in fact, been taking a "Painting from Life" class at the art Institute which is actually my first painting class ever. I chose pastel as my beginning medium and so far, I must admit that it is truly a love-hate relationship. I love the saturated color, the immediacy (no waiting for paint to dry) and the possibilities. I just HATE that I don't have command of it yet. I pretty much have NO idea what I'm doing. I am, however, determined that I will persevere and win my battle with this medium--mostly because I have spent so much flippin' money on art supplies and I'm just too cheap to give up now.

This is my very first portrait ever-- of "Liza", who modeled for our class. She probably wouldn't recognize herself...except maybe for the green sweater and her skateboard (which, by the way, ended up being a snowboard since I forgot to add the wheels)--oh, and her dreadlocks. She had great dreadlocks. I actually think I did those pretty well. I just pretended they were felted wool.

What's next? Self-portrait. Oh boy....THIS outta be good.