Saturday, January 17, 2015

JUST A LITTLE DISCOMFORT


This painting, a response to a terribly painful medical procedure I had to endure in December, is titled 


Just a Little Discomfort  

(which is what the medical people in charge told me I would experience)




TerraSkin is made from stone (actually, it is made from more than 75% calcium carbonate added to less than 25% polyethylene used as a binder).

This sheet was heavy (the sheets come in various weights from 8 to 16 pt. - not weighted like watercolor paper but the online information tells you what the weight is compared to watercolor paper).  The "paper" was given to me by a watercolor society friend who said she probably would never use it.  

As this picture shows, it wasn't a very good abstract to begin with; and I thought more effort and thinking about it - as well as bringing out what I saw in the original painting - would make it better.  

The shine of the acrylic on the TerraSkin made it impossible to photograph while on the wall so it's lying on the table and the colors here are pretty close to what they are in real life.

(Art isn't always beautiful.  Sometimes it's cathartic, meant to release your inner feelings which are not always pretty.  And sometimes people recognize the humanity behind that - sometimes they don't.)


I worked on this again, lifting paint off with alcohol sheets and shaping things more for visual interest.  I even cropped a bit off one edge and the top so it's more horizontal now.  Here's the revised version, which makes more sense to me - and, I hope, to you!





I was able to put it on the corkboard and photograph it but the left side is still shiny so here it is on the table (without the shine on the left side).






11 comments:

Novice Naturalist said...

I quite like this painting. Sorry about your painful 'procedure.' My experience suggests that medical folks often either sugar coat what they say or just plain don't know what they are talking about! Good luck on your healing.

Lorraine Brown said...

The colours are so vibrant Rhonda, hope your healing is quick

Gary L. Everest said...

Hi Rhonda,
Don't worry about the painting making any sense to us. We don't count in this one.
It's all about how you feel and how you expressed it. That's all any of us need to know.
Hope you're doing well and having a nice "January thaw"! :))
Sincerely,
Gary.

Teresa Palomar Lois said...

Sorry you had to go through a painful procedure Rhonda, and I hope you got good results out of it.

The painting is simply stunning, one of your best yet IMHO.

E.M. Corsa said...

Absolutely fantastic. You are so very versatile and I love your color sense.

Wishing you a healthy and joyous 2015.

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Novice Naturalist, for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Yes, medical folks often just look at the procedure and not the person, I've found. Oh, well, you need them at times and you can't really complain when they have you in their hands!

Lorraine, Gary, Teresa and EM, thanks so much for commenting.

laura said...

Oh dear. This reminds me of a painful and thoroughly appalling "procedure," which I also was told would produce "a little discomfort" but which I think I passed out during, on, of all days, Valentine's Day! This may be TMI, but all I can say is, never have a barium enema!
I guess they don't tell us the truth because if they did we'd never submit!
I hope you are now over the trauma.
The painting: love the red!

hw (hallie) farber said...

I don't know why the word "raw" comes to mind; I actually like this. I hope the procedure worked. I like the new bird at the top--here's to flying high in 2015.

RH Carpenter said...

Oh, Laura! Ouch!! I swear, they don't tell us because we would say, No thank you very much!! The physical pain is past (except for a twinge here and there) but the mental and emotional backlash has been bad. I'll get past it in time - I hope. I've heard you can have PTSD from medical procedures and maybe that's what this is. Painting this got it out on the paper, anyway.

Hallie, I like the word "raw" because that's how I felt afterward!! Thanks so much - glad you like the crow flying high...

Debbie Nolan said...

Dear Rhonda - I think this is wonderful - the colors just bloom all over. I certainly hope you are alright friend. I will be "looking up" for you. Hugs!

RH Carpenter said...

Thanks, Debbie. I appreciate the kind thoughts - I will be fine :)