The challenge over at Artists Play Room this week was
Magnify
which to me means magnifying glasses
remember being a kid and getting that close up look at the world
checking out ants walking across leaves
freckles on siblings
and burning holes in paper
note I didn't say that I used a magnifying glass to burn the ants
no serial killer tendencies here...
of course now magnify takes on more sinister meanings
now it is you are getting old and you need to magnify to get through the day
which sucks because I am only 44
and I love middle age
no I'm not kidding, I actually love being right where I am
but I was not blessed with great eyesight
and I wear glasses , and have to change to other glasses for working
and yes my glasses are graduated and it should work
but I also need a magnifying glass for detail work
and graduated and magnifying glass aren't the best
so my day in the studio is often a circus of changing glasses
wrong glasses with magnifier, which means head spins and almost falling off my chair
and hunting for the correct lenses
which mysteriously get up and walk and hide in the oddest places
but its all part of the process now
the problem becomes the ordinary things like
directions on packets
reading recipes, school notes, newspaper, junk mail etc etc
and to get by I have all these different magnifying do hickies
stashed all over the house
but the one that drives me nuts
and induces cursing every time
is the all important plucking of the eyebrows
I need to be under a spotlight and about 2 inches from the mirror
to not be in danger of taking my eye out
or plucking hair off my head
and yes I could get them waxed
but then I wouldn't have an excuse to swear
and hop around the bathroom
which is kind of fun
and I was pretty happy how this painting turned out
I used a nicer magnifying glass because mine is a bit ordinary
and the tweezers are suitable tweezerish
and the faces in the background came together nicely
except the one between the glass and tweezers
which took on quite a ghoulish look
but could be minimised by a few well placed lines
and the gouache toned them down nicely
so all in all magnify is done and dusted
Head over the Justaddwatersilly.com
to check out other magnified creations...xx
Links to my last few blog posts...