Verrrry interesting...

I journeyed down to Rohnert Park yesterday, that non-city that is really just a bedroom for the rest of the county and the City to the south, to see a friend who was sitting the last day of an art exhibit at the library there. Not an easy place to find, their library. I finally got out of the car and walked into the Credit Union to ask directions. The information person was just as perplexed as I, but a friendly patron heard me and I was happy to realize I was just across the thoroughfare (RP does not have normal streets as they are all engineered for beaucoup commuters) from it. Found my friend and teacher, oohed over her pieces, talked a while with another artist who does very nice watercolors, sort of in between prissy and all-over-the-place, like mine. And I realized I liked my stuff more than I liked anything in the show, even James's Pepperwood pastels, which I had the privilege of watching him create last summer. They are very contrived, and he never, never goes non-local with his colors, so they are also kind of bland. You can see, I eschew blandness all over the place. It is all about the colors, watching them slide up next to each other and pop right off the paper. This is one of my very first watercolors, done in the Senior Center class while I was not paying attention to anything but my brush and the pigments. I guess it isn't necessary to be well-mannered or usual, after all. It is just necessary to follow my own internal guidance. I may test-drive that theory and put this or one like it up for grabs at Art for Life this year, sort of run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it. If not, I will get to keep it. No losing in that equation.