I am turning 65 in two days….

This year’s birthday hits differently than other milestones, much tougher. It’s a milestone in Canada as I’ll officially be a senior everywhere, including with the government, and will start receiving my Old Age Security (hate that name). So it feels different than those other milestones of 40, 50, or 60.

I’ll be getting together with my kids and my sister’s family. My sister is cooking dinner, which is always a huge treat. And being with my kids is the best treat of all!

But that’s dinnertime and I’m wondering what to do with the rest of my day. Having lived alone for the last 12 years since my divorce and the kids grew up, this is not how I expected this birthday to look. I thought for sure I’d be remarried. Never dreamed it would be so hard to find someone worth living with. But that’s the way things go. And from what I understand from other women my age and younger, it is a widespread issue.

Now, I’m not looking or waiting anymore. So, in two days I may just take myself out for brunch or lunch, which I’ve often done over the years and feel quite comfortable doing. Yes, I think that brunch sounds like the perfect idea. That will give me time to get hungry for my sister’s lasagna!

As for painting, it’s also a very solitary job, and something I’ve neglected in the last several months. I abandoned the Art Blog as well, the last entry was over a year ago. Kept promising myself I’d write once a month. Hasn’t happened.

I’ve joined a couple of art groups that I hope will help me get motivated and started working on a painting of my Dad, the drawing for which I completed too long ago. We’ll see how that goes. It’s slow so far, as has been the motivation to even look at it.

And there’s this other painting I keep coming back to called “The One That Stayed,” (you can click on the image to see the story behind it). I think a lot about its style and the process, which I loved, and keep thinking it’s something I need to come back to. So that’s on my list now as well.

Another on my list is acrylics on canvas. I’ve tried some with molding paste on canvas and really liked the results as you can see. This is an abstract landscape I call “Majesty and Turbulence” (again, click on the image). So I’ll be trying more of that as well. Ordered the molding paste from Amazon as it’s much cheaper than my local art suppliers. Only trouble with that is it comes from the US and won’t be here until August 28th. Hopefully I’m done Dad’s painting by then and can start on one of these. That’s the timeline I’ve given myself.

After, or during one of those paintings, I’ll figure out how to go back to the style of “The One That Stayed.”

So I know the artist is still in there somewhere. She has lots of ideas. I just need to get her going. Any ideas on motivation are welcome. Giving me heck is not motivation - I do enough of that myself and it doesn’t work. So anything else is welcome.

Just looking now at the various artwork I’ve done and I realize I’ve got to get her out there, not just for myself, but for anyone who comes across my work. Maybe that will be somewhat of a motivation.

Birthdays and Motivation

Painting for Love and History