A different world

How I wish my first blogpost of 2020 could've been in happier circumstances. But right now I feel the need to reconnect with my blog-friends and find out how you are all doing. I hope well and healthy!

We have been in lockdown since almost 3 weeks. It's a lockdown light, we're still allowed to do necessary stuff like grocery shopping, if we take precautions of course, like keeping our distance and not going out when feeling sick. I'm working from home now, as is my hubby. Kids are home from school too, getting a lot of assignments and online classes.

The last months I've been working a lot in my new colored pencils journal. I started it out with peepholes because I thought it would be fun to be able to look through to the other page. Here's the first page I did:

Here you can see where the holes are. I messed up her hair so I cut another hole through her forehead.

However, when starting on the second page, I found it a little annoying that I had to work around the peepholes. I wasn't too happy with what was coming through either:

But, well, I had to finish the third spread with the peepholes too. Although I must admit I like that horizontal line I had there. I wouldn't have thought of doing that without the hole being there.

And then I had enough. I wanted the freedom to put on the page whatever I wanted without having to work around something. The next page I had to start with collage because I had put varnish on the page and the ballpoint from the hair went through to the other side.

I was really getting into colored pencils again. It's a long time ago I used them and it's fun to have a journal dedicated to colored pencil drawings.

And I love searching for lyrics or texts that fit the images :-) It's kind like a poetry book for me. If I ever get it finished of course...

And then, whoops, I was getting bored again. I have these periods that I'm really into something, like in this case colored pencils, and other times markers, or intuitive painting or sketches, or, .... I don't worry about it, because I know there will be other times when I really get into it.

So then I did nothing for a while. When this whole Corona-thing swept over Europe I felt paralyzed. I couldn't stop watching the news, reading those horrific stories about people dying alone, not being able to say goodbye, all the heartbreaking details, the health care workers that were dying too, and it just didn't stop. I wanted to find solace in art, but I couldn't. Until one night I decided I had to stop watching the news, or at least spend less time glued to the screen. I revisited my "Creatures"-workshop with Roxanne Siciliano ("by Bun") and started glueing images in my journal. And it helped. I had found a quote on Facebook that hit me right in the gut, and I knew I wanted to use it in my journal. Here's the resulting spread:

I don't know what I'll do next, maybe I feel like starting a new painting. On the other hand, I might just continue glueing images. I'm too restless to paint. Whatever I do, I know I must protect myself from becoming obsessed with what's happening in the world. Art helps. It always does. I just need to find the courage to start. Or to continue in this case.

Anyway, enough about me. I'm looking forward to go visit my favorite blogs. And link to Paint Party Friday again.

Because this is such a weird time, and because humour helps to deal with things, here's a whole bunch of funnies, mixed up with more serious memes. Hope you enjoy!

I just want to end with a beautiful song I first heard this week and that really touched me. It has nothing to do with Corona, in fact it's from a Belgian TV-program where a group of artists spend some time together and make their own version of each other's songs. I so love this song, hope you enjoy it too!

Well, that's it for now. 

Please stay safe, wherever in the world you are. 

Virtual hugs ♥ ♥ ♥