Art = Stress Relief

I really like my day job.  I've been doing it for a long time so usually it's easy for me.  In January more responsibility was added to my position. I've taken it in stride until today.  I'm not a math person. I can balance a check book but beyond that all the things to do with keeping books just confuses me. When I see debit and credit I want to panic.  Today, I was doing a quarterly report.  I know all the numbers are correct but somehow putting this report into words and numbers was making me crazy.  I was seriously stressed when I left work.  I thought I really needed a nap.  I was so darn tired.

A couple of weeks ago I told someone that often working in my art journal worked as well as a nap. Creating took away that tired feeling.  I put that to the test today.  I was so tired and stressed when I arrived home and now after two hours of playing with paint I feel so much better.  

I started with a thick gesso layer. Next I added bright blue drips. Then red drips.  I was hoping I would get a red and a purple but the colors didn't mix well so I dried it just a little and then finger painted on my page.  I had some red paint left on my pallet so I added blue hoping again for purple and ended up with a maroon.  I dripped that on my surface and finger painted again.  Finally I dried the whole page with the heat tool. The paint cracked in some places. I don't know what caused it and couldn't do it again.  It was a happy accident.

I don't know if I'll leave this page as is or if I'll use is as a background.  I see different things each time I look at it.  Sometimes I see pregnant women.  Then I see people running. Right now I really wish I was good at drawing because I'd love to add side view faces and streaming hair.  I don't have enough skill at this time to do that without screwing it up so for today I will leave it and enjoy the relaxation this piece gave me.

Paint Party Friday, Art Journal Everyday