A Work in Progress...Forever

oil on stretched canvas 16" x 20"
contact me if interested


I've been working on several larger pieces lately. For some, I've been using smaller daily paintings as references, and some, like this bouquet, I had hoped to finish in one or two days, at most. But, as sometimes happens, life gets in the way, and at this point I think it will stay as is, an almost finished study.


I was working on this piece Monday afternoon, hoping to finish it Tuesday. Tuesday morning I threw in a load of wash, went off to paint with my plein-aire group, and when I returned home, the utility sink in the laundry room was full of water. Luckily, the washing machine had turned itself off. I knew I had to get all of the water out of the sink, so I dunked numerous buckets into the sink, carried them into the kitchen, and poured them into the kitchen sink. Soon, the kitchen sink wasn't draining. I thought I'd help it drain faster by turning on the disposal. When I did that, water shot straight up, and more water poured out from under the sink. So, now I had to take everything out from under the sink, clean and dry that, dry the kitchen floor, and then get back to the utility sink. So now, I'm dunking the bucket into the sink and walking out onto the deck and throwing the water into the yard. (My husband has been out-of-town for a week).


When the utility sink got pretty low, I decided it would be easier to just let the water drain out from the pipe underneath, so I loosened that and stuck a bigger bucket under it, not realizing that about 2 inches up, there was a crack in that bucket. So, more water was dribbling nto the floor! I swtiched buckets, cleaned that water up, and finally got the mess taken care of. (Although the plumbing problem wasn't fixed.) By then, it was time for my late afternoon painting class, so off I went.


When my husband came back, (I wanted him to share in the plumbing pleasure w/ me) we called Roto-rooter (we happened to have a val-pack coupon, too) and soon, the man was on the roof cleaning out the drains w/ his 90 foot plumbing snake. I really recommend them, they were quick and affordable.


In the meantime, I didn't have time to finish my lilacs, and when I finally did, the blooms and blossoms had changed. So, what I have is a ghumorous memory, clean drains, and a work in process...forever! This one's for Roseanne, because , it's always something!!