Before leaving for the cottage I had to do some painting, I had to push some mud around, I had been away from my easel for too long so I decided to grab some canvases and just lay in some skies. I don't usually work this way when painting, in fact its just the opposite the figures choose the colour of the skies whether stormy or clear, situated in a field or standing by the ocean, another painter once asked me if I had a studio full of paintings with skies painted on them and if I just plugged in the figures and I assured her that wasn't the case but this time since I had no sketches that I liked and just wanted to play with colour I decided to just do some block ins.
I was happy that my hands remembered what to do, it was a strange feeling not doing any painting, which I usually do every day unless I'm working on my books (see the Any How Town blog, right sidebar) and want to be outside writing.
I don't know what will happen on these canvases, I don't know what the figures will be doing or if I'll paint over these skies entirely, I just had to get something done with a brush.
It's also a strange feeling not having anything on display in Toronto, there are the murals at the Cameron House but since taking down my "permanent" wall at the Press Club all of my work is in the basement studio I'm not used to having so much of my work around me, it's getting a little crowded down there.
A.Shay Hahn
