Cactus Flower Again

Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 16″
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I started this painting a couple weeks ago and posted it in progress here and also did a watercolor from the photo here. Originally I was going to block in the shapes and colors in acrylic and then paint the final layer in oils but enjoyed working with the acrylics and stuck with them. I think it’s finished, though it might benefit from some cleaning up and touching up here and there.

I was listening to a digital book from Audible.com called “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert while I painted. It’s a sort of spiritual travelogue of her journeys to Italy, India and Bali. I actually preferred a book I listened to previously on a similar theme: “Holy Cow” by Australian, Sarah Macdonald. Both women are journalists who find themselves in India because of relationships. Gilbert is running away from a bad breakup and Macdonald is following her journalist lover to India where he is a stationed as a reporter. Both managed to get book deals to write about their travels and their spiritual seeking. Holy Cow is funny, interesting and irreverant while Eat, Pray, Love takes itself and it’s spiritual quest much more seriously.

My favorite book I’ve listened to lately was “Water for Elephants” by Sarah Gruen. More about that another time…