The Art & Poetry of Mary Coleman

Today I powered through the preparatory part of my new painting. Getting the drawing onto the canvas, outlining it in acrylic pen, then doing the solid background. It took all my willpower and inner strength to do this. It’s the part of the painting process I absolutely hate, so I just had to grin and bear it because I want to get to the fun part, which is painting the figures and the intricate wrinkles of their suits.

Here’s the whole thing prepared for painting:

I lose myself in writing and painting. It can be hard to start, but once I get myself to initially do the thing, I get lost in it. I can see it through to the end. It’s just such a satisfying process, doing something creative. I feel like it makes my life worthwhile and meaningful, even if very few people will ever see or read what I do. I’m trying to build a significant audience on Instagram so my work gets more outside attention, but it’s slow going gaining followers.