Sunday, January 13, 2013

Unfinished

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, hasn't it?

I'm a bit particular when it comes to posting things in chronological order. It's easy to fall behind when you hit a roadblock- be it a challenging project that you can't quite finish, a piece that you aren't sure how to write about, or simply a secret gift that's just waiting for a birthday to arrive before it can be revealed. Sometimes you can fall weeks behind, and not even notice. Sometimes you can fall months behind. And sometimes over a year can pass without a word.

"Tournée du Chat Ombre" - detail

This is from a painting that I started in November of 2011. An homage to Steinlen's famous "Chat Noir" poster, it was to be a Christmas gift for my dad, as his beloved cat Shadow had passed away earlier that year. I was pretty happy with how it was turning out, and couldn't wait for him to see the finished painting.

I never got the chance.

In early December, I got the phone call. My brother told me our dad had died.

"Tournée du Chat Ombre" - detail

I packed the painting away, and I got swept up in grief and life and work and distractions, and yes- even art sometimes. Even with everything else that was broken, the urge to be creative remained- my dad and I always had that in common.

But I couldn't post anything here, because I'd have to talk about What Happened. And I wasn't ready. Don't think I ever will be, really, but that's okay.

I missed this silly little blog and my small but wonderful crew of followers. I missed creating and sharing new art. That I am ready for.


I haven't been able to finish the painting yet. But I will. In my studio, surrounded by his artwork and his art supplies, I will finish it. And I will use this year to make beautiful things.

"Tournée du Chat Ombre" - unfinished
For Ron Sayer ~ 1948-2011

3 comments:

Tessa said...

It has been a long time! I hope you're doing better now Riss. The painting already looks awesome. I hope you post it when its done. *hugs*

-Theresa

Unknown said...

Found this in a Google search. Already looks amazing, I'd love to see it finished. Regards, Ron Sayer www.ronsayer.co.uk

Riss said...

Thanks, T. It's getting better- I can think of happy memories now without tearing up, which is all I could have hoped for, really. *hugs*

Ron- I've never met another Ron Sayer before! Thanks for dropping by, and for your kind comment.
My dad was really into music as well- he played guitar (and sometimes sang if no one was watching ;) ).
Rock & blues & rockabilly were definitely favourites of his, and I think he would have really enjoyed your music.