Evening window and beautiful breakfast.

I called it evening window to the world. I was afraid that this valance with sweets scenes a la Antoine Watteau would be covering too much sky and it is, but it gives a character to the kitchen and it was very cheap, so it stays.

  Mornings are wonderful here, spectacular sunrise. Beautiful breakfast.

Updated Linen technique room.

Added blue accents and brown piece of furniture. Still lots to do.

Car.

Small piece of paper for the small car. Ink and Kuretake. I stole some time from antiquing furniture for the kitchen and now feel guilty and scared that I won't fit into planned timeframe.

Room.

I did linen technique and metallic plaster in Expresso finish in this room. It looks very nice and cozy. Metallic plaster came from Kentucky, could not find in nearest stores. The key is thicker first layer and small movements, and smooth top layers. Not too much texture. I love plasters.

Rainy day.

Sitting in the car on that wet day, waiting to get in contact with my friend's daughter from Moscow gave me some "slow" time to sketch and think. So I was thinking of a beauty of that grey day, about people with umbrellas, leading their unknown lives, about not knowing, but guessing, being quick of judgment and being judged, being mistaken, being fooled by the surface, being strong to exercise kindness, staying connected, not to be afraid.
I used ink and Kuretake on Arches hot press paper from the pad. Not easy to move ink on that paper.

Pencil sketch.

Sketched on the run with my old Bell System pencil. My faithful Gamma sketchbook by Stillman and Birn getting all this marks from metallic glaze and venetian lime stone plaster I used at work project, and it makes my sketchbook even more valuable to me, my companion in fun, learning and my memo book.

Scribbling, March 8.

quick scribbling on the way, still running without a moment for myself.

Pizza DiFara's.

Still no time for myself, but being treated by amazing square pizza from DiFara's, I can see this day as wonderful and memorable.
I have to say I grew up in my own eyes, when was able to take out and reverse the motor in gigantic microwave, use an electric drill, place the charcoal filter inside, transforming the unit into vent free. Not sure who's job I did, kitchen guy or a plumber, but I did it.

It is their signature dish, I was blown away. I wish I was strong enough to draw it. It is my first square pizza from DiFara's. The best in New York.

Instead of drawing, I had to figure out how to attach unattachable, squeeze in unsqueezable, thinking is it normal to go through that complexity while attempting renovation?
Also I don't like not to give people what they expecting and asking from  me.

Street scene in Brooklyn.

I found this old piece of paper and was happy to dig into ink again, even my brain is still in rotation about how to finish changes I started.
Something really attractive in that symbiosis of machinery and people. I used ink, Kuretake and Lamy Safari pen.

Yesterday running around with brush and without.

Sample on the wall for lobby, love working with plasters.

Drew vines on few floors, patches of grass and path with flowers, few blue puddles.
Met interesting woman. During lunch on the floor behind piano (cold russian kotleta with Dijon mustard and buckwheat, and not a bad coffee) spoke about art, Amsterdam, russian art teaching, my first lesson in art school about composition (thanks to my teacher, who I disliked, who is probably dead for at list 20 years, he was old then, as it seemed to 18 year old me, in his late 40ties, but who gave me guidance in that complicated world of building composition and it unspoken rules), about Mixol tints, we used and I am thinking to buy for myself.
 Nothing will follow, probably. It is not easy to make new friends, when life is so hectic and I am loosing my old friends and have no time to be with myself.

3 boys.

My 3 boys trying to keep warm near the portable heater (my cousin lend me), our central unit still doesn't work. :-)

Old work and insomnia.

Battling with insomnia again and feeling under the weather.
This photo shows old work, landscape in the pool room, did touch ups on this some time ago.

Bottom part done on broken pieces of tiles, to make it more durable, where most touch ups occurred.
I really miss drawing and mainly seeing things in that artsy way, when everything magically turns into a painting. Now I am, sort of, afraid to loose control and gripping to constantly changing reality, bumping into new people and situations, demanding solutions, feeling more and more tired and detached.

Speed of life is crazy.

I am really afraid to forget how to draw in ink. So much going on, so many people to coordinate, talk to,  so many people want me to make them happy, and immediately. So many people make mistakes. I feel bad for them. I am, probably, one of them.

I put one more day, I ate their chollant, I came home around midnight, because till noon was battling with Ikea on the phone.
The guy asked me is I was born with a brush in my hand. I used both hands. Today gotta plan brook for staircase, for tomorrow, he wants more and more, curving on second floor.

Here would be mirror with intricate golden frame.
Yesterday bought tiny liquid tints, Mixol, for another client's work, love it, gotta get a set for myself. Premixed colors, awesome palette.

Insomnia and paint.

Little pencil sketch in Gamma sketchbook early in the morning. I woke up at 3 am and couldn't sleep anymore. While drawing, I shut my eyes tight, it burnt, and suddenly I felt that I have 4 pairs of eyes, 8 all together, and they shut synchronically. Interesting feeling. I carry ball pen and my old green mechanical pencil with me, and sketchbook, nothing else, because keep doing other things but drawing.

Wednesday.

I did "old world" in my kitchen, love playing with texture, even pressed for time. Camera didn't get the color right, it is more pale and more coffee in it.

I love this tile for back splash, even don't know how it would work with other colors. They discontinued some of them, only blues left, but I will grab this fleur-de lis in a heart beat. And may be mix with plain yellows. Handmade, I would like to paint it myself, but, no time. One day I will be happy to paint little pastoral scenes with  shepherds and sheep, women in dresses, small houses in blue colors on tiles. Beloved Holland tiles.

It was warm outside, even wet snow started to fall, from up here everything seemed so distant and unreal.