This is another painting using only wine. (interestingly enough, my last painting with wine was also in November. Hmmmmm.... )

I tend to doodle in front of the tv. Actually, it had been a really long time since I painted or even drew anything, since I'm still getting over being perpetually exhausted, and I know that if I try to jump in on a project I'm supposed to be working on, I will ruin it. I need to warm up first. So I had a glass of wine (not in any way a regular occurence for me), some good Thursday tv, and children in bed. I started doodling.

Left to my own devices, I will almost always doodle people. I like people. I like faces, and I like to draw hair. Half the time my doodles turn fantastic, which is not at all strange if you know me. Girls sprout wings or antennae or are tinier than a teacup. So in this case, the doodle started with the eyes, and I wanted really dramatic, vampy eyes. So I did huge eyelashes. When it started to come together for me was when I realized the eyes shouldn't be gazing off to the left, but as far right as I could; looking at you, or something beyond you. The second change I made that made me like it more was when I erased the mouth and made it a tiny pout - ala Anchal from ANTM, I love her - and then I realized that I didn't want hair, I wanted flower petals. Then it started shaping up into something... I don't know what, but interesting, and not pretty. Pretty interesting.

About painting with wine: wine's a fickle, imprecise mistress. It goes where it wants. You can do wash after wash with it and have no idea how dark it will be until it dries. I was impatient and splashed it on rather generously - when I went to bed I left it with beads of wine on the speckles of the lily petals, and on the mouth - that was a big bubble of wine waiting to be absorbed into the paper. I would have liked the mouth much lighter, and the petals don't have the "this is a flower"-ness I was hoping for, being monochromatic and all. I may do it again in watercolour, with bright orange, or even white and maroon petals. But did I accomplish what I wanted - to loosen up with a sketch and get in the painting frame of mind again? Heck yesh.