Back Again and Painting Progress

That was the longest vacation from my blog that I have taken yet!  Today I was musing about why I seemed to have lost interest in recording my artistic and/or daily doings.  The only reasons that appear to have some basis in fact and therefore are possibly valid are:

1. Holidays - but we have them every year and they have until this year not blocked my writing
2. Family members with critical or possibly critical medical issues - that was probably the most valid reason
3. Over-extension (again!) - and that is also very real.  For the first time I was aware of bone-deep weariness and the sense of being over-whelmed.  Those symptoms I ascribe to a combination of all three which became a cycle.  

The good news is that the holidays are over and everything except the Santa wall hanging (has to remain until I figure out what I want in its place) and the holly (that will stay until its no longer attractive - it's a symbol of winter to me).  One family member is getting stronger and will be returning home, one turned out not to be critically ill or even ill at all, and while a third has fallen prey to critical illness, he is younger and I hope will weather his trials also.  The third how-many-times-have-I-mentioned-this? issue is still a matter yet to be resolved.  It is clearly something I do to myself, but at least for the next three weeks, I have severely limited my commitments.

Tomorrow I take the watercolor I have been working on since October (so many studies and too many days of not getting to the paints) is almost finished.  I say almost because I know Sharon will have suggestions to make it better that I hope I can complete during class.  But here is what I think I posted on December 13, 2016:

And here is the same painting after several weeks worth of work (much of it thinking):

I had to invent the first floor, right hand side of the building because I had chosen such a large sheet of paper and because I felt the actual continuation of the structure (a red, add on convenience store complete with gas station) had no redeeming quality for this subject (the ominous sky behind vs the brilliant light in the foreground).