Tonight...

This is what I did it on,

... and this is what I did.

For Christmas, Brent procured for me the best art table ever. I've been waiting for Alvin to get their crap together and reissue the glass-topped Craftmaster II Art Table that's been off the market for over two years due to "manufacturing issue," but Brent was surfing art supply stores and found something even better, a Studio Design drafting table topped by a sheet of glass the delicate blue color of an Italian lake. It arrived the day before Christmas and was so easy to assemble that I had it done and arranged by the time Brent got here New Year's Eve. I've been obsessed with the glass ever since I saw the Alvin table; I'm so hard on my art surfaces due to the variety of media I use, including the X-Acto blades and sanding blocks for watercolor paper. The table elevates easily, rolling on sturdy pins, and locks into a sawtooth brace without me having to twist, screw, or hook anything. It has trays and drawers galore and a monster surface area and I LOVE IT. Plus it fits nicely into the corner slot in the living room and my stuff all fits snugly underneath, whereas the round wooden dinner table I was using took up a quarter of the room and I had to crawl all the way under it to reach things that were stored. Thanks so much, darling.

Tonight I was rather inspired to draw but wound up painting Big Cat with oils, just because that's what was more accessible (my pencils and lead are spread all over the living room floor, while my brushes, solutions, and paints are already neatly organized in the portable easel M got me a few years ago for Christmas. Also, Bekah should know that Big Cat was immortalized using the long blue brushes she gave me a while back. I adore them).

The living room doesn't have any kind of ventilation at all and it's probably hazardous for me to paint in there because of the fumes, but I'll figure something out. First I have to get rid of this headache, though. I fee like I accomplished something, so now I can go to bed.

It's turning out to be a productive new year.