Slow but Steady

I expect to be able to finish that piece today. I started painting again yesterday, I have not taken out my brushes in a few years. I used to paint nearly every day then when I moved to Maine I stopped for some reason. I began with Sumi-e in 1985 under the direction of Claudia Suen in Hawaii. I continued with Chinese Brushpainting and also tried my hand at pen and ink, watercolor, pastels, etc. I did well at the pen and ink and Sumi, the rest well I dabbled every now and then I think just to prove to myself that I still couldn't do it. Anyway I seemed to have a natural talent for the Sumi. I sold many, taught in the public school system and at private galleries, and then stopped one day. So as I said in the beginning I have picked up my brushes again. To be truthful I ran out of wrapping paper, had some bags that I use for jewelry and thought it would be a good idea to slap some ink on them and see what happens. That is to come in a few days. For now I want to finish this piece of jewelry I have been working on. I am just in awe of the beauty in these stones. They have so many color variations in each one. It was hard to find the right pearls to go with them and I am not adding as many as usual because I don't want to detract from these jaspers. The carnelian I used was faceted and reflects the light so nicely. I love making jewelry. The colors, the sparkle, the different stones...no wonder it is taking me a while to do this piece. The first layer of the paintings are just about dry so I had better get on with my day. I need to get these done and the materials put up so I can continue this necklace