BLOG about PAINTING

Well, it happened again. I painted for a few days and then got a migraine. This after we put in the time, effort (my darling husband) and money installing an exhaust fan in the studio in the hopes that it would eliminate the problem. The good news is that the headache wasn't as bad, nor did it last as long as the previous painting-induced migraines. The bad news is that it still kept me out of the studio for over a week - recovering and then screwing up my courage to risk it again. I had to finish this last piece:

I did that today. It's not as loose and layered as the previous ones, especially the Bergenia, because the painting had dried in between coats. (I much prefer to do it all at one go or to put successive layers onto still-tacky under layers. You get much more interesting paint-on-paint effects that way. For me, the 'paint' and its tactile qualities are just as important as the image.)

It may be my last oil. I can't pretend any longer that there isn't a link between the oils and the migraines. Yes, I should be able to paint en plein air and get away with it, but then how do I dry the paintings and do any touching up without dragging the problem back into the studio. Should I just bite the bullet, admit that I can't paint in oils any more, and get on with learning how to do things in acrylic? Yes, I don't like acrylics. Yes, they may also turn out to be a problem. But what is the alternative? Being able to paint for only very short stretches of time and risking a migraine at that? If I want to PAINT, then I'm simply going to have to change something. Tough, tough decision. Sigh.