Being Fully Vaccinated Feels Good!

 I'm Loving My Newly Found Freedom!


After 14 months of avoiding close contacts, crowds, meals with friends, gatherings, and more, I am finally vaccinated for Covid19 and I am back to doing a few things that I was greatly missing.

Yay!!


I Went to Art Class

I've been going to the Open Studio painting class at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center since 2011, and during the pandemic it was closed, then it reopened at limited capacity, then it closed again, and finally reopened again in March. I missed it, but I was not feeling comfortable attending until this session.

The session started two weeks after my second shot, perfect timing! 

I eagerly signed up, afraid that with the limited capacity it would get full before I had the chance to join, and last Thursday was the first class. 

Being back felt like seeing family again. I love the place, the people, and the energy in the studio. Ahhhh, so nice!

Robie Benve at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center


I Went to an Art Opening

A local gallery had an art opening in person, and two of the three artists in the show are friends of mine, so I wanted to go to the artist reception to support them - it felt great.

I found out that we were all fully vaccinated, though we still kept our masks on. I embraced the thrill to trust buddies to take pictures with my phone. How long was it since the last time I allowed people to touch my phone?

It's crazy the little things that became taboo during the pandemic.

We are finally, slowly getting out of it.


Robie Benve and Lynda Guenther at the opening of artist Todd Camp

Robie Benve and Rod Hayslip


I Even Went to Happy Hour With a Friend

I don't have photos for this outing but believe me, that glass of wine tasted wonderful. I haven't been to a bar or restaurant since February 2020, woohoo!!


If everyone does the right thing, we'll get out of this tunnel.

I hope people will keep getting the vaccine. I hear that the availability of the vaccine is high, but there aren't as many takers as you would hope.

The more people are getting infected, the crazier variants of the virus we get. C'mon Americans, roll up your sleeve and let's beat this thing.


Comments

Post a Comment

Comments and feedback are welcome. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Winter is Coming - Portrait, Acrylic on Canvas

Image
"Winter Is Coming" 12"x16" Acrylic on Canvas Available   I am really pleased with how this painting came out.  And to think that I used to be very intimidated by painting people, now I can do portraits that really resemble the model, woohoo!  :) I used a canvas that had an abstract pattern already painted on it, with the idea of covering the pattern in most areas, leaving only a few hints of it here and there. However, when I started the new painting, I really liked the pattern background and how it was peaking through everywhere, so I kept it visible as part of the composition. The model was wearing a warm scarf, and it made me smile when shortly after we got our first big snow of the year, she must have known that winter was coming, and coming soon. :)
Read more

Painting Outside Is Always a Challenge, but So Much Fun! - Yield to Pedestrian, Oil Painting

Image
"Yield to Pedestrian" Oil on Panel, 12"x16", framed Available on my website Every week I go on a plein air outing with a group led by the talented Joe Lombardo. Last weeek we did a few 10-minute studies of different views of the same park, then it started pouring and we had to flee. The 10-minute studies were fun and non-committal, I just had to get the main ideas down, no need to make a finished painting. And they were small. Easy peasy. This week, the task was to make a big painting en plein air, and finish it. What??? The weather was crappy again, and I really dislike painting rainy landscapes. I was really intimidated, so I picked a board that was big, but not huge. A 12"x16" would do. Much bigger than the usual 6"x6" I get out on rainy days. : ) But I was determined to do it. I had a strategy. :) I talked to my self in the car, on the way there. I told myself: I am fearless. I am talented. I am courageous. I am creativ
Read more

Cow on Swisse Alps - Acrylic Landscape

Image
"High Pastures" 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61 cm) Acrylic on Stretched Canvas $430 It as been good getting back to the easel after too many months. I thought I forgot how to paint, I felt so rusty. But that subsided soon, thank Goodness, and the usual fun that I get with each new painting kicked in. Yay! :) Life is still too busy for my likings, some days I totally feel overwhelmed by the need of taking care of too many things. When I carve out the time to dip my brushes in paint and get creative, I forget about everything else and I enjoy it so much. :) I painted High Pastures for the painting challenge of A Day Not Wasted . Thanks Lee Brown for sharing your beautiful photos with artists and creating these stimulating challenges! I learned a lot painting my first cow and first mountains. It makes me want to paint more. I enjoyed painting this landscape so much that I even wrote an article about it, explaining the process step by step.  Prints availa
Read more