I haven't signed my name in 6 years

My aunt needed a wedding gift and wanted to know if I had any paintings left over from my old series. Not wanting to turn her down, I suggested that I make her a new one.

So after 3 almost-sleepless nights (not consecutive, thank God!) I'm done and quite tired but happy that I'm painting.

Some compositions are a piece of cake, but this one was a bit more complicated than my previous one. I remember sitting there in the middle of the night thinking how I was gonna mix pink and green without getting things muddy and still convey volume. Pardon me, I can't help it. Sometimes I just miss the shop talk.

In the end, when I finally got the effect that I wanted, I got that "hey, I did it" feeling all over again. I remembered what I told myself every day I was in art school: "The more I know, the more I realize that I don't know." No, that wasn't a tongue-twister. Trust me it makes sense. And do forgive my rambling on; my brain has been reduced to slush after only 3 hours' sleep.

Mom saw me through the process - she of the late nights at the computer. At half past 5 she passed by my room to see how I was doing. I mentioned that I was hungry and she got me some hopia on a tissue because my hands were stained with paint and linseed oil. Now who else can you count on to give you hopia at 5 AM? I thank God every day for the mom that I have.

I told my mom that I was planning to sign my name on the back since the painting was relatively small. She disagreed. "Of course you should sign it," she said. It got me thinking. I'm sure that my aunt would want her friend to know that I had done it. And after all, I've signed and sold scores of paintings.

So I chose a spot and mixed my color. And that's when I realized - I hadn't signed my name in a painting for 6 years! My last show was in November 1999. After so many years, I'd forgotten why I kept such tiny, fine-haired brushes! I thought they were just for irises in tiny portraits, or for baby's breath stems. Gee, it's been a long time.

Do pardon me; I really am so tired. Just wanted to share the good news. In spite of the late nights, painting does make me happy. I just have to figure out a better way to do it. Maybe I should stick to a smaller sized canvas. Or just use pastels. Whatever. I'm glad.