When the painting opened a portal (and other minor miracles)

All the highs and lows of days 15 to 21 of the 31-day canvas adventure.

Week three of this 31-day canvas adventure, and I’m still standing — slightly more paint-streaked, a touch more caffeinated, and no wiser about what I’m actually doing. The plot thickens, along with the paint water and the layer of mystery on this canvas.

Hello lovelies!

This is Shinjini, reporting back to you “live” from the paint-splattered trenches of my 31-day canvas adventure, where the paint is slowly congealing on my palette, the coffee is getting stronger by the day, and the stakes are mostly imaginary.

If you missed my previous dispatches, the first week was all about desperately trying to befriend the canvas (we eventually reached a fragile truce), and last week was pure chaos — a full-blown wreck the canvas extravaganza. If you haven’t read those posts yet you really should. Go ahead, I’ll wait!

Now that you’re back, let’s get into week 3 of this canvas journey.

After reaching a point where the story was finally starting to emerge on the canvas, this week was about making some bold moves. It took me a good long while to get there, though.

What we had, at first, were a lot of rather meek, tentative moves, as you can see in exhibit A, above — this is what happened on Day 15.

Some more Phthalo Blue drips and paint to cover over that weirdly surreal love child between a mushroom and a broccoli that showed up on Day 13. (They grow up and leave the house so fast, don’t they?)

And a porthole into another dimension, which I created with some silver paint. Did the lady with a gold necklace emerge from that porthole? Or is she inviting me to step into her magical world, where the brushes probably behave and the paint never muddies? Either way, it’s suspiciously sparkly business!

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I had just a few moments on Day 16, so I lightened part of the lady’s dress and added some light green marks.

It was the run-up to Diwali, the festival of lights and one of the biggest festivals in India, and I was busy with the prep and caught up in the general excitement around festive season.

After all the trials and tribulations I’ve been through with this canvas, a few quickie painting sessions are rather justified, n’est-ce pas? That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it!

Day 17, and I added in a moon in the corner. It almost looks like we have 2 moons now, so this is turning into some sort of alien landscape situation. (Honestly, at this point, I won’t be surprised if a UFO showed up, just to see what I’m doing!)

I also changed up the figure, so instead of looking like she was leaning out of the porthole, the lady with the gold necklace now looks like she’s arrived. She’s standing there, hands on her metaphorical hips, silently assessing my choices. Which means she’s probably here to stay — at least until I do something that annoys her again!

Day 18, and I was still being rather timid. I changed up some of the colors and added a few portals on the lady’s dress, hemmed and hawed while turning the canvas over every which way — north, south, and upside down — hoping inspiration would fall out. When it didn’t, I called it a day.

And this is where the magic finally decided to show up — fashionably late of course!

All the tentativeness so far was getting under my skin, so I decided to be bold and went to town with some acrylic inks.

Apparently, the porthole is now a leak in space-time. The painting’s gone rogue, and I’m just along for the ride!

Day 20 — I had another play with some acrylic inks, to bring that mystery down across the entire right side of the canvas.

It kinda feels like the lady with the gold necklace is stepping out of the mystery and into my world, doesn’t it? (I wonder if she brought snacks!)

Day 21 was less about big moves and more about quiet diplomacy — a few color tweaks here, a little blending there, smoothing out the rough edges so everything could coexist peacefully. Nothing overtly dramatic, just some paint politics!

We have another 10 days to go, and it feels like the canvas is nearing completion. Maybe. Possibly. (I’ve felt this a time or two before.)

I suspect the next few days will be about refining a few areas, adding some details, and trying not to “fix” things that don’t really need fixing.

As we march forward to week 4, I’m curious: Will there be more dramatic shifts or some quiet conversations? Time will tell!

Stay tuned — I’ll be here in the corner, staring at my drying paint palette, chugging coffee, and wondering what to do next as I whisper sweet nothings to the canvas, hoping that it behaves!

If you’ve joined me on this journey, I’d love to hear how it’s going for you. Come tell me in the comments, or join in the chat and share photographs of your progress so far! You can also share on Instagram and tag me there @moderngypsy.in if that’s easier for you.

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