The only other time I painted in a bathroom was in Paris iat Hotel la Louisiane. The great thing was I could run around the block for still life subjects like French tea cups, macarons and chocolate boxes.
My setup in Maine was pretty terrific since I had wi-fi handy, just no French chocolate boxes around the corner. *Warning: the 1st part of this post is a bit of an infomercial...
You may not have noticed but I have a new seating thingie..
I discovered Backjoy in Real Simple magazine and since I had sciattica last year I investigated further.
I watched the videos
and read the reviews bla bla
I decided to give Backjoy a whirl.
One of the hazards of painting watercolors all day is you sit too much. You curl over like a caterpillar, which end-of-day doesn't feel so great.
Backjoy feels like my spine is a stack of pancakes straight up instead of the usual curled over position. No negative after effects I'm aware of so far. I can even sit on the floor and sit up straight. The only disadvantage, after taking it with me to Maine (it's light weight) on and off buses/cars, is I left it on the Boston Megabus to New York. Lost and Found can't find it.
Someone is sitting pretty.
Someone is sitting pretty.
I ordered another - this one I'm adding RED stripes so it's easily visible on the AirFrance seat.
(end of infomercial)
What I painted in my Maine bathroom/studio:
Guerlain perfum bottles ...
More Paris blobbing...
Les chateaux...
More blobbing to come.
You are just improving our lives all the way around! Beautiful blobs! Nice strong back! And coffee. Yep!
ReplyDeleteConnie*
Love those parfum bottles, great paintings done while sitting straight!
ReplyDeleteI have to look up Backjoy, thanks for the tip. xxx
Carol,
ReplyDeletehow about that Fuchsia colored thingie (I clicked on your link to amazon)? That would be quite a Hingucker, wouldn't it? And noticed immediately, if you forgot to pick it up.
whatever is a Hingucker
Delete???
even Google doesn't seem to know...
Someone suggested straps...
How did I miss the Fuchsia version!
DeleteJust what I need to not lose the thing again!!
That is a great endorsement..if you can't trust your fellow bloggers who can you trust:)?
ReplyDeleteI will mention to J..
Les balances:) cute cute..and you've nailed Shalimar.
Honestly I really like this thing and miss it a lot
DeleteI should be back in form tomorrow
My posture has improved a lot...something even Yoga belts were not doing for me.
Oh my gosh!! THANK YOU for your infomercial! I've actually just gone to my first set of chiropractor appointments ever. Turns out I have some joint problems in the sacrum from all the marathon running and dancing that I used to do. I'm off to my chiro again today and will ask her about Backjoy! It might be one way to help restore my spine.
ReplyDeletex Milla
(http://littlepiecesoflight.blogspot.fr/)
PS I love the Café Richard watercolour!!
Thanks for the tip on Back Joy. I’m going to order one for my husband, who complains all the time about his desk chair.
ReplyDeleteI should probably order one for me, too, even though I have an Aeron chair.
I like that it's so portable
DeleteGreat on the bus so it should work well on a plane
but I should have bought the Fushia : (
Wonder how the sitting thing would work on my harp bench? It's not my hands or fingers that get tired as much as my back from sitting there with a 100-pound thing on my shoulder in such an unnatural position.
ReplyDeleteLove the bathroom paintings - especially the Paris bridges!
Very nice...Paris in Maine!
ReplyDeleteAnd your paintings are not blobs!!!!
As much as I love your work and anything to do with Paris, Im going to have to thank you for the backjoy infomercial too! Just ordered one. I already do all those exercises you mention in the earlier post, plus now I do a bike ride each day to get my heart pumping away, seems to help with all manner of pains in my body from the work I do. Still I am always happy to add something new to the back care regime! You might want to try pilates, those exercises are all part of it, but it really strenghens the core as they say and helps enormously.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina
DeleteI'd love to hear if others are as happy with this seat thing as I am.
I do watergym exercizes to strengthen my core.
I'd do Pilates too if it were as convenient or as refreshing as a dunk in the water.
Well this is a timely post. I could use one of those back thingys. I am going to a new chiropractor right now for a sacroiliac problem. One hip being forward and one back and have had screaming pain in the knee. I think this would be good for doing my painting and drawing and sitting at this computer so I don't hunch over so much. Love your paintings BTW. Did you do any local color 'Painting' while there? I need to go back to ones I missed due to this back of mine. Love your painting desk too. :)
ReplyDeleteCarol, sounds like your loss of the Backjoy seat has led to a positive result: sharing its benefits here...The series in the bathroom studio, I hope they are bringing you as much pleasure as they are bringing to your audience...love the luminosity...Will you be selling the coffee paintings on Etsy? Best, Rita
ReplyDeleteCoffee watercolors will be on Etsy next Tuesday
DeleteBon Appetite
I love the watercolors, it's nice to see so many! I like them all :)
ReplyDeleteWe had howling winds here last night, did you get that in Maine?
I'm glad the the back thing works for you. So far I have been lucky enough to not have a back problem, but I know a lot of folks who suffer through every day....
Wait. That's a bathroom???? In MAINE???? It looks like the Georges V!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to stay and write more but I have to get me one of them Backjoy thingies. Thank you for saving my posture for posterity!
The Georges V?
DeleteI bet the Georges V does not have a collection of Maine pebbles along the window ledge..
Sometimes it's odd how life harmonizes...I have no back troubles, but when I walked into my oil painting teacher's studio today, there was her very own Backjoy...she has had it for years and swears by it!
ReplyDeletethat's so funny
DeleteSomeone I've known a long time just told me he's had his for 8 years (two of them)
Never said boo about it before
Ahhh...Backjoy...will definitely be checking it out. Couldn't help thinking of the closing scene of Midnight in Paris looking at your 'blob'.
ReplyDeleteI have ordered the Backjoy!! Thanks :)))
ReplyDeleteI remember my Dad having one of those or something similar! That was years and years ago, he said it helped a lot. To bad I didn't keep it.
ReplyDeleteCarol, isn't art grand! What a generous artist you are, sharing watercolor tips, advice on finding fine places in which to paint, where to have the counsel of good painting teachers, and ... what something called Back Joy can bring to many folks who spend many hours seated at tables or desks.
ReplyDeleteMerci for the advice. Merci also for sharing all the recent paintings, in many colors both full strength and muted.
xo
I JUST BOUGHT A BACKJOY. You should get commission. ;) Thanks for the rec! I don't have back pain...yet. It's inevitable if I keep sitting the way I do, though. I have horrible posture.
ReplyDeleteAlso I LOVE THE BLOBBING. You make those blobs come to life.
Progress report on the Backjoy:
ReplyDeleteit seems so insubstantial and bendy you think it's doing nothing for you, but then I try sitting without it and feel the difference! Great product - thanks for recommending it :)
me too Karen
DeleteI can't figure it out but my wretched slouching bent-over shoulders have gone away!
Go figure...
mine is sitting on top of a pillow too- my chair is not high enough for my table and it still works?!