Persephone's Progress

I'm having some trouble making myself finish this, my last painting for the June Show. Now that I am almost done with the project, I am grinding to a premature halt. I still have three more feet of this image to go, as well as all the finishing touches that will surely be needed. I've had problems with relative scale on this one, especially considering that it will be viewed from a low perspective. That makes the head seem too small, even though when looked at straight on, it seems fine. Since I have no place to hang it up, I can't really know how it will be, and I keep making the head larger and smaller. At some point I'll have to decide. This picture was taken as I perched on top of a stool holding the camera out in front of me over the painting on the floor. It is still skewed.

I've spent some time outside working on days when the temperature is into the sixties. My front yard is looking better, though already the grass needs to be cut. I transplanted more day lilies and did a lot of weeding. On the side of the house I unearthed a big bed of irises. They have been buried under mounds of left-over dead grass for years, but I knew they were there because they still managed to poke out their purple heads last spring. Now the spot looks moderately cared for, though a lot remains to be done. In the back yard I cut down scores of errant roses whose thorns were making walking in that area impossible. I raked out the area under the huge lilac near the chicken pen and plan to cut off more of the branches that are lying across the ground.

One would think with all that work the place would be looking better than it does, but there is so much to be done on a lot that has been neglected for so long. This is the first time I have had much interest in doing jobs that needed years to accomplish. I never planned to be anywhere that long. Now I have some reason to imagine myself here for a long time and am willing to invest in the future of the appearance of my home.