Arsenic

When I painted my first piece - A Gothic Girl for my best friend Anna, I wondered whether I'd be inspired to create more works. But then I started to get more ideas than the time to realize them on the canvases! ^^ Luckily, this tendency continues and just as I thought there were one or two pieces ahead of me, I constantly get inspired for new paintings. I am currently working on two paintings, and I have two or three more in mind already (not to mention the Christmas present for my MIL)! =^v^=

Now, a new painting!
I am very fascinated by the art nouveau posters and other advertisements on boxes of chocolates, ect. Alfons Mucha made a lot of them, also Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry van de Velde, they are so elegant and decorative!

Here is my interpretation of the poster for the "Arsenic and Old Lace" play, (10x13" linen canvas, paper, acrylics, lace, varnished). I know it was written way later than the art nouveau period, but this combination somehow works for me. I absolutely love this play, preferably in the Polish interpretation starring great actress Irena Kwiatkowska, she's the best! *^v^*
Plus, this is my first painting with a lady's head in the centre, I tried it after Robert said that I place small figures on a big background (which was true) and maybe I should try drawing some bigger central element. So I tried, and I like it, my next works are similar in style which doesn't mean I won't be painting the way I did in the first few paintings. I like both styles. ^^

BTW, in the course of reading my birthday "Art Nouveau' book I found out that, as much as I love Mucha's works, I'm much more drawn to the creations of two other artists of this style - Gustav Klimt (with his busy busy backgrounds and texturising with a golden paint) and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (with her limited color palette and brave elongated lines and women figures, sometimes very Japanese-like in style - that's how I perceive her works). Mrs. Mackintosh worked often with her husband Charles, who supposedly said "I had a talent, she was a genius.".
Not to mention that I wouldn't mind getting one of Rene Lalique's necklaces, yummy! or some metalworks of Margaret Gilmour's! *^v^*
There is so much more for me to discover in art nouveau, Mucha is just the peak of the mountain!

One more thing - Helene, I'm sorry for not answering your question about the getting-out-of-debts plan, I meant to do it and then it somehow slipped my mind! So, here it is, two steps basically:
1. consolidate all your debts into one, it will give you lower interest rate and one smaller monthly payment instead of bigger sum for several rates.
2. when you get a salary, pay all the bills first and what is left should be divided into four (or five) parts, each one for each week of a given month (these are money for everything in a given week - food, gas, clothes, going out, ect); spend only the amount you have for the week, don't use credit cards and plan your shopping carefully, if your money runs out - wait till next Monday.
It may not be easy at first but after some time you'll know how much you need for a week.