Phew! It’s not that good but it represents, for me, an escape from paper flowers and a return to some painting. And painting on teabags. And using gouache and brushes.

I’m a bit relieved. Why? Well, because I went through an art phase about twelve years ago and I stopped for some reason and I couldn’t get back into it. I tried but there was some blockage. I don’t know what it was. Something in my head about not being able to do it. And I quickly got out of the habit. I don’t want that to happen again. That’s why I feel I must stick to my resolution and do something creative every day, even if I’m tired. Even if I really don’t feel like it.

That’s also one of the reasons why I now have such a wide range of creative pursuits to choose from. Because, if I don’t feel like carving wood, I can paint. And if I don’t feel like painting, I can make some candles. And if I don’t feel like doing any of those things, I can pick up a musical instrument and learn some new chords or find a new song to play.

Speaking of which, I bought this …

It’s a Yamaha F310 acoustic guitar. I bought it in Goodwin’s on Capel Street. The guitar, spare strings, a case and capo cost just under €200. I did a good amount of research last week before settling on the model I wanted to buy. For the price, this is a well-built, fine sounding guitar.

I’m not giving up the ukulele. The uke is a fun instrument. It’s easy to play. I enjoy playing it. I know most of the chords I need to play most of the songs I like playing. It’s also ultra portable and it’s a social instrument and I fully intend going along to Ukulele Tuesday again and maybe looking at other local groups.

I used to play the guitar when I was in my teens and early twenties. I wasn’t that good at it but I could strum and sing along and I enjoyed playing it for myself. Now that one can find the chords to just about any song, on the internet, playing songs one likes listening to has become easier to do. My fingers got back into chord patterns quite quickly on the ukulele and although the tuning is different on a guitar, many of the patterns are the same.

The neck is obviously wider on a guitar and navigating six strings rather than four is taking a bit of getting used to, but there is some muscle memory there and I’m enjoying the challenge. The steel strings are hard on the finger tips and so I’m going through the pain of that again but it’s definitely worth it.