Alphabet block

9/29: Alphabet block, oil on canvas panel,approx. 5x3 in.

I tried to keep this fast but it went over half an hour so I won’t call it a sketch. I took the time to mix my normal colors here, and missed the slight feeling of excitement that using less familiar ones had given me these last few days. Maybe trying out "the other kid’s crayons" was more satisfying, or I’m not as sure of my normal palette’s versatility as I was. Either way, this is somehow better than my previous attempt at alphabet blocks, which took considerably more time. Being more spontaneous in color decisions is key, I guess - fewer decisions, with more confidence, or something like this.

Writing yesterday's egg post got me thinking more about the term "viking," the Old English form of which was wícing [wēch-ĭng], from wíc, the word I found so difficult in the riddle of the swan. I had never put the two together before - the root word plus the suffix making a new word, in the way that æðeling "prince" was made from æðele "noble." What the dictionary has on the supposed origin of viking sheds more light on another meaning of wíc, which gives the riddle an even more playful, "riddling" quality. Maybe more on this later (I know you love it)....