Hello:) Here’s where I share what I’m currently thinking about and learning. Weekly episodes with accompanying transcripts are available at https://heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/
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This painting is my favorite of this series because of how it turned out. I just did horizontal strokes with black and white acrylic, covering the canvas in various shades of gray. This represents how surrender is sometimes reached not from a peaceful place but from one of having no other options. That concept feels very gray to me.
I have several gray paintings in my room. Because everything is deep to me, I often think this is because I tend to feel down, and sometimes I can’t buoy myself up enough to paint something colorful. Sometimes the blah and bleak need the opportunity to speak. I’m still taking care of myself by creating, but I’m taking the pressure off by simplifying the color scheme.
One of my gray paintings got the response “I can’t tell if this is satire” on YouTube. I don’t think they were being mean, but it did make me feel insecure about it. Funnily, my youngest sibling told me it reminded them of a famous painter’s piece, which made me feel pretty dang good. We all know art is subjective, but if you ever see a piece that makes you think a kid could do that, let that encourage you. Creating art is therapeutic and beauty doesn’t have to mean complicated or only achievable by the highly skilled, educated, etc.
Pictured here: my painting on the floor, titled God, the cycles life takes us through.
This is the final week that I’m basing a painting on a song from my ep These Songs, out now. You can find that here (https://hyperfollow.com/alexandriathesesongs), or today’s musical inspiration, This song is what resignation sounds like, in playlists on YouTube (https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKQUelszjy3s&si=gFPEp2IRXVKIyJUE) Music or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mENGgXsGKjC2xLvfDEH2q?si=vwTBk_H6Q9WsBhM-lOzmSA&utm_source=copy-link).
Hey, I Hope You Have A Great Day is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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7 Oct 2026
15. Green
This was the last painting I did in this series even though there’s one more after this. I’d covered the pieces Maybe now the s**t you pull will be worth something (https://heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/p/13-brown?r=13u0c&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) in curved strokes of paint and surrender (https://heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/p/14-orange?r=13u0c&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web) in upward strokes. But today’s painting, I decided, would have a circular pattern.
Other than black and white, I only buy bigger tubes of cyan, magenta, and yellow. This was not my original plan, but I love how, if I want any other color, I have to experiment to (hopefully) get the color I want. Even with Google’s help, there’s no guarantee I’ll do it. These circumstances are one of the few where I love that.
I treat my music similarly: I’m learning on my own and from other professionals but sometimes my voice cracks. Or the rhythm in certain parts isn’t perfect. Often I’ll make corrections, but I like to leave some mistakes in. If I were to perform live, you would not get a flawless execution from me; might as well share some of those imperfections now.
Pictured here: my piece on the floor, I’m tired of stewarding hell.
For the next couple of weeks, I’m continuing to base each painting on a song from my ep These Songs, out now. You can find it here (https://hyperfollow.com/alexandriathesesongs), or today’s musical inspiration, This song is about me, in playlists on YouTube (https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKQUelszjy3s&si=gFPEp2IRXVKIyJUE) Music or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mENGgXsGKjC2xLvfDEH2q?si=vwTBk_H6Q9WsBhM-lOzmSA&utm_source=copy-link).
Hey, I Hope You Have A Great Day is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/subscribe (https://heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
30 Sept 2026
14. Orange
I’ve shared before how I don’t know how to paint for real. Meaning, I’ve never taken classes outside of arts in grade school where we used watercolors (BLEH). When it comes to some artistic endeavors, I’m afraid to learn the basics because I know that the part of me that loves rules will also cling to them and be afraid to break them (even though they say that the time to break rules is after learning them). Because of that, this is largely NOT a substack about painting education as much as just a place to process my experiences and showcase my pieces.
Okay, so now I want to talk about underpainting!
I was talking to one of my coworkers about our weeks. I’d shared how I’d finished a piece, Michael’s sales, and how I needed to buy another tube of magenta acrylic paint. She then said something like, “You should do a layer of underpaint.” And my mind exploded.
Because no, I’m not currently interested in taking a class on painting. But DO I LOVE hearing others talk about things that interest them. And I am a sucker for learning even random facts from anyone who is excited to share. So I asked her to explain, then Googled it just to be sure I understood how to do it correctly.
Pictured here: magenta-painted canvas.
I also recommend you look it up or ask someone, but this is just taking a thin layer of paint. Then after it dries, paint whatever overtop. The point is that the bottom layer color will pop through. I fear I did not make the magenta underneath today’s canvas thin enough. And I’m typing this before I go to paint on top, so you will see below how I did.
Pictured here: today’s canvas, surrender.
The next few weeks I’m basing each painting on a song from my ep These Songs, out now. You can find it here (https://hyperfollow.com/alexandriathesesongs), or today’s musical inspiration, This song is about a shapeshifter, in playlists on YouTube (https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKQUelszjy3s&si=gFPEp2IRXVKIyJUE) Music or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4mENGgXsGKjC2xLvfDEH2q?si=vwTBk_H6Q9WsBhM-lOzmSA&utm_source=copy-link).
On Fridays I’ll share a bit more about the songs themselves, which you can read about for $5 a month. Thank you for being here. I hope you have a great day.
Hey, I Hope You Have A Great Day is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/subscribe (https://heyihopeyouhaveagreatday.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
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