Too Many Choices

One of the things that happens to me in the studio is I have too many choices. This may sound good, but it keeps me from finishing something. I think of myself as a painter, but it's not really as straight forward as that.

I work on canvas, paper, prepared wood panels, yupo, and almost anything that doesn't move. I paint with oils, watercolors, and acrylics and often combine them. I create paintings, collages, cards, prints, and drawings.

I start a painting on canvas and suddenly the paper is calling to me. I pick up the charcoal and see the bright and sparkling pastels beckon. None of this would really be a problem if I would just stay on task.

In an effort to manage my time better, I decided to eliminate some of the choices. I have been going through my studio and selling items that are still very good, but that I will probably not use in the next year.

Gone are the dry artist pigments. The some of my vast collection of watercolors have found a new home. The pastels will be used by an artist in the Pacific Northwest and the etching ink is being used in the Big Easy. My art materials are fulfilling their intended purpose.

There are still shelves to be sorted through and boxes to be unopened, but I have managed to select what paper I will be keeping and what will be sold. Now to sell it so that I may start painting again.

Spring Cleaning!

It took a week, but my studio is clean and reorganized.

I sorted through hundreds of pieces of paper, collage elements, tubes of paint, and old works. Went through boxes, drawers, and containers and grouped all the like items together. Threw out old sketches, half finished work, and old pieces that I was over.

  

Now to return and create.

Thinking & Inertia

Detail of painting in progress

This is the perfect image of a painting I am working on. It's a little dark, a little out of focus, which is exactly what I am feeling.

I thought this painting would be finished two weeks ago. It is no where close to bringing finished. Why? Because I am so easily distracted by what I think I should be doing, instead of doing what I should be doing.

Thinking can become my trap. Over-thinking is my down right nemesis. Heaven forbid I start awful-izing! All of these ultimately lead to inertia. Like a shark if an artist stops moving they start dying.

I recently came across an article that addressed this issue. The correspondence between Sol LeWitt and Eva Hesse to stop thinking and just paint, to just DO IT!

So now I am off to the studio to just DO IT!

Lying in Ruins

After weeks (over 2 years for two of the culprits) of struggling with about 8 canvases I am ready to toss them in the bin.

While two have questionable composition, that is not the case with the others, it's the paint! I have either been to heavy handed, choose the wrong colour, the wrong hue. The brush work is awkward, there is to much medium in this area or that. It's a wreck! They all are wrecks!! I am a wreck!!!

So now here I am. I have been trying to figure out how and where I went wrong. Was there a sign I didn't heed? A point at which if I had slowed down or sped up I could have pulled these paintings back from the brink? Were they over thought, under thought? I simply don't know.

I do know I will start again. A bit more humble and unsure of myself, but this is not a bad thing it just is. I don't know where I am headed, but I know where I will start. As always the start will be a clean unmarred surface that I will have prepared for my first mark.

Studio Time

This is a picture of my studio. It is fairly neat and clean. Well organized and very functional. The skylights provide great light and there is clearly enough room to work on several canvas at the same time.

Over the past several moths I completed the canvases that are visible. As I finished them, I also worked on other pieces of art. While I was working I was creating small areas of disarray. Mind you they were small, but there were several of them. No flat surface has escaped at least one, if not 3 or 4 pile os papers, pencils, tubes of color, etcetera,  etcetera,  etcetera……….

So yesterday in my infinite wisdom I tore everything asunder. Which is why I am sitting here with my cup of coffee delaying the inevitable task of reorganizing, culling, cleaning, and eventually , blessedly, getting back to painting.

Heading Home!

This was one of my lovely views while I was on vacation. I had a great time and my beach memory banks are full. However, now that I am actually heading home I can't wait to get into the studio.

Crafty Cats

These are the Crafty Cats,Alvin and Squid.Last night they went into the studio and were working with pastels.
I really wouldn't mind so much if they would pick up after themselves,but no!It is so much fun to bat the pastels across the floor and hide them under the table.