Category: paintings

Painting, Technology, and All That

A new work on the table, finally!

Technology is annoying. It’s supposed to be a time saver, but guess what? It’s not. Have you found that out yet. Yes, it does things we never thought we could do, or should do. Let me just say when it doesn’t feel like working no amount of prodding will help it do anything. Nope.

I started a new painting today. Yesterday I was busy with The Mr. doing some things that had to be done. Afterwards he was home all day hanging around. No painting for me. I did the house stuff and found some time to finish another knotted bracelet, and begin and finish another. Kind of productive, but not painting.

Today was semi-free. Wrapped up the morning and decided to post my goings on, but my camera would not cooperate. No, the battery was dying and no matter what I did it would not just spit out my photos so I could get on with it!

While I wait for the battery to charge I will tell you about my latest painting. Trying to decide if this one should be a larger size the other day, I promptly forgot all about that and penciled in my subject. Ok, so that was dumb. Then I forgot all about measuring out a border because these watercolor blocks are weird sizes. Marking out a border helps me keep the work in line so a matte doesn’t cover the edges too much.

Ok, forget it. I took photos of my start. I took photos of yesterday’s bracelets. I sat down to write my post, download the photos and move ahead. Ah, not so fast! Battery is dead. Then the computer tells me I am not connected to the internet. What? I say it is!

Here we go. Battery half way charged and the photos are uploaded! Happy day at last.

Art is About Life

I came across something online yesterday that caught my attention. It was an essay about blogging and the idea behind why people blog, what to blog about, and the blog’s main idea or focus. What story are we trying to tell with a blog? Are our ideas all over the place, or is the blog about one topic and only that topic?

Some blogs seem like an open page of a person’s diary. Other blogs are like another person’s photograph album. One blogger likes to ramble about not much of anything in particular while another writes very technical information with tedious accuracy.

This article stated that an art blog should be about art. If that’s the case then what about the life of the art and artist?

While I was pondering this essay in my Morning Pages I found myself writing that there really is no art without life. If that is true, then there is no life without art. The beauty of art and art making is synonymous with life and all it’s beauty. The two are totally entwined.

When I started writing this blog I knew there was no way I could only discuss my art journey or the process. Life would sprout up between the posts of painting and not painting. Nor did I want my whole life to be an open book to put up to scrutiny. A little life story here, a rant about my latest painting there, and there you have it.

I was watching a television show where celebrities were making art for charity in one episode. None of the stars were artistically talented. Creative, yes, but not in the painterly sense. They arranged their work in a gallery for the public to purchase and donate money.

What struck me was a patron made their decision to purchase one work only after hearing what the celebrity artist had to say about his feelings while painting it. The painting itself was really not great, but the thoughts of the artist were intriguing enough to make the decision to buy. How interesting is that?

The daydreams and ramblings of the artist are the things that make life interesting. And life is more interesting because the artist has a different view of it. Does a painting posted each day make the art blog a good one to follow? Maybe not, because art isn’t all about art.

Just Going with the Flow

The painting dry spell seems to be lifting.  I think we need to just do nothing for a time while the brain resets and inspiration can return.  You know that thing called Life gets in the way and what can you do but sit it out for a bit. 

Some things must be done and other things can be left alone.  Go with the flow and forget it.  I wasn’t painting and I wasn’t in my usual fist fight with resistance either.  Just chilling, looking at my studio space, organizing stuff, checking out yarn and knitting, drooling over beads and just daydreaming in general.  No commitment to anything.  Maybe that’s the trick?

Here’s the new studio set up.  I never went to IKEA, although I will eventually get there, but I confiscated a bookshelf from my son’s music room for my use in the studio.  I won’t tell him if you won’t, okay?

 At least I can store some things out in the open now. I’m not done.  That door on the left is a closet I keep older work and other stuff.  I’m planning to paint it inside and add flat files or shelving on one side with horizontal slots for canvases on the other.  It’s a thought.  By the way, the light still doesn’t work.  I guess it’s time to call in the pros.

I started a sketch from this month’s photo suggestion at the Virtual pARTy blog.  It’s not a great photo composition, but a good starting point for painting ideas.  I missed the deadline to enter on the blog, but I don’t care because this has my “thing” working again, and I don’t even like horses.  My focus is going to be on the nearest figure and I’m blocking out the rest as shapes and grounding lines. 

Another artist already finished her work with the same  idea, which isn’t all that unusual.  Each artist has their own vision and techniques making each work different anyway.  I’m interested in the process right now, not the outcome.  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m not using the new watercolor paper yet.  I want to, but I’m frugal that way.  I’ll finish the old paper before I use the Arches that cost big dollar bills.

 And these are the beads I bought.  Aren’t they just amazing?  Well, I fell for the colors and then the shapes, and all kinds of ideas came to my brain.  I’m compelled to arrange them with silver beads, maybe wire wrapping them, I don’t know what to do first.  I set up my jewelry stuff on the opposite side of my studio desk on an old kitchen table we had when I was a kid.  Yes, it’s still alive and works! 

Keeping my stuff out seems to inspire me.  I could be in that room for a pencil and end up seeing an idea glinting out of the corner of my eye.  Before I know it I’m working on the sketch or the beads. 

The week is new yet, and I have errands to run.  After that my time is my own and  I’ll be in my little foggy dreamland.