Coffee And Paint Drips Blog - Page 21 of 79

Thought for Thursday

“If you ask me anything I don’t know, I’m not going to answer.” ~Yogi Berra

The last few days have been cloudy, promising rain at every moment. Those overcast skies were playing games with my head, making me lose my motivation. Yes, I go to the studio each day expecting to work only to find myself staring at my workspace, willing the paints and brushes to do something.

That just didn’t work.

Then I decided to clean up, throw out, organize. The activity sent me to arrange beads into new jewelry pieces. Not a total loss, however, not painting either.

Feeling the need to get away from myself yesterday, I went into the garden. I got out my shovel to rearrange the annuals and the hostas. I enlarged the beds, and watered it all when I was finished. The climbing roses needed trimming and I snipped some blossoms for my patio table.

My moment, my zen

This morning as I sat outside at the table to write the Morning Pages and finish my coffee, I admired the pretty roses. A breeze came through carrying their wonderful scent to me and it was heavenly. A moment of quiet aroma filled zen, I thought to myself.

Thanks. I needed that.

When in Doubt, Distraction Works

“When in doubt, don’t.”

Usually I ‘don’t’, but I managed to push myself in another direction.

Without an idea which way to go next on the painting schedule, I turned to jewelry. Designing jewelry is a lot like painting. There are colors, shapes and spacial relationships to overcome.

Agate Necklaces ©Dora Sislian Themelis

It’s the same creative process to work through, but the outcome is a little different. Still, as with paintings, someone has to be drawn to a piece to want to own it.

Raspberry Agate Necklace ©Dora Sislian Themelis

Paintings go up on someone’s wall in a space. Jewelry gets to be worn and taken out into the world on someone’s body. Same idea, but different.

Raspberry Agates ©Dora Sislian Themelis

So yeah, I thought a little jewelry distraction might be in order and put the paints aside for a little while to arrange some gorgeous semi precious stones. That shopping event is in September, but I may as well be prepared with items to sell. Unless I love these pieces too much to part with them.

Blue Agate Necklace ©Dora Sislian Themelis

Thought for Thursday

“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” ― Bill Watterson

Looking for Ideas

Until I decide on the next painting I am working on some jewelry pieces. There is an upcoming shopping event I agreed to do. I need to be prepared with work to show and sell.

Motivation and ideas for the next painting work have to come from somewhere. Hopefully, as I arrange the beads, and my brain drifts away while I work, something will pop up.

Process Doesn’t Mean Perfect

Taking advantage of the momentum, I finished another watercolor painting this week. Imagine that? I had just wrapped up one work when I decided I should just keep going and start the next one.

The paints were out, the other painting was free from the watercolor block, I was there with wet paint brushes, why not?

I’m not even going to start with the whole thing about whether or not this is a good work. Forget it.

Process, baby, process. Start the work. Keep going until you finish the work.

Push it. Crush it. Process.

Three Pink Daisies ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
18×24 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Wanting to get it out of the way quickly I didn’t even spend time with the photograph. One shot and I was out of there. It’s a little shadowy on the upper right corner, which could possibly be my head blocking the light, but let’s ignore that, shall we?

Thought for Thursday

“The artist’s task is to become a successful eccentric, a strange but wise duck able to venture out of solitary confinement and mingle among society.” ~Eric Maisel

Not a Wordless Wednesday

The temperature in New York this week is in the nineties. Today the thermostat in my car read 101F. People all around are wilting.

Get with the program people! We live in New York and this is the summertime, the BEST weather we’re going to have so enjoy it now because around the corner “you know what” is lurking!

It’s a four letter word beginning with an “S” and ending with a “W”.

Just dwell on that for a moment while I go about my business.

There is no way I’m going to complain about the heat. Nope. I am loving the heat and humidity. That is a fact. The summer has to be the best season for all the obvious reasons and painting is a big one. I can move it all outside and enjoy the weather. The sun, the scent of flowers and grass, the colors of it all, everything is just beautiful.

That said, I worked on, and finished, another watercolor painting.

Plodding in the Painting Process

Everyone comes to their process differently. How an individual weaves their way through the day to come out at the other end with a finished product is as varied as each person’s character and ability.

Some of us plod. Some procrastinate. Others push. And some fly. I wish I could fly.

Me? I plod.

Twyla Tharp wrote about her process in her book The Creative Way, that she needs some little thing to start the process, an action that signals her brain to begin the chain of events that lead to working.

Many artists are working alone and not punching a clock. There is no boss who eyes us if we don’t show up on time. We are our own boss, and as such, might give ourselves the day off if we should so desire.

It’s no surprise that things can quickly fall by the wayside just because we suddenly have the urge to veer off in a direction that has nothing to do with creating our work.

Um, yeah, painting is work. (But don’t ask The Mr. if painting is my work. He’ll frown and look at me sideways.)

My day always has a plan. The to-do list is ready from the night before, but is tweaked first thing in the morning. Painting is always first on that list.

With morning activities done, the family out, and the house finally in order, it’s office time. Emails, updating, uploading, and all things computer related. Then there might be errands. By now it’s noon.

Have I headed to the studio to paint by now? No. I’m plodding through the day, trying to avoid resistance mode.

It can be mid-afternoon by the time I get to the item #1 on the list. I’m still looking for that little action that signals it’s time to get the ball rolling.

This past week I was determined to push, rather than plod, to paint. I cleared my day as fast as I possibly could. The weather was beautiful, but I knew I had been slacking and decided to bring the painting equipment outside to work in the garden rather than from photos in the studio.

Painting in the garden allowed me to enjoy the summery weather and work at the same time. Working the brush quickly I did my best to lay in all the colors and shapes I wanted before I lost momentum.

Once the work begins it goes well, I’m in the zone, the process of painting is satisfying and the end is agreeable to me.

Still, I’d rather not plod through the process.

Finished Work for Friday

After deciding to ditch the family travel photos and move on to other things, I found this photo of a monastery in Greece built into the side of a cliff on the Cycladic island of Amorgos. It was mysteriously appealing to me and felt that urge to paint so I went along with it. A twenty minute session and I was finished with this work.

There’s more going on, but I’ll save it for later. See you on the flip side.