Coffee And Paint Drips Blog - Page 28 of 79

Painting, Process is #1

The relative lull of the after dinner hour has been holding some powerful stuff lately. What is it about this time of my day that I’ve been able to do some good work? Forget about the product. The process seems to have great momentum in this evening hour.

Let me just say up front, I am a morning person. I am wide eyed awake at 6AM most mornings, but that doesn’t mean I can work on painting at that time. Nope, the early morning is for coffee, the newspaper, and the Morning Pages, in that order too.

I plan my day after these things are finished. First thing on my list is painting. Again, that doesn’t mean painting happens first. It’s listed first and it usually happens later, after the house is in order and any running around I might need to do is done.

Yes, painting is on the list, baby. Every single day.

Okay, so I get to it after lunch, so what? I am grateful to the muse who makes me list it #1, because if that didn’t happen, painting might not happen at all.

So life must be in order for the muse to visit me in my studio that day. Just like a Virgo, right?

Green Pepper ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

I cropped another section of a larger photograph to make this painting. If I have any idea of getting some quick work done, it’s going to have to be a smaller piece. For right now this is working for me. It’s not twenty minutes, but rather almost an hour’s worth of work. Even possibly an hour. When I start working I lose track of the time unless I’ve set my timer. An hour sounds right this time.

The different colors next to each other are very interesting to me. I love the tumble of shapes. Okay, so they’re vegetables and fruits, there’s color, dark against light, everything I feel good working with.

The paper is great, the paints are delicious, and I’m painting. What else is there?

Process, baby. Just the process!

Mr. Resistance is Not Welcome

What is it about Mr. Resistance that makes him so irresistible? One small thing can throw an artist off her wonderful motivation and balance, leaving the door wide open for Mr. Resistance to walk right in and make a mess of things. Thanks a lot.

It’s not easy being a nice person like me. How do I get trapped into the corner and allow Mr. Resistance to walk all over me? Am I a doormat? Do I look like I have the word “Idiot” tattooed across my forehead?

Um, no, but it happens every now and then that a little thing can derail a nice flow of creative energy, like a late day with too many things on the list to check off. Derail is a nice word. Trample my direction is another way of saying my art making hit the skids.

Okay. I’m over that now. Mr. Resistance is no longer welcome and it’s time to get back to work!

Three Peaches ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

Here we have the work that broke through the resistance blockade. Another short time frame, a small window of opportunity taken, and the spell was broken. An after dinner hour to make magic, and I worked hard to get it done. Small and quick.

I cropped another photograph to get the composition I felt comfortable with and I went at it with a quick pencil line, then right to the paint. Again, less than an hour’s worth of work and this was finished. It’s not easy work either. There was plenty of thought behind this painting. Some how I’m able to think where I want to go and get to it quicker than I have in the past.

Finished projects happen far more often these days.

Photo for Friday a No-Go

As you can see there is a noticeable absence of a photo for Friday today. Okay, the best I could do was the updated banner with the watercolor of the sunflowers I painted in the summer.

There are days that fly by, busy with enjoyable activities, a sunny sky, warm weather, laughs and baby hugs. Then there are those so filled to the brim with Must-Do’s it’s all a person can do to keep a head above water. Today is the latter.

Couldn’t my day be better spent in the studio setting up the next painting? I say Yes.

That is not happening today.

As I usually wake really early in the day, I’ve already had a full morning and I haven’t left the house yet. Appointments, errands, paperwork, reminders on post it notes all over my desk and calendar.

My day is punctuated with all these things I must attend to, nothing of which I am that thrilled about, but only I can do. See what happens when you say Yes?

In one of the online classes I just took, the operative work was No. I remember when I was reading The Artist’s Way, then the operative word was Yes. Now I’m confused! Yes? or No?

I guess it depends on what actions you actually say these words to. Then again, sometimes, you just have to go with it where ever either of those words lead. For me, today, it’s a Yes day. No way around it.

Planned and mapped out my day. It’s going to be a tight squeeze. Painting, or anything happening in the studio will have to wait a bit. Unless I can find twenty minutes, it’s going to be a tough go today.

Thought for Thursday

“Creativity is like electricity: throw the switch, and it is there.” ~Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

Another Quick One Down

Someone kick me next time I decide to edit my blog posts from the iPad. Every time I do that I lose my whole post! What a stupid thing!

I wanted to edit the size of this painting. After I had a chance to take a look at the actual size I remembered I posted the wrong size here. Off to the iPad to make the corrections and Boom! no post. Yeah, that made me really happy.

A Red Onion ©2012 Dora Sislian Themelis
9×12 Watercolor, Arches cold press paper

If I remember I said I didn’t plan on painting the evening I worked on this. I just had about an hour to spend before I fell to exhaustion, so I went to my studio to look at what I wanted to work on next. Before I knew it I had cropped a larger photo into this segment, filled my pan with water and began sketching this painting.

Did I say it lasted almost an hour? Yes, almost an hour went by and this was done, done, done!

I am on a roll over here. Thank you to the art muse for keeping me in the game.

Next time, no editing from iPad, okay?

Determined Painting Day

Since I blew last weekend, and my week, there was no way I was going to allow myself to blow this weekend too. Painting was going to happen no matter what. And painting is what I did.

A free Sunday without distractions is what I desperately needed to paint and get up to speed with the online class. As soon as The Mr. left the house, and Son#2, I went to the studio to get the painting going.

Take a look at my progress. There’s something about taking a photograph of my work that helps me step back and see it better. I was determined to finish this today. Working around the painting, I moved from the wet areas to dry spots to keep going. And I took a lunch break, and a quick break to read over my class lessons. Plenty of time for the work to dry.

Let me show you where I’m working. My little basement studio has a window at least. The lousy light still isn’t fixed, but I have my desk lamp for light. I had to aim the beam up to keep the glare off my wet painting. Oh, what we do for art!

Here’s another view of the lamp and my desk. Since I made some revisions in the room it’s much more comfortable to work in.

Stay tuned for F.P. to come. Uh, Finished Product, that is.

Thought for Thursday

“When painting I am walking a tightrope. I might slip off at any moment. Sometimes, when I am brave, I can hop along the rope or even somersault. These are the moments when I paint not from the visual world but from somewhere inside me.” Emily Patrick

What People Think I Do

Blew my weekend. There was no time for me, my paints, my studio, the jewelry,or the latest pair of hand knit socks on the needles. So I got nothing! Pardon my New York English.

Around here we don’t do the Superbowl Sunday thing. We do the Daytona 500! Vrrrrooooommmm! And guess who does our catering? Yeah, you guessed it. Me. I’ve been shopping and cooking, shaking and baking. Well, not really, but I did enough.

(And the dopey race was rained out! We had the party without the race. Oh well, there was still the Oscars.)

Inviting people over means you have to straighten up your place, and have food and drink. At my house The Mr. invites and then calls the caterer, me.

Artwork had to wait while I did my catering gig. I’m calling it a gig because hosting company is a JOB. Not to mention all the others things I do around here.

House stuff is a JOB, full time, full on, all day. Add a gathering and it’s all that plus. Exhausting.

But what about my ART job? What do people think I am doing here?

I’ll tell you what I’m NOT doing. I’m not sitting on my couch watching television throwing chocolates in my mouth. I’m so busy that if I was working outside the house I’d be doing two jobs. I was home with the kids because my trusted family members were all working. The Mr. has a business and I help out from there and from the home computer. And now the sheer delight of my week, The Princess.

But I work the art business into the day.

On facebook I found this funny meme thing that’s been going around..

This guy Garnet Hertz, created this and it cracks me up. This is for and about artists and it’s so true what people think we are doing. I love it.

Someone has to come up with one for women who are at home holding up the household.