Thinking of Something Else

Back to business! As you can see I have ditched the apple. I’d had enough of it. I think it was more fun for me when I had the apple in the middle of objects that really didn’t belong together. Then it became a habit. Boring? I’m not sure. That, and the annoying paint colors, was making my painting time feel drab.

Maybe painting time isn’t supposed to be that exciting anyway. Maybe it is. The action of painting, the process, as I’ve said so many times, is the goal. Just to paint. The end result is a by-product of the action.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I get it. Still, I want to be excited by the subject. I keep thinking back to that autumn day at the beach when I scrounged around for objects only to find broken shards of shells to paint. They were really small pieces and then I got the bright idea to put the apple from my lunch next to the shell bits for a color pop. I was so excited with the prospect that I painted quickly and was happy with my work.

Three Shells (c)2011 Dora Sislian Themelis
8×12 Watercolor on Arches paper

Now the apple idea is old, the paints annoying. No more apple. No more leaves. On to shell bits. I think I need the color pop though. And then I think I need to move on. I should look through my swipe files and photos to see if anything appeals to me. Going back to painting from photographs feels like a step backward, for me anyway. Since I’ve been painting from life it’s helped me see things better. Can you switch back and forth like that and have work that feels right? Something to ponder.