While I go on and on about not meeting the requirements of the latest challenge, something clicked inside my artist brain the last few days.
Just to keep you updated, I’ve been reading Steven Pressfield’s wonderful book on Resistance, The War of Art, again. It was a wonderful help in the past and is now.
That, and this 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. Or, as I should call it, my Not 30 in 30 Challenge. Man, I am so far behind I’m not going to bother to catch up.
The thing is this: I know I want to paint, but something has to spark my imagination. Like Steven Pressfield suggests, I have to just do it, be present, sit down at the desk and be ready for the Muse/Spirit/Whatever to inspire. More about the wonderful Mr. Pressfield to come.
The garden is fading. The colorful flowers are gone, their stems are drying, everything is either green or brown now. None of my shells appealed to me. Neither did the apples I like to use. The last few paintings had apples and shells together at the beach. Ok, but now I needed something new. Some photos from my summer trip appealed to me and I chose a few to try. I sketched the scene quickly in paint and as it dried I worked in more detail, just feeling satisfaction in the process and the colors.
When Resistance is at bay synchronicity abounds. It felt really good to get something on the paper. Done.
Today I decided I wanted to paint this same scene from my photos again, but differently, going for an even sketchier feeling. The day was free, nothing on the agenda, the house was quiet, and the equipment was ready.
Pushing myself to look at the whole rather than just the subject, I dropped in paint and tried to mold the forms with color being mindful of the wet areas. Watercolor is unforgiving. To keep the work fresh I moved around the paper to drier areas. Twenty minutes and this is where I stopped. I went back to it after it dried so it has more detail than you see here.
Another day, another look-see.
