Vogue needs to compensate watercolor artist, Carol Gillott, for her work featured on page 147 of their August issue! Shame on you, Vogue! 10 months ago
It is the season for giving, although artist seem to always be giving of themselves. As many of you know this autumn has been a challenge for my family, although there are many who face challenges beyond my imagination. Earlier, I was asked if I would be willing to donate some of my work to Minnesota Adopt (a non-profit organization working to place children in adoptive homes), and I was honored to do so. Because of some size restrictions, I donated this triptych of 5 x 5 inch tiles. This piece is titled Progression and is in acrylic with powdered pigment.
May you all have a Very Happy Holiday Season and may 2011 be all you can imagine!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I know many of you are not Americans, however this is an exciting week for us in the US. We remind ourselves to take a moment to reflect and celebrate all the reasons we are thankful to be here on this earth. No matter where you are, I hope you will also find a moment to reflect on your own reasons for being thankful. I include you in my many reasons for being thankful this very special year.
I also want to thank you all for bearing with me. There have been a few personal issues I have needed to take care of here. I think, for now, these issues will be ongoing, so I beg you to please stay with me. My studio time has been very limited, so you might see a few other things appearing from time to time. I am thankful for you all.
I have been thinking about music in the studio again because I have been re-reading Joe Fig’s book Inside the Painter’s Studio. I re-read a lot, but this book I find so interesting. During my recent bout of not being in the studio I listened to a lot of music – a lot of Leonard Cohen, actually. As I was reading through these interviews again in Joe’s book, I became focused on the answers to the question, “Do you listen to music, the radio, or TV when you work?…” This question goes on to ask what, etc. Anyway, so many artist said they do and the reason for it is that it empties their head, so they don’t think so much. I found these answers perfectly resonated with me. Music does that for me, as well, when I am in the studio. Art is making way for more art. I must have a clear head to allow the painting to develop. Do you?
This seems to be representative of the weather we are experiencing along the eastern seaboard today. It is the result of a tropical storm. I am just calling it wind and rain. This is acrylic ink on a lovely watercolor paper I discovered when I was in Paris.
Here is the thing, I really did not want to talk about the weather today. No! I have been getting back into the studio every day this week and am having a blast. I am actually sitting here typing with ink covered hands, my new mobile phone has dry pigment bits stuck to it and I am in my old grotty painting clothes! This girl is happy! I have even set up a new, white canvas and started a fresh painting! I have not done that since last year (that isn’t a joke). At the moment things are drying up there and considering the weather we are having I should probably work on some of the other projects I can do outside of the studio because the drying time is going to be long today!
In a later post, I will talk about the things I have learned and the slow process I have used to come out of this one. It truly has been an adventure and I am so grateful to you all for bearing with me through it.
All along you thought it was money, didn’t you? I am just kidding of course. Today, this video came in my email inbox via Arts Journal. Do you read this list of amazing articles from across all art disciplines culled from many English language sources? I have been reading it for several years now and find some truly wonderful articles. It is a bit academic and clearly from the art journalist point of view, but it gives me an idea of how other people are thinking about the arts and I like that.Now I am going to go back to my studio to work and play. You enjoy the video and Arts Journal and have a wonderful weekend!
I am sure many of you have noticed when stresses come to visit us, often our muse decides to say, “I’m outta here. I sure don’t need this.” and out the back door they go. One reason they go is because we do not take the time to call them back. Just like any part of our life we deem important, the muse also needs to be stroked and acknowledged. This reminds me of the talk Elizabeth Gilbert did for TED when she talks about the importance of showing up to work each day. If you haven’t seen it in a while, it is well worth watching again. I go there and let her give me a piece of her mind every once in a while.
So I tried to call my muse back to me by staying with my sketchbook. She began to talk back with the words. Muse kept prodding. I think she really wanted to return, but she also wanted to make sure I was not going to abandon her again, so she kept testing me. I found myself getting mired in the black and white, so she pulled back again a little bit, but she only wanted me to know this was the real thing and she wasn’t to be played with. I had to do some harder work to get her back. So I began to read (more about this in another post) and try to understand the hard work was to show up each day, as Elizabeth Gilbert says, and stay focused. I had to not be so hard on myself and be open to the subtle messages wonderful people around me provided. There are messengers in the least suspecting places. In other words, I began to pay attention more and Muse started to come back again, giving me ideas and inspiration. The color started to come back, too. See…
I was overjoyed to see the colors again. I did not want to loose them. Muse reminded me all of this happens for a purpose and I had to evaluate what I learn along the way. I had to really live what I knew. I had to slow down, I had to show up, I had to meet my own needs, too. Well, this is all fine and good, but how do I do this effectively? Muse says there is a way which is just right for me, and I just had to figure it out. I read more, began meditating more, did more yoga and one day an explosion happened. I needed to do something which returned me to a child’s mind, so I began a left-handed sketchbook/journal (my non-dominant hand). I really had to focus on each and every mark. It has made a huge difference. See, here are the first pages:
Yes, these are rough and they are weird (they are not abstract!), but the focus and concentration is like meditation and it connected me deeper with my right brain which is very important and very relaxing. After I do these, I slip right into other art work. It is right for me, for now. Muse really likes it. You know, it is just like when I begin to work with my left hand it is a signal to Muse that it is time to work and she comes around for a visit. Here is one more page further on:
Now this one looks a bit abstract, but it was not at all the intention. No, I am not going to begin to show you these silly drawings, but I did want to say how important it is to show up to work – just like anyone else. Just because Muse takes a vacation, it doesn’t mean she will stay away. Not like others, however, we have to be slow and methodical with our work and with our lives. That is a great challenge in our world. Muse doesn’t like speed, she will walk away from it every time. Slow Living and Slow Art can be a truly Full Life. Sometimes you have to bring Muse back gently and other times you have to send her away (if she starts playing with your head), but the key is knowing the right time to do each. The Muse can be elusive, but if you treat her right, she is one of your best friends. You have to treat her right, though. She is human in that way!
I would like to take a moment here to say to all of our friends in New Zealand we are thinking about you and wish for you all the healing necessary to get through this horrible earthquake. A frequent contributor to this blog, Lesley McIver (please read her blog post about the earthquake) tells me her hometown of Christchurch is like a war zone and the stories are horrific. The world is with you, New Zealanders! It truly must feel as though you can’t see the forest for the trees.
As I was looking through some of my paintings and sketches the other day I noticed something. I have had a thing for finding my way through the forest or at least I seem to be making that analogy from time to time. First I noticed this one which reminds me of a bamboo forest and someone (a woman) is trying to find her way with that darn flashlight (torch).
Then I found this in my sketchbook which is also about finding my way through the forest…
It is interesting to go back and look at some of these things from time to time. I often just draw or just paint without thinking about it, but sometimes there are links. I suppose I am just trying to find my way at the moment. With all of this forest talk and door talk, I seem to be looking looking for something, waiting for something or just down right procrastinating. If truth be told so far this year it has felt as though there has been change in the air. I still have not been able to put my finger on it, but I feel as though maybe I haven’t been listening closely enough. So I am working on that, too. It is a slow process, but slow art is a good thing…slow living is a good thing.
It is all really quite exciting, really. I am eager to get going with some serious work and looking forward to the snap in the air autumn brings. I began a new project yesterday which I will be sharing with you as I get it settled in. I also will be bringing out some more color around here. It is about time…but I am not abandoning my sketchbook, either!
With that said, I leave you with this small gift of appreciation for bearing with me. It has been a challenge and I appreciate your loyalty.
Please feel free to print this and use it as a bookmark or whatever you wish. I hope you find simplicity and gratitude in your life each day.
It seems all I am getting done these days are quick sketches. I have to say it doesn’t feel all that good as I am still inundated with left-brained activities. My current focus is for this all to stop as we (in the northern hemisphere) head into the autumn months. I am so ready to get back into the studio to play. In the meantime, I continue with the sketchbook work and hope that will bring some wonderful inspiration. I can say it gives a bit of relief to the uncomfortable linear tasks I have been dealing with – maybe it is the reason for the curves . I hope all is well where you are and creativity time is easy to come by.
. I hope all is well where you are and creativity time is easy to come by.