Creative Influences » slow art

DC Door

Kim — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:57:24 +0000

Sweet Little Door in Washington, DC

A little door found while walking through a DC neighborhood. I couldn’t resist doing this little doodle. I continue with some sketching through these hot summer days and consider the goodness of slow art. I hope you are staying cool.

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Kim — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:44:10 +0000

24x20 inches acrylic on canvas

Warm is not the word to describe the temperatures in the US northeastern cities this week -over 100 F(37 C +) and humid! This painting describes perfectly what it feels like outdoors here. I hope it is cooler where you are! I am trying to remain calm and meditative at the moment. The air conditioning can’t keep up and I am sticking to just about everything. Is your art influenced by the weather? I clearly am experiencing a new form of Slow Art! A glass of iced tea anyone?

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What Does A Painting Mean To You?

Kim — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:22:44 +0000

As you know from my previous post, I am enjoying Peter Clothier’s book, Persist. There is so much packed in this tiny book, I wonder if I will ever stop contemplating it all. One of the subjects he brings up is how visual artist have it hard because this is one area where often the work which took hours, days, months or years to complete will be brushed away with a glance. If you look at other art forms, this is often not the case. Consider writing, by nature it takes time to read or with performance art you are often captivated by the story being told and asked to remain in your seat for a film, play or dance. When Clothier observed people in Museums, he found if they stopped they stopped to read the little bit of information by the work, then moved on. He thinks visual artist need more time given to the work they are sharing. I couldn’t agree with him more. Let’s look at some art:

First, let’s look at Shangri-La by Andrea Hupke de Palacio:

used with permission from Andrea Hupke de Palacio

Now take a long look at this painting or go to Andrea’s blog to view it larger. I mean really get into it. Think about the face…look at those eyes and stare deeply into them, consider the head covering, too. I don’t know about you, but I can get lost in there. The colors she has chosen to use are magnificent. I want to swim in the colors. Can you imagine what it took to just paint the colors in the right place? I can imagine she was lost in her own place while doing this. When I really look at this piece, I seem to be able to feel the grit of the dirt beneath my feet, the crunch of the dry grasses and a cold winter wind. It takes me back to a more simple time in my own mind. The countryside is cold and I am looking forward to a warm stew and roaring fire when I bring the goats back to the village for the night. I look forward to the taste of wine and tangy taste of goat cheese. I can feel all of these things and more. Goodness knows, I am not thinking this is what Andrea was thinking when she painted this piece, but it is where it transported me. She started me thinking with the painting and few, well chosen words. I was easily transported from there. The thing is you have to spend time to get yourself into the place of your imagination. The key, by the way, is the title of this piece – Shangri-La. Where does it take you?

Unfurling

You have seen this one from me before. I call it Unfurling. I would like for you to try again with something very different to really spend time with this piece. Allow it to consume you just like with Andrea’s painting. When I created it, I felt one thing, but now I sometimes feel something different when I see it. With paintings like this you often hear things like…”I like it” or “I could have done that” or “My five year old has done something very similar.” I have answers for all of those kinds of questions, but what I ultimately know is that the viewer is not allowing themselves the opportunity to feel this painting. I know there are a lot of feelings in there, because I put them there. Artists do that! What someone else feels is not what I probably felt as they have their own life experiences to draw on.

The point is that it seems viewers want to be told what a painting means to them, if they even take the time to stop and have a longer look. Is it fair to the artist who probably just wants to have an opportunity to bring a bit more humanity to the viewer? They probably just want to help them touch their own shangri-la, right? Clothier suggests an hour meditation sitting in front of a painting to try to get to know it and to understand what it means to you, the viewer. The artists is done with it, now it is the viewers turn to have it touch their heart, speak to them, to bring their own humanity to the surface. If you have ever had a painting move you to tears, you know just what I mean. This can happen with many paintings. Once you learn the technique, you can slip into the world of that particular painting with ease.

Please, share your experiences of really taking the time to look at paintings. I wonder if after the first time you might view them in a different way?

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Still Working Intuitively

Kim — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 17:04:05 +0000

I recently had another beautiful email from my glass artist friend, Lesley McIver, in Golden Bay, New Zealand. We were talking about our work and how grateful we were each day we step into our studios when she wondered if I was still doing my intuitive art. The truth is, I can’t stop doing intuitive work. It is a part of me and a part of my wholeness. Lesley was just confirming I was still on my personal path. We have been following the work of the other for many, many years now. She knows I need this work for me, but she also knows I need growth in my work for me, too. Good friends are like that aren’t they? No matter what, we encourage each other to take a hard look at the place from where we have come as well as the place we are headed while keeping the focus on the present. They allow you to fall only to be there to pick you up again. They are true gifts.

So with Lesley (and other good friends, too) in mind, I am sharing one of the pieces I have worked on recently in the studio. This is small for me, 18″ x 12″ on hardboard done with acrylics (mainly inks). It is funny with some of this intuitive work. I sometimes find it difficult to share here on the blog. It is as though I am opening myself up to the world – showing you the part of myself I hold so private. From an intellectual standpoint I know you don’t see the same things I see or feel, but emotionally I want to protect that part of me. Maybe this is also why it is a challenge to title this work, but eventually I am able to get to that aspect. Do you feel this way about any parts of your work?

I would love to hear from you on this or any other art subject. Have a wonderful weekend.

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Versailles Door

Kim — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:41:57 +0000

So this is my version of a door we passed by when Elizabeth and I went to Chateau de Versailles just outside of Paris. I have thought long and hard about this post and have decided I am not going to bore you with our photographs and my “architectural importance” dialogue. Instead, I am going to send you over to Andrea and two post by her since she went with her family just a week or so before we were there. Her posting is so detailed it is in two parts, so here is the first one and then the second. In this second post, you can see a similar door, however it is not the same door I have used as my inspiration for this little sketch.

If you are ever in Paris, it is well worth your time to head out there. The public transportation makes it very easy, but go early as the crowds soon make it a challenge just to move around the palace and grounds. Do make the effort to go out to the Le Grand Trianon and Le Petite Trianon as the bumpy train ride will be so worth it. I actually liked Le Petite Trianon better than the palace and the gardens are amazing.

I am currently working on some new things in my studio, so I need the time to head in there and to get some photographing done. I hope all of you who are heading into a holiday weekend enjoy the time with friends and family.

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Sometimes I Only Get To Make A Line

Kim — Mon, 24 May 2010 19:06:16 +0000

Another Paris Door sketch.

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Closing and Opening Doors!

Kim — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:39:12 +0000

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

Helen Keller

Open and closed doors happen all around us. Do you immediately begin to search for the open doors when a door in your life closes?

Today and tomorrow we are having a new roof put on our house, so I can barely think here much less write some comprehensible post!

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Doors are so important!

Kim — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:02:03 +0000

Monet House and Gardens, Giverny, Normandy, France

Just a short train ride from the center of Paris is the home of artist, Claude Monet. On a beautiful day, Elizabeth and I went to Giverny in Normandy France to visit these gardens which inspired Monet. Indeed they are inspirational and every way you turn, there is an exceptional photograph to be taken.

boats surrounded by bamboo and water

You may recognize these little boats from some of Monet’s paintings. I am sure they are not the same ones, however the idea is there. This setting is incredibly inspirational and if I were an impressionistic painter, I would be spending my time in this spot painting all day long.

I was inspired in a different way with this trip, however. I was looking for something when I was in Paris. When I went, I wasn’t sure what it was, but I intended to find out. The colors are interesting as it is a rather gray city where other colors truly “pop”, and the buildings are not too tall (there are a lot of tunnels under Paris). The people are wonderful and friendly and that is always nice to find when you travel. There was something else, though. I knew my art was turning a corner (I learned that when I was traveling back and forth between the US southwest and the US east coast over the last year), and I intended to find out in Paris!

One day when I was walking around the city with Elizabeth, Andrea and a new friend Sabrina, it hit me! I am looking for doors! Yes, you heard me, I am looking for doors – as in architectural features. Paris has some amazing doors and amazing doors open to reveal new things. I am looking for new horizons behind doors and a new way to merge all of these delightful expressions I have hiding inside of me. Wow! Who would have known? So I sat down and had myself a good long talk with Andrea about this realization. She talked me through some things, pointed out some things she thought warranted consideration and viola, I here by dub Kim and Andrea The Door Queens! I will be exploring the metaphors for the door and how that all plays into the work I hope to move forward with now. This feels so right, do you know that feeling when it is so right to proceed?

One of the things I realized is that architectural features are comfortable for me, so the door makes sense (I also love windows, but hey, you can’t do everything all the time)! With Andrea’s encouragement I have also began allowing myself some sketching time without drafting tools! This is the hardest part for me to allow myself to quickly, freely sketch something which resembles something else and not draft it! So here you go…

Along the Rue Royale

These doors are really a beautiful red, however this sketch is done on paper board which does not take wet media very well. I haven’t taken the time to use colored pencil or marker on it, so here you have it as an ink sketch done with a nib pen. You just might see these doors again, as I seem to be making other sketches of them!

Now you know doors are my current obsession. I am still highly drawn to my abstract work, but realized how important it is for me to explore these things in every detail. I also need art I can practice when I am not able to get into my studio. This gives me greater opportunity to explore a lot of ideas and still do the abstract work I so adore!

Tell me about the times when something hit you over the head as you were just going along minding your own business.

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Research Update

Kim — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:28:40 +0000

I have been traveling a little bit for my research and the home city of this bridge has played an important part of the work I am doing. Do you know this bridge? Do you know the city? I traveled here with my daughter and one night we took a boat ride down this river in the middle of the city! I know you know where I have been. Let’s try another photo:

Were you right, did you guess the bridge was the Pont Neuf in Paris? This bridge was build between 1577 and inaugurated by Henry IV in 1607 and is one of the most famous bridges in Paris. Of course, even if you did not know the Pont Neuf, you knew right away when you saw the photo of the Eiffel Tower!

You are right, I did not go to Paris for the bridges or the monuments. I went to become inspired and that happened, too. I have made some decisions about my art which I will be sharing with you, and which I am very excited about.

I know many of you want to know if I caught up with Andrea of Parisdreamtime while I was in her city. The answer is YES! Andrea has known about this trip since I made the decision to go. She, her wonderful family and friends shared their city with my daughter and me and introduced us to many wonderful experiences which influenced my research so much. This was my fourth trip to Paris, and I still find the wonder of this city amazing. I traveled to places there I had not been before and explored some outlying areas, too.

I look forward to sharing this trip with you as the weeks and months progress. For now, I am back to my research and settling everyone back into our home. It is wonderful to have us all under one roof again!

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Does Creativity Dry Up?

Kim — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:52:35 +0000

Unfolding (working title) 36 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas

This is the final product of the WIP in the previous post. While it is not the main series I am working on at the present, it clearly informs that work and allows me the opportunity to keep questioning as I move the main series forward. Do you work on multiple challenges in parallel?

I wanted to share this article with you from the Wall Street Journal. Terry Teachout talks about how many artists go through periods when their creativity wanes. Of course, we are all familiar with the term “writer’s block”, and I dare say many of us have experienced it. I am not talking about not having the time to be creative but about not having the inclination to be creative. In this article, however, Mr. Teachout does say visual artist do not experience this as much as other creative types. He attributes it to being encouraged to work in series until a particular subject is exhausted (which might be years or a lifetime).

The thing is, I also found this quote from Maya Angelou: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” As you probably know, Ms. Angelou is a writer, so there is a conflict of opinion between her and Mr. Teachout on this subject.

This all has me thinking here. If working in a series works well for the person who is visually creative why would it not work for someone who is creative in another way? I know the more I journal, the more I am able to write blog posts. Are visual artists the only ones who create in a variety of ways in order to influence their ongoing work shown to the public? I doubt that!

For me, the challenge is not finding the creativity but finding the time to create along side all of the other influences in my life! I suppose I could be wrong – it has happened before, you know – however it seems as though I will never run out of inspiration to create. I do know, though, if I don’t use all of the opportunities which present themselves to me as I move through each day then my creativity will not be as informed as it should be.

It seems to me we all have so much to learn from each other and one of the things we might learn here is life is what informs our art. If we do not utilize other methods of creativity, then we are not going to inform our art and truly the creativity might dry up. If we only work on a single series and only paint, then I think the creativity block will probably happen from sheer burnout. If the writer doesn’t do other things to inform the words, then those words very well may dry up.

What do you think? Have you ever experienced a creativity block? What do you do to avoid them? You can find some of my techniques for avoiding creativity loss in the Pages Section of this blog.

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