"Visual Memory"

(unavailable....8" x 10"....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Color is the visual memory maker of life." This is a totally abstract piece with color as the focal point. The quote is totally unreadable and isn't even there really. Some days I simply need to experiment. This was one of those days.

It is often said that we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. I heartily agree with that quote and today is a prime example. It is a totally experimental piece of work that I am calling "Gestural Landscapes". Some of them will succeed and others will not. And that is the nature of experimental work. 

So the point is...to act as though you are going to create a masterpiece by working on good surfaces with good materials just in case. One of the major things I learned about this piece is that my left side of the brain got involved too much. I was over thinking the process and consequently overworked the piece. Yesterday's piece was far more successful because I had a very hard deadline (mosaic class coming to my studio) and I could not "fuss" with the process.

This harkens back to all of my narrative about the value of timed work. Often, the imposition of a timed situation causes it to work out better. I absolutely think that is the case in this type of work. But alas, it is very difficult to break lifelong habits of "tweaking" a piece to death. I also remembered a very wise teacher who said that the hardest decision an artist makes is knowing when to stop.

And so it is with abstract pieces. They are called abstract because of the abbreviation of an image or no image at all. So if you are compelled to try this kind of work, my advice is to keep the bands of color simple with just enough laying down of the color with a brush or palette to cover up the surface and perhaps to blend with the edge of a previous color and then leave it alone. Overworking is the death knell of gestural and abstract pieces.

You might wonder if it is wiser to wipe the paint and begin again or to keep the piece as a reminder of what not to do. I definitely vote for keeping the piece in tact. One of the purposes of doing experimental work is to do a lot of it and then compare and contrast your work before selecting the one for exhibition. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Pacing"

($50.00....6" x 6"....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Pacing is the most important part of process." This is not only true in art, but in life. Remember the "Tortoise and the Hare" fable. It is not always the "flash in the pan" person who progresses, but rather the one that plods along day after day. (By the way, the tortoise won the race.)

Those of us who have been part of bible study groups have heard many times that it is "line upon line" and "precept upon precept". The point being, that information must be cumulative. And "cumulative" means to increase in amount by successive additions. That's why doing something everyday is so important. When a day or many days are skipped in any process, important things are forgotten and the "cumulative process" comes to a screeching halt. 

Please know that when I share these thoughts, I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else. You could say that by blog commentaries are my way of "self talk". I am just letting everyone else in on my private conversations with myself!

So what I did today was give myself one hour to create this piece which naturally caused me to increase my speed. And it worked so well that I came in at (45 min.). The "internal critic" was completely shut down and I simply mixed and laid down those colors as quickly as possible. Second guessing cannot be part of the equation when working under these conditions so if you are indecisive and it takes you forever to create an image with paint, please give this a try. And if you think it doesn't look good after completion....that's the time to analyze and see where you might improve. Don't analyze while you're working or you'll never get done.

So it looks like you will be seeing a lot of images that are done quickly and some slowly and all of the intervals in between because I am captivated by this process and it definitely keeps me out of a rut. And if you don't know how to mix colors, then work on that while at the same time you are working on painting an image...even if you've never done it before. You might be surprised at how well you do! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"The Unexpected"

($50.00......6" x 6"......Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"The unexpected is found in spontaneity." It may be difficult to allow for spontaneity, but it is a good thing in art and in life. In today's image, I have included the photo reference. That was the starting point for total abstraction with the emphasis shifting to the lettering.

Yesterday, I made a declaration about my intentions of speeding up and slowing down the painting process. This piece was completed in (45) min. I began laying in the colors, but I bumped up the intensity because I knew I was going to abstract the entire piece and I wanted some strong color.

After placing the color notes in their places, I took my palette knife and swept through all of the colors in the same direction I was seeing in the photo reference. So I have completely obliterated all realism, but I think the piece still has hints of the photo reference. So this is one way to begin learning how to move into abstraction with an abbreviated image. This one actually went a step further with no image reference at all. It definitely will not appeal to everyone.

My husband (who gives me great feedback on what the average "non art" person would think does not like this at all.) His response was..."but what does it mean?" So if you choose an abstract path, you will definitely have viewers who will rebel and not want to look at your work.

But it is great fun and by placing a few more details in the piece...you can bring it back to an abbreviated image. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Blue Sky Blessings"

($50.00.......6" x 6".....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"Blue sky blessings for the new year!" Isn't it wonderful when the sky is blue and everything works out well? Of course, we cannot have a full appreciation for blue skies without also having rainy and gray skies. It is as true in the weather as it is in real life situations.

In recent postings, I have mentioned some of the advantages of timing your work. In the piece today, I limited my time to one hour. This imposed time limit forced me to eliminate excessive "fussing" and extreme detail. (I will confess, though, that I picked an image with little detail to begin with.)

Tomorrow, I may spend a couple of hours on my 6" x 6" to learn how to control my colors and palette knife techniques in a more precise way. The advantage to this back and forth time limit is that it gets rid of the internal critic.   (We all have one!) When your focus shifts from "a leisurely painting until you get done attitude"....to "an imposed time frame"...you will automatically make decisions quicker just by virtue of wanting to finish in the allotted time. 

This way of working will also cause you to become more adept at painting abstractly. However, the basics must be mastered by also working slow. I plan to eventually cut the time down to (30 min.....20 min.....and then 10 min.) We can only imagine what will happen with the increase in speed, but I do know it will become more abstract, more gestural, and more energetic.

Other artists working in other mediums are doing similar things. This is precisely how gestural writing became the "in vogue" style of writing. But this is also like practicing the piano and using a metronome. You can never play a piece at it's required tempo until it is first learned at a slower metronome setting. This is probably the most perfect example of informed practice.

Even if you want to paint faster and more gesturally, it is still important to learn how to methodically mix paint, really think about it, and think deeply about painting a photo or plein aire image and mixing the exact colors you see and paying attention to "scale" and "division of space" and the way the paint is applied.

The bottom line is to do both speeds (slow and fast) and all of the ones in between. It is the perfect time of year to think about such things and plot your practicing strategy carefully. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Emotional Stimulator"

($40.00...6" x 6"....Water Soluble Oils on Gessobord)

"The emotional stimulator in art is color." Chances are that the very first thing that catches your attention in a piece of artwork or any visual image is color. It is the emotional heart of design.

In this piece, I deliberately put myself on a time constraint in order not to "over think" every decision. This is becoming a trend in stepping up your progress. Of course, it is also beneficial to go slow and be very intentional, but if you mix up your practice time with both approaches, they will eventually even out into a smooth flowing revelation of your artistic voice. 

Just think about the number of reality shows that also employ this "timed effect" to challenge the participants. Programs like "Chopped" or "Design Star" both have the "timed" element in the mix. And what this does is force you to bypass your comfort zone and get out of the habit of over thinking the process. 

Even if you do not like the end result of a "timed" challenge, it will help you to spot your weak points immediately. You can then go back and work slowly to overcome your weakness and then try it again. Eventually it will get you where you want to go and you will have some very nice spontaneous elements in your work that would not have otherwise been there. So I encourage you to give it a try. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.