Tag Archive | inspired by life

Incomplete, Unfinished, Work-in-Progress

Dec31

I’m in the studio working on unfinished projects and new work, on this last day of 2021. Seems a good way to mark the end of one year, the transition to the next, as much as anything is. It’s rare for me to hold on to unfinished work long – most pieces are finished within a few days, at most. One or two, over some 40 years as a painter, have lingered months (even years) before finally being finished. Complex work, sometimes, other times it’s been more about a change of context, circumstance, or emotion, that stalls the work and then, more rarely, it becomes lost in the noise of a busy life, forgotten until discovered some time later.

Ending the year in the studio.

Currently, I have 14 unfinished canvases, in various stages of completion, and the oldest of these is a piece I began back in 2015 (a self-portrait). 6 years later, and I am still not ready to finish it (I may have missed my moment on that one). The rest of them are a mixed bag of lost inspiration, technical challenges I haven’t solved yet, and “what the fuck-ery” (where the piece somehow just isn’t coming together as I envisioned, and I haven’t sorted out what to do to recover the piece in some other way).

I hope to end this year here in the studio, in some productive fashion. I hope to begin the new year also here in the studio, productively, looking ahead with new vision. I don’t really do “resolutions” to celebrate the new year. This next year I do hope to post more of my work here, make more of it more easily available, and give a little more time and attention to the craft of the business of art.

I cue the next track on this playlist and get to work.

Stormy Weather

Oct1

Time spent in the studio, painting, seems to pass quite differently than any other time. New work drying on my work table, on counters, on bookshelves, and as they dry, joining the stacks of other pieces, completed, not yet sold. Very satisfying.

One recent work (Hints of Autumn) sold almost before it had completely dried, to a friend who has collected several pieces over the years. Also very satisfying – although even after so many years, I often find selling my work rather difficult; it means letting the sold pieces go. Somehow that’s still hard for me – they’re part of who I am. They speak for me when my own words are not enough.

One new piece continues to fascinate me, and each time I see it in new light… I “see it in new light” figuratively, as well as literally.

“Stormy Weather” 8″ x 10″, acrylic on canvas, 2020
Same piece, different light source. This is a painting that will do well in a location where the light varies throughout the day.

This particular canvas was painted around the same time as “Ship of Dreams” and “Nalla Was Here”, earlier this year, on a moody weekend fraught with romantic stress, during a pandemic. The physical experience of painting, for me, is often one of very soothing motions, allowing the act of painting itself to become a sort of meditation. “Feeling the strokes” as I work is one reliable way for me to “get out of my head” and back into my body, and to be more present in my experience. This particular work was supported by bass-heavy EDM tracks (mostly trap and house music), and was painted with Arteza acrylics (a departure from my long-time Liquitex and Pebeo selections). I’m enjoying the texture of these acrylics, which have a consistency of room temperature butter on a warm day – not quite molten, almost liquid. (I generally use heavy body paints, which is particularly useful for the sort of 3D mixed media pieces I often create, so the flow of the Arteza paint is quite a change!) I’m not held back by brand loyalty with regard to paint; I use what works for the piece I have in mind, or create based on the materials available. 🙂

From Summer into Autumn

Sep20

I’ve been getting more time in the studio, but spending less on the computer. New work is piling up, unshared!

Summer very much felt worth celebrating, and there were some stunning moments that seemed to sparkle with joy.

“Summer View” 8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas w/glow & glitter, 2021

The time slipped away so quickly… and just this past weekend, I found myself noticing hints of Autumn here and there, on my walks, and as I ran my errands. Time spent in the studio hints at those hints.

“Hints of Autumn” 10″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/glow, 2021

Happily, time in the studio is increasing as I become more settled in my work and home routines in this new place. More to come!

Time

Sep24

I could say “my how time flies” and it would be an appropriate observation, if a bit trite and worn out. It’s true, though, whether painting or not painting, living busily or staying home during a pandemic, the time since I last posted has been full. Since my last post (two years ago), I’ve moved (again), and have a(nother) new studio to work in. I just got moved in, actually, and I’m facing my first creative project since the move.

For tedious real-life practical reasons to do with dry wall, flooring, and contractors still needing to get work done, I’ve been finding myself a bit stalled…

My big easel stands tucked back out of the way, waiting for other days, other creative impulses.

This new place inspires me and I feel moved to paint, regularly. It’s not yet time to haul out all the supplies for larger acrylic or mixed media work, and I found myself frustrated – until my stepson dropped in for a visit. He and his father are spending time together in my partner’s woodworking shop, and while I was hanging out chatting, watching, and handling various bits of scrap wood, admiring the various textures and grains, a more specific inspiration struck me – one that allows for us to work together, collaboratively, as a family.

Tiny wood “canvases” waiting for color.

We discussed the wee pieces of oak, and the vague images suggested by the grain of the wood, and the texture of some ragged edges, the result of being a bit aggressive with a plane (new skills take practice). My stepson built the tiny stand up easel. My partner shaped the pieces to make them square, and added a stand to one of them. Now it is my turn to complete the process of bringing these tiny souvenirs of my stepson’s stay to life as miniature art. It’s time for color. 🙂

It’s not a serious change of artistic direction, or any sort of large project or new series, just a sweet diversion as summer becomes autumn, a way of settling into the new studio gently, and a moment to connect creatively with my partner and his son. It gets me back into the studio following the move. A fun little celebration of the real joy to be had in creative work, too.

There’s been plenty of new work to document here. I’ve been slack about it. Better habits ahead, perhaps. 🙂

 

Potentially Anything

Sep5

"Potentially Anything" 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink and glow 2015

“Potentially Anything” 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink and glow 2015

Painted on a rainy late summer morning, feeling inspired by love, and life; I started this piece thinking about lush green forests, and new life, and finished it thinking about space travel, and contemplating the future of humankind, and how vast our potential is, viewed from the perspective of how much we do not yet know. It is a piece I find myself hoping communicates some sense of how each moment is potentially the seed of some future greatness, and how precious our uncertainty is on our path of discovery. The basic image is of a gravid woman surrounded by whirling motes of dust, imagination, atomic particles, or… really…anything.

Sunset Meadow

Sep5

“Sunset Meadow” 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink, gold, and glow 2015

This smallish piece, at just 11″ x 14″, is the first painting on canvas created in my new studio space. Painting from the perspective of feeling inspired and in love, it is a recollection of those sun-infused summer evenings when the orange glow of sunset seems to fill all the space between things. This painting is in a style I have recently favored, with an acrylic background on which a more delicate image in pen & ink is drawn. I used a gold leaf pen to add warmth to the details, and a bit of glow to give the impression of fireflies and hints of natural phosphorescence that I remember from childhood.

This 11″ x 14″ piece is available for $150.

Gypsy Drums

Oct7

"Gypsy Drums" 5" x 7" watercolor on paper 1996

“Gypsy Drums” 5″ x 7″ watercolor on paper 1996

Like it’s companion piece, “Gypsy Dancer”, “Gypsy Drums”  is a small watercolor on paper that was painted on a weekend at a local renaissance fair, in 1996. This small piece was inspired by the dancing of an associate of that time, named Margrit, an exotic and passionate Armenian woman of great beauty.  Shortly after these pieces were painted, I changed artistic direction and began to work almost exclusively in acrylic on canvas, in the abstract, and exploring mixed-media work. I have often found that between big changes in style or focus, I return to small watercolors, or pen & ink sketches to ‘get by on’ creatively.

Gypsy Dancer

Oct7

"Gypsy Dancer" 5" x 7" watercolor on paper 1996

“Gypsy Dancer” 5″ x 7″ watercolor on paper 1996

“Gypsy Dancer” is a small watercolor on paper that was painted on a weekend at a local renaissance fair, in 1996. I had made a major life change, and my artistic focus and direction often also change as a result. This is one of a handful of pieces of small relaxed watercolor sketches I did just before I dropped everything to work in bolder, larger acrylics in the abstract. This small piece, and the companion piece “Gypsy Drums” were inspired by the dancing of an associate of that time, named Margrit, an exotic and passionate Armenian woman of great beauty.