I'm sorry this is getting out so late, but I'm better than last week!! I wanted to include some thoughts on what's going on with me and a little about my FAC offering. First, let me tell you what's new.
In terms of art, not much. It's been an extremely busy summer already and I'm just running from one thing to another. My dad is doing really well right now, which allows me some freedom. The most I've accomplished in terms of art are my FAC offerings. But at least there is that. I've been tempted to discontinue it, since the response has been underwhelming. But then I have to remind myself that I really did it for me. And I am accountable to a few faithful artists who have joined the struggle. And that's the ticket--accountability to keep me off the couch, my nose out of a book or whatever other thing is calling me to art avoidance! I had come to the conclusion I was avoiding my art like someone avoiding a person they didn't want to see or talk to. You don't want to meet up with them because you know it will be unpleasant when you do for whatever reason. But I love my art, why would that be true of something that I love. Well, because when I face it, my art tells me something I don't want to hear. That's for another post, but let me just say that when I made that connection I decided that could and should change.
Sooo, after a lot of soul searching I decided to go ahead and join a group of friends and exhibit my work this fall. The reason I resisted was the idea (self imposed I might add) that I needed new and fresh work to show. That meant I would have to paint something!! So, I was avoiding being involved in the show. In fact I had decided not to do it. All my artist friends have moved on to become even more wonderful and have gone on to produce amazing art and do fantastic things with it. That's hard for me. I'm not jealous. (well, ok, a little bit) And I don't feel sorry for myself, because this is all my choice. But I feel like I've fallen behind. And honestly, I have. When thinking about why I was avoiding my art and what that really meant, I realized there was no pressure here. My friends are still my friends even if we've gone in different directions, I can use old art work if I need to and I really have no reason not to do this. Except that I don't feel like a "real" artist anymore. Again, more on that in another post. All this to say that I've done the FAC to spur me on and have some accountability and the same goes for this show. And that's all I've got to say about that.-Forrest Gump (my favorite philosopher)
Now, about this week's FAC. Your challenge this week is Animal, Vegetable or Mineral. Interpret that as you wish. As you can see, I did a literal vegetable because I really love to paint them. I really do. It may seem strange, but I love the colors and forms. They speak to me. So after spending a day gardening and making up for the three weeks of neglect, I found myself with a small bounty of the earth's goodness. Carrots with their tops on are so wonderful to me. I have done them before but never really been happy with how I did the green tops. That's a challenge. So intricate, but I love the feathery quality of them!
I bought a new travel set of paints and I wanted to try using a wider variety of colors. I didn't. I have 24 and I used seven...But there is a learning curve to using new paints, these are Schminke and I've never used that brand before. Plus I never use a palette of 24 paints. With a few carrots you really only have a few choices with orange carrots and green tops!! So here is my finished product. 8x10 in a sketchbook. I'm happy with the greenery and that I didn't overwork it but you can still tell what it is. I think I like my tube paints better than this new set which is disappointing, but you have to experiment. I hope to use these same carrots and do a pastel this week--accountability!!
Soooo, why are you avoiding making your art? It's never too late to start to change that. Join us in the FAC! Happy Creating!
I know an artist who paints the entire painting in her head while sitting on the couch for a day or days until she gets it right. Then when she approaches the canvas she has the problems worked out. She has had a lot of time to perfect this technique, but it is one that can be learned. If you start small it would be do-able and might be the ticket for you -- so when you do get a chance to paint it well paint itself!
ReplyDeleteKathy, I'm a little to visual for that I think. I mean I paint paintings in my head all the time, it's all part of being an artist I think. But sometimes it just doesn't translate. I do better using small thumbnails or larger studies that work out my issues before the final attempt. It's cool that she can do that!!
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