Treading Water

Might as well tread water. It is so warm it's scary. I just saw the Gore film about global warming. It's staying with me as I try to digest the message. All those melting icebergs are not a pretty sight to see.

Am treading water in the studio as well. For some reason this is always a down time for me creatively. So I spend time thinking, writing and gathering supplies...stretching and gessoing, gluing canvas to panels. In a sense this is a good time to reflect on my next work in the series of encaustics and decide what to do next in my figurative series. On the other hand I am chomping at the bit to start to work again when my studio becomes all mine again.

Painting Marathon

I have been painting almost non-stop now since the last post. This is an incredible time, new gallery representation, lots of new paintings and almost nothing in the studio paint free. Usually it's the encaustic that insidiously ends up everywhere including on my cell phone. How did it get there? I am reminded of the movie "Life Lessons" (one of New York Stories) with Nick Nolte covered in paint along with his tape player (tape, what's that?). My MP3 player is christened you can count on it. I once went ahead and just painted my shoes. Why not?

There is nothing better that big globs of oil paint just waiting to be added to the image emerging on the canvas in front of me. Installations, well I would be interested if I could construct one entirely of oil paint. I'm sure it can be done; but swishing the brushes and applying the paint with a healthy dose of physical energy. Well there is nothing like it.

Not So Easy

I thought this was going to be so easy. But to write every day and keep up with the studio deadlines, well it's not going to happen. I have been hard at work on my new encaustic series. Each one is more interesting to me than the last and now I see they are adding up to a series that will be autobiographical. Who knew? What I find most fascinating is that the technique of Encaustic is so demanding. Fuse every layer, use the right pigment over another because one melts faster or slower than the other, keep those layers coming because the more the better.

I have spent some time looking at other encaustic painters and find that abstract rules though you can certainly do work that is realistic in nature. The medium itself almost demands that abstract concepts take over and direct for me. Just my style. Abstract images are what I understand. Now why is that?At a meeting of Women's Caucus for Art of Georgia this past week that was the question, why does one artist express herself with abstract images and another has no idea how to accomplish that kind of image and many don't care to. No one really has the answer. All I know is that's what I see!

Three Days

I just spent three days in the studio. I mean that I did not leave the studio for three days, the only way to continue making progress on my new paintings. Before sequestering myself I did bake some zucchini brownies for sustenance, oh so good. Success! Two more paintings finished and ready to post to my website. The painting to the left is one of the new paintings.

Sculptr.com should launch in a couple of days and I am glad that I decided to join their stable of artists. I like viewing the art there especially the sculpture. What great photography too. This is the first time I've joined an online gallery. Always been a bit wary but not this time.

I started the day as I usually do reading Charles DeRamus' blog from Sweden, Where's America. He always makes me laugh and that starts the morning right.

Then, I finished a painting I had been working on for several months. Why do some paintings take longer than others to come to completion. I haven't found a way to speed the process up. My wait and watch , sit and stare is about the best technique I've found. Somewhere, I heard that Mozart had someone read to him while he composed in order that he might be distracted. I haven't tried that but I do rely on music. Listening to Natacha Atlas works well as I have no idea what she's saying but the rhythm keeps the paint flowing.

Maybe the "little painting" break I've been taking every day is helping the process. At any rate, it feels good to look at all that red and say I'm finished. I even put it up on my website. That to me indicates I really believe it's done.

Revived

I woke up this morning to a cancelled appointment and therefore an opportunity to finally open a storefront. After seeing and reading about artists who have been creating "a painting a day" I was intriqued with the idea especially when my format has always been large--well not mural sized--but big enough. The very idea of taking brushes to a 4 x 6 inch canvas was daunting at first. Now I'm hooked. They are my obsession and they are all over my studio thus the need for a storefront.

Every morning has become an adventure tackling the small world before taking on the big canvas staring at me for attention. A big "thank you" to Duane Keiser for reviving me!