Wendy Wash

Wendy Wash

Oil on Canvasboard

16x20"

My favorite part of this painting is probably the simplicity with which I painted the trees in the back.  I'm trying to say more by doing less.

It's a great local spot.  I love the fact that you can find water in this wash almost any time of the year and it's home to several kinds of birds and critters...right in the middle of Newbury Park.

Speaking of saying more with less.

I recently listened to a great podcast on the Ted Radio hour on "The Source of Creativity" and what it means to be in the flow.

From the website:

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Source of Creativity with Charles Limb

About Charles Limb's TED Talk
What happens in the brain during musical improv? Researcher Charles Limb scanned the brains of jazz musicians to find out.
About Charles Limb
Dr. Charles Limb is an Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, as well as faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He combines his two passions to study the way the brain creates and perceives music. He's a hearing specialist and surgeon at Johns Hopkins who performs cochlear implantations. In his free time, he plays sax, piano and bass.
In search of a better understanding of how the mind processes complex auditory stimuli such as music, Dr. Limb has been working with Dr. Allen Braun to look at the brains of improvising musicians and study what parts of the brain are involved when a musician is really in the groove.

As artists I feel that we experience this state of being in the groove as well.  You know how some paintings just seem to flow without any effort...Why is that?  This Ted Radio Hour speaks to why that is and what happens in our brains when we are in that groove.

There is also this one phrase said by host Guy Raz on the show that really stayed with me in regards to getting out of our way....:
  
"... practice doesn't make you perfect, but it does help you stop thinking that you have to be"

I've been thinking about what it is that really makes us improve as painters/artists etc with time?  And what has struck me is that it seems to have  a little something to do with building confidence.

Practice helps build confidence in the fact that you start knowing more about  the technical aspects of the craft of course, but more than that, what it also seems to lead to (on a good day:-) is that:
With confidence - I can play more, be bolder with my paint and braver with my brush strokes etc. because in a sense - I care less about getting it right.  (or as this study explores; with practice, I'm shutting of that censoring part of my brain that gets in the way of the natural flow of creativity).


If you are an artist, what do you feel it is that happens with time, the longer you have painted and practiced?   What do you feel happens for you when you're in the flow?

Nantucket Walk

Nantucket Walk

Oil on Canvasboard

10x10"

Sold

Here's another piece that never made it into a blog post before it sold.   It captures one of the many sunny days we had as a family on the east coast last year!  It's also a reminder of how important it is to make sure you get a photo to keep of all the work you do:-)...

Underwater Wonderworld

Oil on canvasboard

20x24"

I'm happy to announce that this piece is being purchased by the Community Memorial Hospital for their Maternity and Pediatric Floor.   I have a special place in my heart for art being placed in hospitals to bring some joy to patients and visitors!

"Peekachoo for Two" Study - Easing into the 30 in 30

Peekachoo for Two - Easing in to the 30 in 30

Oil on Canvasboard

8x5.5"

December got sort of swallowed up by Holiday, End of school activities and travel preparations, so with Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge I'm now easing my way back into my normal painting routine!

Any time I'm away from painting it's easy for me to loose confidence and question what I'm doing?:-) so painting small and quick studies helps me get excited about new ideas and get back in the groove.

After William Wray's workshop in November, see this earlier post, I've been really yearning for more simplification in my work.   Because of the subject matter I pick, I might not always be able to do a value sketch as simple as the ones we did in his class, (Three values narrowing it down to almost 3 shapes).   But focusing on just a few values, as in this preliminary study for a larger piece is so helpful!  

The challenge with this piece will be how to create interesting variety using 4 main "figures".   The number 3 is always a more dynamic number than 4 and I want to avoid having it get too stagnant looking, so placement and colors might help in avoiding that.   We'll see...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

9.26.14 - Not Yet Spring

Not Yet Spring

12x16"

Oil on CanvasBoard

Aside from painting for the 30 in 30 challenge I did a few paintings for Randy Higbee's Urban Beauty Exhibit this month.  This one got in:-)  The reception is next Saturday October 4th from 6-9PM.  I'm hoping I will get to see some of the other pieces in the show.  It looks to be a beauty. 

"Duck out of Water"

"Duck out of Water"

6x6"

oil on canvasboard

Just some fun with my slowly growing collection of Rubber Ducks.   They have a special meaning for me in memory of my niece Manda.

Painting-wise I'm enjoying adding more cools and warms together these days.

Culture Chat

6x6

oil on canvasboard

DPW

A juxtaposition of two cultures - A Swedish Dala horse and a "Day of the Dead" ducky.  The duck definitely has something to say and the horse seems to be listening.  It was interesting to figure out how to paint white and still have the value be dark enough to have some room to go lighter with the highlights.   On another note, I've had this dala horse for a long time, but had yet to paint it.  So I think I was inspired now, since my dad will come here for a visit on Saturday.  All the way from Sweden for the first time ever.  I think it will be an adventure for us all:-)  and I'm hoping I can still sneak in some time to paint.

Sit and Go

6x6

Oil on Canvasboard

DPW

Here's another study for a larger piece.  It's kind of funny that I thought that it would be hard to see what it is, since I didn't put in a lot detail  - but I think it's pretty clear?...

What would happen with even less detail?  Something I could push a lot further with a larger piece.

On a different note, I want to thank Archana who came out from Dallas to paint with Daggi and me this weekend and was kind enough to be my guinea pig today as practiced sharing what I've learned.  She did an amazing job taking on some new painting exercises (among them 10-minute apples, thanks to Carol) and excelled very quickly!   It was such a pleasure to paint together!   And I learned that I can always get even more organized...what?...:-)  I look forward to seeing what Archana will paint next!

Dancing Blooms

8x8

Oil on  Canvasboard

To bid on this painting

I went to paint at King Gilette's Ranch today with Pam and Barbara, and the last of the blossoms in the pink and white trees were hanging on for dear life as the wind blew off and on around us.

I'm working really hard on integrating the concept that:

 "I'm not just painting what I see, but my impression of what I see" 

and hopefully(:-) it's also an improved version of what is actually there, not just a copy. 

Sound weird? 

  I've spent a lot of time trying to capture the right colors, getting the drawing right etc. as I'm working on improving my technical skills and in doing that it's easy to forget that as an artist I have the artistic license and permission to paint my version of what is there, that's sort of the point I believe.  I can exaggerate what it is that drew me in, by cropping things so that I create a division of space on the canvas that I find interesting, playing up colors so that they sing in combination with other colors or add abstraction by focusing on shapes/patterns and lines .   My painting is my interpretation of life around me and I want to continue creating paintings that simplify and cut to the essence of what I see and the story they tell without spelling everything out..

It's a journey and today was one step further on that road...:-)

The Cycle of Growth - Day 5

 8x10

Oil on Canvasboard

Day 5

30 Paintings in 30 Days

This painting was done playing around with the concept of seeds as I was trying out several ideas. There's something I really like about it and I think it's the result of doing a whole series of them.

Reading the blog of artist Susan Klabak (check out her great site here) who posted the following article by Robert Genn from his Twice weekly Newsletter I was reminded again why Leslie Saeta's challenge this month is so great!

 Sign Up for the Painter's Key to get insightful twice weekly newsletters like this one!

Link to this post

Two artists
November 2, 2012

Dear Artist,

Because this is a bit personal, I'm not using their real names. They're both about 40 years old.

"Jack" got a BFA and then an MFA from a Midwestern University. He's visited many of the major contemporary art museums and follows the work of several "important" contemporary painters. He's written articles on Philip Guston and others. He subscribes to several art magazines and is "the most knowledgeable art-guy in any discussion." After university he worked for a while in a commercial art gallery. He sometimes writes me long, well-informed letters. He's painted eleven large paintings (two unfinished) since leaving school. He's not represented by any gallery. He thinks you need to move to New York and "get lucky" with a dealer who "really represents you."

"Jill" took two years of art school and then quit. She pays little attention to other artists. She subscribes to no art magazines but has taken several workshops. Her hobbies include bowling and travelling. At one time she also worked in a commercial art gallery. On two or three occasions she's written to me. She's painted "approximately two thousand paintings" since leaving school. She's represented by four commercial galleries in four, well-separated mid-sized cities.

There's a great story in David Bayles and Ted Orland's Art and Fear . Here it is:

"The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the "quantity" of the work they produced, all those on the right solely on its "quality." His procedure was simple: On the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work in the "quantity" group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B" and so on. Those being graded on "quality," however, needed to produce only one pot--albeit a perfect one--to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busy turning out piles of work--and learning from their mistakes--the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Artists get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work." (David Bayles and Ted Orland)

Esoterica: Both subscribers Jack and Jill are thoughtful and enthusiastic artists. Art is central to their lives. And while success and "being able to function as a full time artist" may not be important to some of us, their current situations are quite different. Jack rents an apartment and makes $2150 per month (plus tips and benefits) as an airport porter. Jill works daily in her converted garage in a home she now owns. These days she's averaging $18,000 per month. She has "no benefits."