Friday, January 18, 2013

"Off With Their Heads!"

I've been painting a lot lately. Pushing limits. Ruining painting after painting. I'm to the place in my career that 'nice' paintings are common. These paintings are colorful but not saying anything new.  So I'm trying to act on every 'what if?' that comes into my head.  Below is a watercolor of an antique Turkish vase and a New Guinea shield. I enjoyed their colors and texture and wanted to give these a try. The finished watercolor needed more of something, not sure what. So I lifted through stencils, stamped into Asian paper and collaged a few pieces of this in areas here and there. This is a bit busy in my opinion, but I'm glad I've tried these things. I will let this sit on my easel overnight and perhaps this will continue on it's journey tomorrow.

This brings me to this thought: Golfers go out on the golf course day after day and practice their swing, putting, etc. They're not expecting anything in return. Just practicing. Why am I expecting to bring home great paintings day after day? Why not feel good about showing up in my studio and painting?


"I am not a technician when I paint. I barely pay attention to the technical aspects of the process. I am absorbed in what is happening on the paper, always working on the edge of disaster. My only concern is to pursue the image in my mind's eye. I believe that is the force behind every good painting."
        Joseph Zbukvic