Nuturing Creativity

After being away from the easel for more than a week, I know I need to get back or some how I will loose my "muse."  Serendipitously at this time  I was told about TED talks and found this great video that spoke to me.  Have you every created a painting that when finished you wondered if your hand was governed by someone other than yourself?   Maybe this could explain what is really happening when we create.  Elizabeth Gilbert of the book, Eat, Pray, Love, gives one possibility of this idea of genius and creativity.  Weigh in on your thoughts.

Season's Greetings

Thanksgiving is over, the dishes are washed, and there are lots of leftovers in the fridge.  The studio has been left abandoned for almost a week and I am looking forward to getting back at the easel.  As I reflect on this year, I want to thank all of you who took the time to read my blog and especially those of you who made comments.  It lets me know that I am contributing in some small way.  Although this year has not been a stellar year as far as sales, my productivity has been great and I am grateful.  For all of my readers, I wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

Demo Booklet

Just finished publishing my first booklet demonstrating the process of painting my last painting, "Italian Repast."  Documenting the process with images and writing about each major step was enlightening for me and I hope for those of you who want to see my process.  I share many techniques, products, and tips, as well as, color recipes for this 16 X 32 inch painting.  Check it out on the right side of the blog.  I would love to have any comments or feedback on it if you decide to  purchase it.

Painter's Tip

I have had specific questions from Twitter fans over the last few months prompting the idea that I would post a painting tip on my blog in addition to my regular blog posts.  It's easy to think that most people know this or that but not necessarily so I will give it a try.

Painting tip:  One of the first lessons I ever learned that has served me well over the many years is the colors black and umbers are substitute blues.  Black mixed with white will look blue especially against orange and warm colors.  Burnt and raw umber mixed with yellow will give you some great greens.  Why is this good to know.  Blue is a strong color and can overpower your painting.  Use a substitute blue in place of a pure blue for sky and water and other blues.

Threads of My Life

My last few weeks have been filled with the other side of art in order to be ready for last week's Halifax Outdoor Art Festival.  For all of my friends, students, and collectors I thank you for coming down and giving me such wonderful feedback on my new series--"Threads of My Life."  I'm still working on still life paintings that incorporate fabric and handmade textiles from family heirlooms.  My grandmother crocheted her entire life and I have inherited doilies, tablecloths, and runners with hand crocheted edge work.  The more I paint these beautiful fabrics and lace, the more I'm drawn to their individual beauty.  This piece is entitled Pomegranate and Crocheted Lace and was not as much of a challenge as I originally thought.  Squinting and massing in the light shapes and shadow shapes made it fairly simple.  Once the overall shape has been established then I painted in the negative shapes.  Can't wait to try a bigger piece!

Voice - A Journey Worth Taking-Cont.

Back from a road trip to North Carolina and the changing of the leaves.  Road trips always foster interesting conversations with my husband.  It's great; he's a captive listener!  After a quick stop in Charleston, SC, we headed toward Asheville. Somewhere on I-26  I brought up the topic of Voice and asked David. . .  Was voice something that could be identified by the viewer or did the viewer need the artist to provide words of explanation?  This was prompted after seeing a collection of work by an artist at the Robert Lange Studio in Charleston.  We both agreed we could identify some artists because of their brushwork, color palette, subject matter, and unique elements such as backgrounds.  Is this voice?  Or is voice something deeper in the concept or meaning the artists is trying to convey?  The more we talked, the more I wasn't sure I could describe voice or would even  know it if I saw it.  As a reader of literature, I can usually tell who an author is after a few chapters without looking at his or her name as long as I have read three or four of their works.  So maybe voice is just that , a definable style.  Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with a message you are trying to convey?

The above image is a closeup of a painting I just finished called Italian Repast.  Below is the full 32"X16" canvas.  People always tell me they can tell my work without seeing the signature.  Is that style or voice?  Your thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

VOICE - A Journey Worth Taking con't.

     As I prepared for a pilgrimage back to my early roots in North Carolina, I checked out my favorite galleries in the area to see who is showing their work.  One of my favorites in Asheville is 16 Patton Fine Art Gallery.  What does this have to do with voice?  In reading artists statements of work that I am drawn to, I found an artists who describes what I am alluding to when it comes to emotions and connections.  The artist is Mase Lucas and I have taken an excerpt from her artists statement to show what I am trying to describe.
   
       "Notwithstanding an occasional portrayal of horses in
        action, most of the paintings are quiet and reflective …
        herbivores at peace … as they are here in my fields.
       The thing about horses that makes them compelling
       art subjects is the same thing that makes them
       compelling to me in their own right. My heart melts
       at their beauty and kindness and my adrenalin rises
       at their power … a power so often restrained to
       accommodate us humans."

When your subject matter can cause a welling up of these kinds of emotions then you know you have to share them in some artistic form; now you are beginning to speak in VOICE.  Is communication through subject matter all there is to artistic voice?  Not necessarily so, but you are coming closer to the meaning of your art and your voice.  More to say about voice in the near future as I continue this series.  How do you speak your artistic voice?  Have you found it yet?  Your comments are welcomed!