Thoughts

"Patterns," Detail

Well, I've been gone to Alaska again; this time we enjoyed surprisingly good weather, and great fun with our kids.  Now I'm back home and back to painting -- which is making me happy too!

Above is a detail from a painting I finished before we left; it is called "Patterns" because what I liked about the subject was the light and shadow patterns, on the hair, dress, and the sand.   In process is a big piece ( 44 x 44 ) for my favorite gallery, Huff Harrington, who really sell my paintings and who are THE nicest people.  The joys of a good gallery deserve an entire blog post.  I can not overstate the importance of working with those who are enthusiastic about one's work, and who nudge, ever so politely, the painter to see in a new way (say, like painting in a large format ).  Am teaching a one-day workshop at HH this Sunday - a spring "tune up," which will help me tune up too!

"Patterns," 30 x 24

Resurrection!

First Take - Tulip Demo, before I over-worked it (should have left it alone)

I taught another really fun workshop last Thursday and Friday at Chattanooga Artworks, where Lisa Seago has created a wonderful painting venue.  Also, the people who attended were terrific -- good painters, eager listeners, and game for anything... Meanwhile, I started out painting a demo for about 1 1/2 hours, which was going along pretty well, then I decided to over-analyze and over-work, after which I decided to totally Wipe Out (that's a first for me at a workshop).  It started with my erasing one or two tulips, then I only had one remaining, and then I thought - What the Heck- it's outta here!! As I told everyone, this artwork didn't exist two hours ago, so once it became a mess, I cut my losses.

Another Look - 2nd Day Tulip Demo, 12 x 12, won by Rena Malone 

When I was attending a workshop in Vermont 10 -12 years ago, the instructor said to NEVER wipe out a painting -- resolving problems helps the painter to learn.  This IS true, but sometimes for me, it's so liberating to start anew : )

So I did just that the next day for a short re-demo; the tulips had moved, and I shifted the composition; still not sure if it is any better, but at least it came back to life, a resurrection of sorts on Easter weekend, no less...