Sketch...

When I was at the Atlanta College of Art, we had to show our sketch books at every prof/student meeting to show how we arrived at a finished work. I ALWAYS did the sketches after the finished piece. I don't sketch to this day. Well, today I rediscovered how very much I love to work in pencil.
I have had this painting on my mind for sometime....I suppose mine are more like drawing than sketches, but you all know how my style isn't exactly "loose." Lots of notes too...the little "bubbles" are her good and bad thoughts. Craig said "Oh, is she having bad thoughts about being run over by a car?"....very funny.

Back on the easel

Some of you have been with me since I started this painting back in January. The figure has become so special to me, I have not found a suitable environment for him. Like I am not hearing the frequency, or the story clearly for some reason. I have painted, repainted, and walked away from it for long stretches. I worked on getting a sky laid in today and played with a few loose ideas for the ground on which he sits......

Happy weekend all.

On the easel: The Unikoi

I have spent most of the week on this and still have more to do......it is quite tedious. Water and fish now top my list of most challenging things to render in paint.

I was walking Reuben today and listening to Shearwater, an endless source of imagery for me, and I had a vision for the ongoing "baboon" painting. Yes, that baboon painting hangs in my house and is STILL unfinished. I will have another go at it today after a haircut. I am beginning to look like Billy Idol.

Richard J. Bailey: "In the Museum" book

My friend Richard J. Bailey has put together a book called "In the Museum." Richard is a creative genius with a magical ability to concoct images into a perfectly balanced expression of wit, atmosphere and form.

Oil Pastel

This oil pastel is almost 20 years old. I have never had the heart to part with it, so it hangs in my studio. It took many years later to realize that it is a self portrait. I caught a peripheral glimpse of it today while painting and am thankful I have held onto it....

Worked on "Unikoi" today... all those underwater scales.

Manet

The National Gallery of Art has a really cool feature about Edouard Manet's two paintings, "The Dead Toreador" and "The Bullfight", and the story of how they were at one time one painting:

Fragments of a Lost Salon Painting Reunited , then click "start tour."

On the Easel: (wt) The Landlord

Often, I wake up in the morning with a sense of unease at approaching the easel. Some of it comes from perfectionist tendencies (and therefore, unrealistic expectations) but I wonder about sitting with that feeling......reframing it. Since I believe the gift I have been given is not to be handled lightly, there is a rightful sense of trepidation when I approach painting. If I can exchange the unhealthy one for the good and right one, I think I do well. This is tricky, because I don't mean at all that I should take my work "seriously." This is a quick way to kill creativity, and after all, it is only a painting. But the privilege of having the opportunity to paint daily, to hone the gift is serious. Maybe I can remember that tomorrow morning.