Going with the Flow

I am reminded of my flower bed in the backyard. I started flowers from seed in the Spring in hopes of seeing bursts of color from our windows. I used some soil from our compost pile to strengthen our sandy soil. What I have now is oodles of little tomato plants all around the house that came from the compost and one little sunflower blossom that I can see from the window. Maybe in the Fall when the weather cools the tomato blossoms will set and I can make colorful salsas and sauces. Who knows? I will have to go with the flow and see.
My goal for the Summer is to paint some Florida water inspired paintings for a show I am having in September and October. The water inspiration will go with the glass vessels Sarah Hinds is anticipating for the show. Right now I am on the move with my two young sons who are free from school. We had an active vacation at a Florida Beach where I did some sketches and now we are off to camp on some family land in Pennsylvania. Not an ideal situation for painting Florida water but I am interested in what will result from the "quiet" of the woods. Although I am thankful for all of the fun we have had so far this Summer, I'm eager for some intense painting time. Who knows what exactly will result, I will have to go with the flow and see.

Flying Boy

This painting is not quite what I had in mind for my next work but it was fun to do. There is some drawing and photography research I want to do as preparation for my next painting but I haven't had time yet. It's next on my list.

Eureka!

With this painting I feel like I have finally found something that I have been desperately in search of for years. It was so unexpected, like turning over a rock by accident and finding a gemstone. I have been working and working and then boom everything came together; a meaningful idea, a satisfying methodology and successful visual painting elements. Also it seemed independent of my own desires and mood. I was feeling rather lousy about myself and just about everything and then this idea for a painting just came and worked. I plan to do a series of this idea and if that starts to happen, then I will explain the meaning more clearly. I don't want to jinx it all just yet.
I do find comfort in that artistic success comes from consistent work and not from personal happiness or state of mind. I have rediscovered that drawing in a sketchbook is very important to my process. Not to get a blueprint for a painting, but to put shapes into my visual memory. So that when I am painting, I can just be free to paint and not feel I have to be tied to any reference. I also think I will have to have a new motivation to get work done, like a ritualistic schedule instead of a frenzied search. I observed in Korea that the way people did tasks had to be like worship for them. How else could you be at peace cleaning a sidewalk with tiny brushes or trimming shrubbery to immaculate perfection?

Obessive

I really worked hard on painting this week. So much that I started to question my sanity. It is hard to stop painting and switch gears sometimes. The orange landscape is very detailed and it is a large painting, 36" x 24". I wanted to get away from painting hard outlines and details so I started painting just areas of color in the blue one with the two birds. I am still working on it and adjusting to painting with thicker paint and modeling paste.

Dots and Dashes

I don't know how I started painting like this, it wasn't a conscience effort. I do think these paintings will show well with the glass work in the Fall. Then I will have a show at the Thomas Center with glass blowers, Sarah Hinds and Sky Campbell.

I am finding sketching more and more valuable, which I think is a positive leap for
me. I don't consider photos of much value in my process. I am thinking to myself "I wish I had a sketch book right now" rather than a camera.

In subject matter, I want to get back to creating a fantasy world, an utopia. I am thinking I will try not starting my process in such a wet fluid state for the next couple of paintings and see if I can get to some more defined bold strokes and layering. I am constantly amazed about how the beginning of a painting process dictates the final product. I expect it to change drastically but it ends up returning to where it started.

Misty Cedar


















Water Hyacinths II






















Water Hyacinths I

A Walk in the Rain

Two Boys
A walk home in the rain
Pouring boots onto the porch in brown puddles
White socks turned to dark gray
Stripped of clothes at the door
Bits of black mulch and brown leaves stuck to their scalps
A long deep bath
After a "walk" in the rain
Two boys

Evening BBQ on the Bay

This party was my last adventure in Open Air Arts until the Gala reception on April 11th. (I am going on a family trip) The weather was glorious and I turned in three paintings. It was a perfect ending. I loved talking to other artists about their works in progress. I can't wait to see all of the finished products. To see pictures: http://freshsqueezedart.blogspot.com/2009/04/when-artists-pary.html