Just wanted to share what I am currently working on.

This is piece that I created in 2009 when I was still working in acrylic and very afraid of oil paint!

Silence Between the Words

Acrylic on Canvas

16 in x 20 in

2009

Exploring my perceptions concerning the numerous gestation periods necessary for art to happen. Up until recently I was not able to step back and see this but as the year moves forward it is beginning to become more apparent. Staying within this terminology, when an idea is born, the birthing process is often long, difficult and messy… and then there are those ideas that are really difficult and decide to enter the world, breech.

I experience that there are stages and these are usually clumped together in groups. Although, I am sure that this happens to everyone. I can only speak for myself. (I am sure that I have many friends who are reading this and shaking their heads thinking, “I told him this before but he would not listen”… yet another part of the process, we often hear only what we are able to process in that time and place.)

I have periods of time where it seems nothing is happening, tumbleweeds are blowing through the studio and nothing is moving forward. I feel stuck, frustrated and depressed and then all of a sudden the floodgates open and all this amazing stuff happens! Then the cycle goes full circle and I am left sitting on the floor wondering what I did I do wrong, why am I stuck again.

I forget that I need these slow or “downtimes” to recharge and get my energy back up to speed. I have to remember that these are also a valuable part of the creative process and should not be viewed as detrimental. For some reason, I have always viewed my downtime as being wasteful or lazy.

It is not always about what you learned but sometimes about what you need to unlearn to move forward. We are all unique and what works for one individual might not work for the rest. Through trying different approaches is how we learn what works best for us…and sometimes that changes as we evolve in life.

The bottom line is that be open to the process and listen to what it has to teach you. It is within the silence between the words that the art is created.

Just a little peek at my next adventure.

I have always wanted to create a self-portrait, but I did not want to create it in the “traditional” style. I have spent months of searching to find the perfect approach…and I think I have found it!

This is the beginning of several drawings that will help determine scale and spacing.

Now to decide the size of canvas…. and start!

The cold weather has caused me to stay inside the studio and dream of warmer tropical places. I have always felt a special connection to sea creatures, they always seem happy swimming around while exploring their fanciful world.

With this in mind, I wanted to share with you a piece I am working on this week. The smaller scale gives me a chance to share with you some of my creative process within a condensed time frame. There are several more steps than the three images show below, but this gives you an idea of what happens.

1.  Graphite drawing to figure out size and spacing to figure out if it is something that will work. Many “great” concepts never get past this stage.

2.  The placing of the background or the under-painting, this piece has three colors (green, blue and white) mixed and then the dark green bubble design is created with an ear of corn that paint has been applied to and roll along the surface of the canvas.

3.  Then the dropping in of colors and general shapes and then stepping away for several days to distance myself to make sure that the placement still feels correct to me. (This is where white paint becomes my best friend.) Correcting parts that seem wrong and adding different elements to help pull the piece together.

4.  When the surface is dry to the touch (three to four days later) I add more details. This usually takes several months to do. The piece will continue to change while I work on it. Even paintings that have been finished for years I often find myself going in and fixing something that looks slightly off.

5.  Eyes are the last things added because for me at this point the painting takes on a new life and mission to share with the world.

Muse
Oil on Canvas
12in x 12in x 1.5in
2015