Change of pace. Painting returns

One of the issues a multimedia artist, such as your humble blogger, has to deal with, is the strengths and drawbacks of skills.

If you stay with fine hand stitching,  or  spinning, say, your skills are on point. You also tend to get a bit tight and seeking perfection. Same with any form requiring accuracy and consistency.

You need all these skills in order to continue.

 But some other, equally important, forms need looseness and the ability to let things happen rather than make them happen.

This is very upsetting to beginning adult artists, in painting and drawing, who have an idea of what they want their result to look like, and haven't learned to let it be the way it will. Then they think they've failed. Noooo..

 You still use your skills but as a student of the painting rather than its director.  Even a tiny painting has to have looseness, because that's where the life gets in. It's why you work from real objects or people rather than photos wherever you can. And you can't know ahead of doing it how it will look.

And an artist never wonders what to paint. Either it's right in front of you, needing only your unique interpretation, for better or worse, or it's in your mind waiting to be freed onto the materials.

Long preamble to today's adventure, where I finally, after thinking idly for weeks, about drawing and painting, did a bit of painting. I realized I was getting a bit anxious about accuracy and losing some joy in the process.

Clearly I needed to set aside the current projects briefly.

For now here are the strata of WIPs. 

Top layer: bear's boot, next down summer top, next Constellation. They'll all benefit from a bit of peaceful painting. 

Setup under way, after much excavation among supplies

What was in front of me

Colors arranged on a white plate, best for judging color as it will appear on white paper. No preliminary drawing, just  right in, alla prima. Tiny painting,  taped  up on cold press watercolor paper

Painting released. As you see, a loose interpretation of what's there, suggestion of what might be, leaves something to the viewer's imagination, at least that's the plan.

 You use the colors you need, to say what you're saying. You're not bound to the literal color that's there. I chose a large margin, to lend weight to the piece.

Pleased enough to sign and date it. Some successful areas, some areas showing the artist's rust, but overall okay.

I'll leave the table set up for more painting, not wanting to go through the search again to assemble the doings.

Painting takes a lot more mental and emotional energy than other forms. I can't stay focused for very long before fatigue sets in. That's because of the constant decision making and inner dialog, or argument, I believe.

I feel a lot more stable and back in balance now.

So that's where we are on a heat wave Sunday.