On the Easel

Summer Woods is on the easel--has been for a while--totally neglected.

It took my bare walls to get me to set aside the watercolors and get back into it. Yesterday, my shipment of acrylics arrived along with a number of canvases to keep me busy for quite some time. With fresh paint restocked, Summer Woods has my full attention once again.

Beginning with the photograph I took last summer and the quicky Crayola drawing I did of the scene, on the right you can see how the painting has progressed over the last months. The last one in line is what happened this morning: I got into lightening and warming it up and building up the texture. Tomorrow or later on today, (after redoing the flower pots my landscaper planted with no eye for arrangement whatsoever), I'll probably darken the painting down--then lighten it up again...and so it will go till I get the right balance.

With all the new canvases leaning against the wall, I'm beginning to think I should be painting a number of things at the same time. Unfortunately, my little unfinished space (with the Rolls Royce of utility sinks and paint splatter cement floor),is only big enough for two easels--maybe three given the large size format I prefer.

Taking the leap from dabbler to committed artist, I've learned that concentrating on one painting at a time most often leads to over working it. With too much judgmental thinking, the painting turns fussy and uptight. But when working on a number of things, I tend to stay loose. No single stroke matters, because no single work matters--they're all in progress and mood and intuition are my guide. Given my empty walls, re-designing my space is a priority and would definitely speed things up. I really do hate pictureless rooms.

Right now Gaillardia #1 is taking up the slack. It looks lonely--but so much better since I brought it back out of the pits. Till it is no longer needed to cheer me up, my son's breakfast room will have to wait. Maybe till Hanukkah?