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Friday, June 24, 2011

Obsessing

I lied. My block is broken, but my obsession with getting what I see down as I see it isn't over.

After just one day sitting on the side, one look at the painting this morning said the tree trunks were too white, too blanched, too dead.

I went to the studio to find my photograph of strawberry tortes; I planned to begin the drawing for painting two of the Chocolate Mice triptych. I never opened my file. My tree trunks lacked color; they needed life. I tinted the white with Cadmium yellow light. One color lead to another and the painting got brighter, warmer. Is it done? G-d I hope so. But I'll see how it strikes me when I walk into the studio today.

I heard that the first born child in families is the perfectionist. I'm a first born. I would have preferred to be the third. However, it's the opinion of this first born that the shadows in the painting, are improved and the trees are a bit more defined. The attraction to bare trees for me is the play of the lines of branches and twigs. This attraction, fascination, is why Winter is going to to be a bear. I do not look forward to it.

JUNE 22ND:

JUNE 23RD:

8 comments:

  1. I do like the darkened lines in the second. Very vibrant and alive. I haven't been drawing or painting lately and I'm cranky because of it... I am off to see what more you have done and become inspired! :)

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  2. Have to agree w/Margaret.. btw, didn't know that about first borns.. i'm one, my mom is an only... I couldn't deal w/my mom';s obsession to be perfect.. too much stress.. Her attitude is still that way...sad, she doesn't realize that its a turn off and that she's the subject of many conversations.

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  3. I'm a second born. I don't know what that means but I have trouble making decisions. Between that and all the voices...I'm putting on my helmet.

    All the blobs are taken care of, colors adjusted and details clarified. It's a much different painting now. It feels and looks resolved. I like what you are doing with forcing my eyes to blend the colors and textures leaving the paint fresh and exciting. Love this and the others like it! The tweeks are perfect--great job! Put a fork in this one --it's done.

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  4. Thanks Bill I needed that. I was driving myself crazy. When I've "finished" a painting, there's a pleasant feeling of exhaustion that comes over me. My fervor vaporizes and I can walk away from it and never look back. That feeling never came with this painting till the last two days. Publishing the photographs of them is very helpful in straightening the confusion. June 22nd, I knew I was close. June 23rd, I was closer still. I do hope when I go down there now, I won't give it a second glance.

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  5. Margaret, where have you been? You were painting up a storm you last blog and then nothing. I've been feeling lethargic myself about painting these last weeks. It was this painting that was plaguing me. It's almost off my back--I hope it's off my back. I won't know till I open that studio door.

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  6. Chrissy I read that just recently somewhere and it struck home. I'm a first born. My honey is a first born. We've locked horns, (he's a Taurus; I'm a Capricorn), for several years after we were married till we established our own territories. Both of us expect to be revered, since, as first borns, we were revered as the first child from the marriage. We were also expected to excel and take responsibility and I think that's where our perfectionism comes from. It's a curse you know. There's no such thing.

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  7. I can see that you have done quite a bit of work to the 2nd. It's sure looks warmer, and brighter against the blue.
    I am the last born... of 5... still quite a bit of a perfectionist... sometimes. :)

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  8. I've about given up on that painting Evelyn. I'm thinking of scraping i--taking it back down to bare canvas with alcohol. I used to think you could salvage any drawing/painting, but this one has cast some doubt. I'm not liking what has happened to the surface.

    About being the youngest of five, that puts you in the position of being the baby of the family. From what I've read, the person in the baby position is demanding of others, not themselves. It was just a theory put out by a couple of psychologists quite a few about years ago that I found curious being the mother of three. I have no idea what character traits the siblings in the middle of the run would have in your family--but I do recall them says that the middle kid (s) were the most self reliant and independent because the parents didn't pay as much attention to them as they did the oldest and the youngest child. From what I knew, that was true.

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