18 x 24 • acrylic on Gessobord
The title of my last post, “Getting close ...” should have been “Getting closer ...”
I have come to accept the fact that in the progress of just about every painting there comes a rough patch wherein I think “Yecchh. Phooey. This is just awful.”
By the end of my painting time on Friday I was almost through that phase with this painting. Not quite, though. But I posted the progress anyway, and Rose Welty left me a lovely encouraging comment. (Thanks, Rose!) Yesterday I spend a little time blog surfing, and I came upon Jeff Mahorney’s very interesting art blog. He has a great commentary on negative thoughts that pop up during the creative process in his post What I’ve learned (After 120 paintings).
Last night I propped the painting up on the mantel in the living room and surreptitiously studied it off and on while my husband and I watched a thoroughly entertaining old Audrey Hepburn movie, How to Steal a Million.
I decided maybe I was trying too hard to rush through the painting and get to the end, and so I was losing the joy in it.
So. Today I moved my easel down to the sunporch and spent a beautiful, refreshingly cool but delightfully sunny late spring afternoon after a morning of thunderstorms ... painting. Taking my time. Stopping now and then to step back, maybe even walk away, go outside and play with the dogs. Being totally and completely aware of my blessings. Not rushing.
There is a time for, and good value in practicing painting quickly, to capture the essence and gesture of a subject in as short a time as possible.
But there’s also a time for taking time. Enjoying the process and getting lost in it. I highly recommend it now and then.
1 comment:
Hi. I just linked to the same post by Jeff Mahorney and saw someone else had, too. How delightful to find it's someone I follow! I do love your work. And also love How to Steal a Million. Heehee. Thanks for the reminder about painting with joy. :)
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