Sometimes, I think I have lost my ability to produce good work. I guess it is like writer's block. When everything I do is unsatisfactory to me, I start to get depressed, worried, anxious. I was feeling scattered and unfocused. I was struggling with simplifying this image more and couldn't come up with a value plan. I just decided that I needed to get some paint on the paper. The beauty of YUPO is that you can keep changing things so I figured if I just started, I could make decisions and changes along the way. I had drawn the image on the paper with a watercolor crayon stuck in my new drawing stick. I wanted to make the background on the left dark, at least on the top, but the YUPO had other ideas and I kept lifting it off. After I finish the hands, I will adjust the background and see if I can't get the value darker. In the meantime, working on YUPO is always a learning experience. Now that it is coming together, I am having fun trying different techniques to get the paper and paint to bend to my will. Wish I could take Sandy Maudlin's YUPO class. Now there is a master of the medium!
Tomorrow I sit at Gallery Concord. I should be able to finish the painting. If you find yourself in the area, stop by and say hello.
Friday, May 1, 2009
BACK IN THE GROOVE!
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6 comments:
Hi,
I've been following (lurking) and thoroughly enjoying your blog since I saw your work in Artists magazine a year or so ago. I'm not a big one for posting comments, but watching this sequence evolve has been so interesting I had to come out of the shadows. Each sketch seems to capture a slightly different expression. I feel I can almost imagine what the woman is about to say -- and in each case it's different. Thanks for being so honest and generous in your sharing.
Myrna, you definitely haven't lost it! This is a wonderful piece. The hands are marvelous.
Myrna, although it seems mean of me, I do get a slight pleasure out of hearing that people in your level also have doubts, problems with composition, etc.! Then it passes quickly and I say, oh, she is too hard on herself - look at what she created! I find a delicacy in this one that is just perfect. I think for the bg a bit of dark thick pigment put down around here and then a lace doily on top and pulled off when it dries would add to that delicacy and old-timey look I see in this one. And thank you for fighting through the doubts and constraints to keep sharing!
I really like how this is shaping up --wonderful to follow you line by line and brush stroke by brush stroke, as you take us along your journey without holding back but sharing your doubts and successes. I feel privileged. Thank you!
wonderful work. I really appreciate your sincerety in your struggles as an artist. Keeping it real is always evidence of wisdom. Thank you
I really love this painting.
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