Looking for the magic

As much as I don't like to admit it, it's been a real struggle the last three-to-four weeks to get motivated to work on my artwork. For various reasons, when the time avails itself to work, I haven't been able to do much of anything. When I get started on something, I find a ready excuse to stop shortly afterward.

"The studio is too cold ..." or "I'm not in the mood right now" or, my favorite one, "I have all day off tomorrow, I will do it then."

I sigh a lot.

It has created problems. For example, I had all the right intentions of making an excellent piece. I am working in colored pencil and, as I well know, it is a most unforgiving medium. When you don't have your heart in to your work, you produce something you really don't like.

There's certain aspects about every drawing you like and there certainly are a couple things about this painting that are acceptable. But for the most part, I didn't like what was happening. I think a lot of it was just not "getting in to it". 

This is the kind of art you do when there's no enthusiasm. The colors didn't feel right. The original drawing didn't feel right. It's just not good enough.

So I have about 3 weeks worth of work involved in this and at that point decided it's no good and we start over again.

Starting over on the same piece has never been
high on my "to do" list, but I also realized that the first piece was unacceptable.

I also know that this is a photograph, which I took last summer, that I truly want to do. When it comes down to it, that's really crucial to execution of artwork. Do you have enthusiasm for the project? To that question, I can answer "Yes!"

Back to the drawing board and you start over. The result is the photo on the right. What you see is about 9 hours of work and I am in a much more positive frame of mind about the direction of this piece. That doesn't mean I'm out of the woods. In fact, since I feel like I have to find the trail again anyway ... but I think I can see the path.

When you have this miserable feeling and you try to do artwork, you also start on a project and then jump to another and jump to another ... trying to find the spark again.

Hence, I have two oil paintings, that -- at their respective stages -- I actually think have promise. I need to look under a few brushes on the easel tray to see if I can find the magic again.

I like the clouds on this piece, a photo of a home facing the ocean in Kennebunkport, ME that a friend of mine took recently while on vacation. 

The photo didn't have as much light in the right places as I prefer, though a fellow artist friend loved the start and suggested the clouds had a "off screen" lighting as if the moon was in the upper left corner. I plan to "go with it"

On the way to Kennebunkport, my same friend stopped in New Hampshire and took a photo of a horse farm.

I liked that photograph as well and so far, this is where I am. I have a couple reservations about this piece, but I will keep them to myself and the gremlins in the back of my head till after the painting is finished.




I will have some more thoughts about this overall subject in the next installment of the blog.

CPSA Deadline Looms

For those of you who follow this blog and work in colored pencil, the deadline for the 21st Annual International Exhibition is fast approaching. In fact, final entries must be submitted by Sunday, March 31 at 11:59 p.m.


The link for entry information is: http://www.cpsa.org/

There's a thorough explanation on how to submit your entry through CaFE portal for contest entries. I'm not sure which paintings I plan to enter, but I definitely will submit two before the week's out. I have all day off tomorrow, I will do it then. Hmmm ....