I found this urn at a flea market in Florida and can imagine it being a part of many still life paintings. I love the colors and texture of verdigris and it's always fun to paint. I was also lucky to find the little oranges with leaves at Whole Foods, which doesn't happen all the time, so timing was good.
I'll keep you posted on the abstract progress.
Today's lesson and instruction in the third video of the abstract workshop I'm taking via Zoom encourages us to be "brave, take risks, explore, after all, it's only paint and paper," all really good advice. And today I had that AHA moment when I realized that my 12 years of Catholic education certainly did not foster that mindset in me. When I was growing up, breaking the rules was a HUGE no-no, and the first real problem with that came not until I was in in college when I pursued an art degree. My professors, I now realize, were looking for the above-mentioned mind set, and they hated my work, which they likened to the cover of a Hallmark card. I took that as a compliment, which of course it wasn't.
So first off, I think I was subconsciously rebellious with yesterday's assignment because apparently I didn't follow the instructions. No problem. The new "Me" sloughed it off to my new "be brave" attitude. So I bravely winged it. The assignment was to go crazy in the black section with paint, mark making and tape, then cover it with black paint (why? one might ask), and then mute a little of the light section. These photos show my results, and please know that posting this stage of work takes bravery.
I should confess, and I so rarely share anything personal, that when I paint, I listen to the news or other talk talk talk, which quiets my left (analytical) brain and allows me to zone out in Right Brain Space. Today, during this painting session, guess what I listened to. Let's Go Crazy, by Prince. (Here is where my kids are cringing, or at least rolling their eyes.
I am excited to see where these three experiments will go. I am eager to attack the light parts with gusto. I have a feeling that I'll be listening to a lot of Prince and my sincere hope is that I will indeed "go crazy."
Hello friends,
I'm taking an abstract workshop on Zoom with a New Zealand artist whose work I admire. She is teaching us her process, so I'm just following instructions. The initial process up to this point is to paint the paper, scratch out marks with a screwdriver or other object, paint some shapes, and collage some interesting papers. I made some of my own papers, so I feel better about that. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I have a feeling there are drastic steps ahead.
diane
Artists all over the world are painting sunflowers, which is Ukraine's national flower. While I have not yet painted sunflowers for Ukraine, I will hope for now that my tulips will represent hope for peace and the end of this savage destruction.
