guilty.......

As I've already mentioned, I'm reading Twyla Tharp's book, 'The Creative Habit' - as in all books that profess an individuals personal point of view, some of it hits home and some of it doesn't - it appeals on so many levels for me and when one of her thoughts resonates, it's like a home run!  I'm sure if I sat down in a room with 5 or 10 other people reading the book, everyone would have their own personal connections - well, ya, that makes sense! Anyway, last night after one of the weirdest days I've spent on the planet, I settled in with Twyla - as I'm reading along she relates a time when she was given unlimited resources to choreograph for a prominent ballet company - she was ecstatic and went big and made a not so good ballet, yet she had everything she wanted and more - she said as she looked back she realized that her best work was created out of adversity when her resources were severely limited - this is when she excelled! She was pushed to be creative with what she had and found original ways to use her limited resources that she wouldn't have found if she had been given everything.  Of course! I can see that -   Guilty! I have dreamed for years of a bigger better studio - unlimited art supplies -   but would these make me a better artist?  hmmmmmm, I don't think so - my space is extremely humble, but it's MY space and it's limitations have forced me to focus all my energies on what I can do in the space and not what I can't do - I've circumvented  many of the expensive materials in the art stores with common materials I can get at hardware stores or in our garage - actually I have found this to be extremely fun to experiment and have found materials I never would have thought of using - so all our limitations open doors that we might never have knocked on.  She had a quote that I wrote down and is now in my workspace - 'whom the gods wish to destroy, they give unlimited resources' wow!

I did finish a painting this week - this is mixed media on bristol paper 19x24, 'When The Air Gets Too Thin'
Have a good one everyone!

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bumpy week.......

Some days are just better then other days! It's just a fact! I had a week of days that could have been the 'better' kind - it's so tiring to bump into so many ways for things to go off track - sigh -  Friday has landed and it's the last day of summer - this makes me sad - I love summer - I like Fall, but I LOVE summer - fall is pretty and all that - when it's not raining or when there is not cloud cover, it's beautiful - but summer is way better!  I've been wearing boots already - I almost grabbed a scarf a couple of times, but I'll hold out until it's absolutely necessary - I did finish a painting this week, so I thought I would share that with you - this is mixed media on bristol paper, 19x24, Her Slip Was Showing......

I keep going back to this kind of paper - apparently it's my favorite - it's very durable and can take alot of punishment - and another thing I'm loving right now is Twyla Tharp's book, the Creative Habit - I highly recommend it - I had lunch with a friend this week ( one of the highlights) and she was talking about the book so when I got home I downloaded a copy to my ipad - I'm almost finished but it's one of those books you will go back to over and over - well that's pretty much it for now  - jump into the weekend everyone, it will be gone before you know it.

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possibilities......

It's been an extremely looooonnnnnnggggg week! We all have them so I won't bore you with all the details.......not very much painting time and what I was able to squeeze in is not ready to show, so I'll show you another thing I like to do when my brain is inside out - I love creating possibilities with all the bits and pieces laying around my workspace - the stuff that is in my collage box, stacked up on the work table, trampled on the floor, etc.......it's that sort of ' don't have a clue and don't give a damn' place we go when everything is on overload - I took a few pictures while I was messing around and here are a few shots of possibilities.....

pretty basic stuff, but oh such a great stress reliever! Now I'm going to go make some comfort food - soup - made some french bread yesterday and that seems a good combo - the weather has definitely changed, cool, wet - soup and fresh bread weather - hope you are having a great weekend!

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when is it too old....?

I have spent the last week in 'computer land' - the computer I use everyday is ten years old -it still runs fine, but it can't keep up anymore - it's slow, can't run some of the new applications I need, and generally its age is showing - sigh - I've been a Mac user since the late 80's  and so have added a new iMac to my little fleet.  Wow! Talk about a leap forward ten years! The nest of cords that have resided under my desk for the past ten years is gone! Just three things plugged in - I can actually vacuum under my desk now without the fear of sucking up all that spaghetti! So what to do with the old mothership - I mean it's not dead, just old - hmmmmmm - I decided to add an airport card and move it to my studio space!  Brilliant!  That will alleviate dragging all the studio bits (paint, glue, oil stick, etc.) into the house while I download, upload, etc. - well as all things go, there were a bazillion glitches with this idea - it has taken me a week to trouble shoot most of the problems - sometimes things are just too old and need to be retired completely, however! I am sitting in my studio typing, uploading, etc. and it all seems to be working fine - serious? fabulous! re purposing an old friend!  It wasn't easy, but so worth my crossed eyes at the end of each day this past week.
As for the painting part - not too much time spent working, but this seems to be at a resolve - I will wait until it dries completely to make sure - things can change while the drying process takes it sweet time, but sometimes it stays as is.

This is mixed media on board (crappy board) 36x36, If She Cried At Midnight
Happy Monday everyone!

painting again.....

This has been a fabulous Labor Day Weekend - warm and sunny everyday, nothing on the schedule but painting - my energy is returning and so is my focus - when I'm tired I can't keep my focus on my work - my mind wanders, mostly to wanting to sleep or just stare off into space or to just wander around the yard, grazing on blackberries and watching the birds do all their busy bird things.  Painting takes huge amounts of energy, not just physical, but spiritual and mental - the thought of trying to wield a large piece of board around in my small space was just too much, no less the painting and then the CLEAN UP!!  But I'm back and loving it!  I'm working on the new board and finding it awful - it doesn't take the paint like my old fav board, it's bendy and in all ways just an  unsatisfying surface to work on, but work on it I do.....it will have to do until I can get out of here and make the hour trek to another home depot and hope that they will have it.......anyway, this is mixed media on crappy board 36x24........'The Sugar Bowl'

 

Five days into September - yikes!  We are rocketing into Autumn in a few weeks - hope you are all enjoying your three day weekend. 

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