Thursday, June 23, 2011

Walking among the Giants



So Wednesday I drove into Chicago to meet two other fellow artist friends to gallery hop. We met at the new CAC (Chicago Artist Coalition) in their new location which turns out is in quite an industrial type area. It was hard to park as close by were a lot of movie trailers getting ready for some production of something. I know Oprahs studio is close by. It was a windy day and we had several strikes against us when we found several galleries were gone! We gave up the endeavor and went to the Loop area and went throug the Columbia Univ. Photo Gallery and walked in Grant Park among Magdalena Abakanowicz forest of headless giants made of iron. It was awesome. Now I know how tiny children feel walking downtown with a bunch of adults.

The best part of the trip was sharing ideas and thoughts from each other. Exchanging ideas and learning a different perspective is always refreshing.

Madness on Canvas

You know that desert landscape I started...and just never really liked? Well, this is what it turned into...after the need to slap paint like a kid without intention...so I call it my madness on canvas. No doubt I'll work on it again. But doing this helps me to want to do something structured again. I am like a pendulum. If I swing too far one way I want to swing back. It's like purging a need. Self discovery.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Struggle




I haven't posted for awhile. It's partly due to planning my daughters wedding and taking advantage of the sun when it decides to appear...and lots of yard work along with a lot of travel.

But part of it is that I started working on something I haven't done before and is a little foreign to me...and on top of that I am searching for something...that something being a new style, or whatever. I usually know when it's "right" or suites me, and I haven't gotten there yet. I guess I'm somewhat of an intuitive painter. I'll post what I started out with. I got tired of what I had and just smeared color all over it...now mind you...I am not abandoning the painting....I am just abandoning the approach. Part of this is that I feel the need to play!!!!

When I smeared color all over it ,I went to Home Depot and bought a drumel tool and different attachments. I started doing all kinds of crazy things to the canvas...just to see what would happen. So I learned what worked, and what didn't. I use the canvas like a piece of drawing paper...I just paint out a glob and see how I feel...

I almost never do landscapes...so don't really know how to approach it. I have learned to take it in sections or shapes...etc....but when do you break the rules....when do you forge a new path? The path less taken?

This is my yearning to break away from detail and tightness...eventually I'll get there.

This will probably wind up in the trash can...but it won't be a total waste, because it allows me the time to "play"...and discover.....and release....then...I'll start on another up tight piece again!