Too tired to party.

I have been working on four canvases today, two oil and two acrylic. I want to paint in oil because it is more sensuous to paint with as it resists the brush stroke a little. I'm also pursuing a reluctant quarry as I still don't quite know how to make it do what I want. Acrylic is so easy going and versatile, it's kind of like my favorite buddy to party with. My son came to visit me in my studio after school. "That painting needs green," he said. Sure enough, I tested it out and the solid color stripe I wanted to paint on the bottom looked the best in green. It made the muddy red pop but the viewer doesn't get hit over the head with a glaring red color.

New Series or, I finally got an idea!

I've started a new series of paintings based on some left over gestural drawings from a year ago. It feels really good to be addressing a canvas again, smearing paint and creating the weird colors I enjoy so much. I suppose I should call them 'subtle' so as not to freak anyone out but it is so fun to take two colors, or three and create my very own palette.

I believe in being mildly disciplined and try to do something in the way of art every day but if the creative genius fails to show up, it is okay to have a fallow period every once in a while. I gather experiences that eventually make it into a painting or learn some techniques or allow my brain to work on a problem unsupervised by my nagging mind.

I took a look at "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell" as I started. Her later paintings where her gestures began to cohere into larger shapes were my favorites.

Chores

I didn't have a stimulating day in the studio today but I am setting up for an exciting day tomorrow. I gessoed two canvases. Whee. But now they are like presents sitting under the tree waiting for me to unwrap them and expose the fabulous painting waiting underneath. Now I have my metaphors a little mixed up. I am giddy with excitement.

I have my sketches for the paintings stacked up behind the blank white rectangles you see in the photo. The paintings won't be exactly like the sketches as I like to leave myself free to take up an new fabulous idea when I encounter one in the course of painting. Also, I will not be the same person I was creating the sketches.

In the meantime, like a child waiting for a special day, I must compose myself for my action-packed day tomorrow

Yesterday, I attempted a painting in acrylic after a Mary Cassatt painting. It did not turn out as I had hoped. In the afternoon, I drove to La Conner to attend the membership meeting of the Museum of Northwest Art. Afterwards, three glass artists presented their work. Of the three, I thought that Masami Koda's work really stood out. She combines metal working with glass. Her pieces were simultaneously delicate and suffused with strength. I was very impressed. I rounded off the day as a cowboy. I was walking past someone's yard when I waved at a four year old boy up in his play house. He called to his sister, "Hey look, it's a cowboy". It was a great ending to a great day.

I spend the whole day in the studio preparing to hang my art in a local restaurant. There is something to be said for a deadline to make one buckle down and work. I did some larger and some smaller drawings. I felt more intimidated by the larger space and so filled it with a lot of busy marks that I had to later incorporate into smoother, larger shapes. Perhaps because I was tired by the time I turned to the smaller paintings, I was more relaxed. I made larger, more swoopey (o.k., not a real word) shapes to which I later added some random marks. I think I'm going to call the bottom drawing 'Light and Dark duke it out.' I really love how the purply blue jousts with the flakey white. Now, it's time for a good meal and hopeful a nice evening walk.