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| Raft of Scoters 8x8 inches oil on prepared panel |
getting ready to head south.
(Sheesh, I've had this draft post for so long ... but it has been long on my mind as well - lately I don't have too much of a schedule, so blogging goes by the wayside. But summer is over and I am ready to be more of a routine blogger, whatever that means.)
Today I will talk a little about what I took away
from the last chapter
in the book I've been reading -
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon.
The chapter title is:
Stick Around.
The point of this final chapter is to just keep going.
Many times you just feel bad, not motivated, not enjoying your life
so you stop working on what might be a tough spot in a painting, or in your writing, or potting, or sculpting or ... That's ok.
Taking a break is fine, but get back to it and push through.
Just know that you will have learned something from the push.
It might be a breakthrough,
or a peek into something completely new.
From A.K. - "Even if you try to toss it aside, the lessons that you've learned from it will seep into what you do next."
At the end of his book, one of the to-do's that A.K. suggests
is to plan a "Show Your Work!" night.
Well, ahem ...
A few years ago a couple of friends and I held a salon. Just three of us. We showed our work to each other and asked for help if we needed it. Working independently as we do - it was great to have "new eyes" to see things we have missed, to confirm that there is a problem spot and maybe what to do about it. Or just say Bravo to a work well painted!
We are holding another salon in a few weeks. I'm very excited to exchange and discuss ideas about art ...
however, unlike the salons in the 17th century,
I shall not have my guests gather around my bed to chat ... that is what they did then!
Oh, and here is the triptych -
finished, before it was taken apart to live as three instead of one.
The point of this final chapter is to just keep going.
Many times you just feel bad, not motivated, not enjoying your life
so you stop working on what might be a tough spot in a painting, or in your writing, or potting, or sculpting or ... That's ok.
Taking a break is fine, but get back to it and push through.
Just know that you will have learned something from the push.
It might be a breakthrough,
or a peek into something completely new.
From A.K. - "Even if you try to toss it aside, the lessons that you've learned from it will seep into what you do next."
At the end of his book, one of the to-do's that A.K. suggests
is to plan a "Show Your Work!" night.
Well, ahem ...
A few years ago a couple of friends and I held a salon. Just three of us. We showed our work to each other and asked for help if we needed it. Working independently as we do - it was great to have "new eyes" to see things we have missed, to confirm that there is a problem spot and maybe what to do about it. Or just say Bravo to a work well painted!
We are holding another salon in a few weeks. I'm very excited to exchange and discuss ideas about art ...
however, unlike the salons in the 17th century,
I shall not have my guests gather around my bed to chat ... that is what they did then!
Oh, and here is the triptych -
finished, before it was taken apart to live as three instead of one.
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| Calm Retreat - Lynn Canal View 34 x 68 inches Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas |
And here it is at delivery and then how it looks in situ.
And lastly, posing with my collector :)
... really gives it a sense of scale.
This painting was extremely challenging, but incredibly fun and I learned so much about painting from small studies to a large canvas (or three!).
Thank you Judy!
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