Well, I made it to the finish line, but now what? After I completed the painting for TAG Squared, I was feeling a little run down and a little burned out. One show after another, one custom art order after another, and it was all beginning to feel that I had lost the joy of creating art and wondering what it was all about for me…So, I’m asking myself, why do I create art? I’m hoping that asking this question will remind me of the reasons why I make art. I want to remember that feeling of losing all track of time, of life, just slowing down to a gentle crawl, of troubles and worries just melting away. In an effort to answer this question, I read an article by the artist, Lee Hammond, called, Why we Make Art. Here is the link for the article: http://www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/why-we-make-art-lee-hammond, in case you would like to read it for your own inspiration to get back in the studio and make art.

One of the main points Hammond makes in the article is that artists make art because they are passionate about it and love making things.  But, she also points out that although art is a highly enjoyable activity, it also takes a lot of effort to get good at painting and drawing.

According to Hammond: “So why do we make art? Why is art so important to us? It’s simple. Because we enjoy it. In fact, we live for it. Few in life have this type of passion for a certain thing, particularly something that’s so enjoyable. It was given to us at birth, and it drives us forward. It’s reasonable to see how frustrating it may be for someone with a lackluster life, to see us having so much fun, and being so fulfilled.
But it is art-WORK. Few understand how very hard it is to develop these skills, and to try to take it to a profession level. Even the artist who does it as a hobby and pure joy of doing it, has moments of pure frustration when it doesn’t work out.” Hammond, 2016.

And as for things not working out, that was what was happening today in the studio. I had been looking forward to working on art all weekend after several days of working at my day job. The day has arrived but the work left something to be desired. All my best-laid plans about putting together a color scheme for the portrait I am working on went awry. Nothing seemed to work, even when I used tried and true color schemes, like the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. After several attempts, I finally got something that worked. But it was not fun. So back to my original question of what’s next? For me, I am going to try and re-discover the joy of making art, whatever the outcome may be. Just to enjoy making marks with my pencil, mixing up colors, and appreciating the artwork of artists I admire, like Andrew Wyeth, Mary Cassat, and Robert Liberace, etc. I want to remember what it was to make art like a child would, without that critical adult voice who so often criticizes a work before it is time.  Well, it’s 4:00 and my timer just went off, so I think I will get back in the studio and try to just enjoy working on a painting, whatever the outcome may be. On another note, I am attaching some photos of my latest show, TAG Squared at Frederick, MD. These photos include the works of several other local artists who are featured in the show. If you want more details about the show, such as gallery hours, here is the website: http://www.theartistsgalleryfrederick.com/.

This week I have been working on a small 10 x10 inch painting… Attached are my progress photos from this week. I re-worked the color scheme in this painting from being predominantly warm in tone (yellow, orange, red) to more analogous colors (blue, blue-green, and green).

It has been a herculean effort to make myself work and I feel like I have had to be a Nike athlete and follow the slogan, “Just do it,” whether I feel like it or not. All this struggle to be creative, has made me wonder, Is it ever justifiable for a professional creative to take a break from painting, or whatever their medium of choice may be (songs, poetry, novels, dance), especially when the passion or inspiration is lacking, or should we ( as creatives, makers, musicians, writers, etc.), just slog through regardless? I suspect there are as many opinions about this issue as there are anything else…

Here are my two cents on this subject. I read a blog by writer, Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, and Show Your Work! and he had some advice which I found very helpful. Kleon referenced a quote in his blog at http://www.austinkleon.com, from February 9, 2017 in which the writer, Goethe, said” “one ought to every day at least hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”Kleon (2017), states that in this quote, we find the emphasis on appreciation, rather than production.   It might seem like a counterproductive concept to many of us, who live in a workaholic 24-7 Western culture. And this mentality is not limited to the corporate world, it has even dripped down into the creative community where we often find articles about, being more efficient with our studio time and the importance of drawing or painting every day. And as an art student at McDaniel College, I had a teacher who always emphasized that art students should work on multiple projects every week, and that production was the key to their artistic growth.

In my experience, the pressure to produce art every day can get especially high for me when an art show deadline is looming or if I am working on a commissioned piece for a client or an art project for an art class. And while I would be the first to agree that if you want to get better at something you need to put in the time every week, daily if possible, whether it’s learning to play piano or learning to paint and draw, it’s also important to know yourself. Are you someone who really needs to buckle down and work on a creative project every day, or are you a workaholic who needs to schedule in breaks to refuel and recharge your creative batteries? As for myself, I am giving myself permission to take some much needed time off and read a good book, or go to Borders and read some art magazines to try and get my passion for painting back once I complete this painting. How about you, fellow makers and creatives? How do you recharge your creative batteries to make paintings, write poetry, sing songs, etc? I’m open to suggestions and would love to hear from you in my comments box.  

It’s been a very challenging week and I am working under a tight deadline to get this painting completed in time for the March 2017 box show, TAG Squared. I’ve been fighting with myself trying to find the motivation to get this painting started and to do my best work. This is not usually a problem for me, and is, I fear a sign of burn out.  I find it hard to give myself breaks when I need to, and then comes the dreaded burnout and lack of motivation that is sure to follow if I don’t take time off.

This week I started by priming the birch wood 10 x 10-inch canvas with gesso. When that had dried, I painted in three values of acrylic paint of white, gray and black, which was based on my three value sketch from last week. Today, I began blocking in color and deciding on a color scheme. I also changed the composition of the book and decided to use a different illustration than the one I had originally chosen for the open pages of the book. Here is my progress so far.

If you want to read more about the purpose of the show, TAG squared or need directions or office hours of the gallery go to the following link: http://www.theartistsgalleryfrederick.com/.

I am a little behind this week with blogging, but today I am taking the time to catch up. Last week I talked about my artistic process and how I created a sketchbook of inspiring artwork and used an older sketch from a previous art project that never got off the ground, unfortunately. I also talked about how I collaged all my favorite ideas from my sketchbook to make a digital collage in Photoshop.

Today I chose one of the digital collages and started a three value sketch. Here is my work in progress. My next step will be to gesso my canvas with two coats of gesso. When that dries, I will transfer this sketch and begin the acrylic painting. I have two weeks to paint it before it will be dropped off for display in the Box Show at the Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD, so I really have to get cracking! Here is a link to the gallery if you are interested in learning more about the art show: http://www.theartistsgalleryfrederick.com/.

Just a quick note to let you know my artwork will be on display at Spin the Bottle Wine Company in Frederick, MD until the end of February. I will have original art, and art prints for sale. Attached is a post card about my art show.

My oil paintings will be displayed at Spin the Bottle Wine Company in Frederick, MD. The paintings are selling for $100 each and have been custom framed. I will be at the shop on opening night from 3- 6 pm. The artwork will be displayed until the end of February. For directions or information about hours of Spin the Bottle Wine Company, follow this link: http://spinthebottlewinecompany.com/.

I forgot to mention, here is the citation for Emily Dickinson’s poem, There is no Frigate like a Book: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/there-no-frigate-book-1263. You can read the poem in its entirety there.

Last week I started to talk about my artistic process. This week I am continuing to work my artistic process for a piece I plan to exhibit at the Box Show at the Artists’ Gallery in Frederick, MD in March. I started this process by revisiting a series of sketches that  I had created for another show called Wild Imaginings a few years back. However, life got in the way and I never did finish the idea. But now I am revisiting the idea and developing it into a painting. So this week I am in stage 2.

I started a book of inspiring images that I culled from Pinterest and Google image searches and pasted them into my sketch book. Then I combined these images into Photoshop, using the sketch as a springboard to develop my composition.

My topic for this piece is to illustrate how reading can unlock your imagination. And my inspiration for this piece is primarily from Emily Dickinson’s poem, There is no Frigate Like a Book. The following lines captured my initial inspiration and gave me some concepts and images to work with pertaining to journeys, travel, imagination and creativity. Here are the first few lines of Dickinson’s poem:

There is no frigate like a book (1263)

There is no Frigate like a Book  
To take us Lands away,  
Nor any Coursers like a Page  
Of prancing Poetry –   
This Traverse may the poorest take         
Without oppress of Toll –   
How frugal is the Chariot  
That bears a Human soul.