For so long, I would start a painting with such enthusiasm, get off to a promising start. In my first energetic marks I could always see exciting potential! But doubt took a firmer and fiercer hold as I would move forward. Worry infested my strokes, sucking the life out of my brushwork. In this situation…
Deep into Week 5 of CVP I'm navigating discomfort, confusion and uncertainty in my exploratory painting exercises. Half the work has been letting go: of known outcomes, of previous assumptions, of a successful painting. Apparently to move forward I must let go of confidence and competence! I was clutching fiercely to this, so it’s been…
I began the Creative Visionary Program (CVP) first week of March and I've been immersed in art challenges every day since! I'm just finishing up Week 4 on the power of Value, but there is so much that has already happened!! Our first two weeks were dedicated to vision boards, intuitive collage /mixed media boards…
As I've been exploring new horizons of painting I feel so uncertain about my abstract painting. I'm pulled back to landscape again and again ... back into the comfort zone! I love abstract work where the paint is juicy, tactile, and energetic. I'm experimenting with layering, scraping, spreading, scratching and splashing to get new kinds…
I used to make a very promising start to a painting, but then I'd hesitate: What if I ruin it? What if I cant make anything good happen? This led to a pile of unfinished paintings, some of which I never returned to. Now, I start three of everything. There is always potential to go…
In my current study of painting in acrylics, I'm finding the many options possible with this paint to be daunting! I've been working for a year, and nearly every day since November, and have so much yet to explore! One thing I've been thinking about is the beautiful transparency of certain colors (thalo blue, yum!).…
Exploring new frontiers of painting, experimenting with abstraction, I've had fun flinging color around, and finding some happy accidents. But a sense of style and direction that's my own is still elusive. What's great is I can always create stormy chaos of color and shape. The theme of Wildness is compelling, but maybe not enough…
This morning I was watching videos about British artist Jenny Grevatte. I only had a brief time before an appointment, but I grabbed 2 colors and a sketchbook and tried something. https://youtu.be/i-jL-3R27V4 I was delighted what happened in such a short time! Of yesterday's 3 sketches, the one on the right is looking really good…
Back in April I I started this industrial landscape. I love the hulking steel monuments of Johnstown, how they loom over the river landscape, shadows of their former fiery presence. This is 20" x 16" acrylic on canvas. First draft: in some ways I still love this the way it is. But I have such…
In October I joined the free 'Breadcrumbs' class from Art2Life. For five days we had live Zoom calls with painter Nicholas Wilton and his team, an incredibly generous offering. Over five days Nick led us on a journey along our own trail of breadcrumbs. With a thematic question each day, I headed into the unknown:…
