I wake up in the morning: no painting.
In the afternoon: a painting!
Something new in the world that was never here before!
This freepaint today, who knows where it came from? I went to my studio knowing only that I wanted to pick up a brush and paint. I went in with no colors in mind, no scene, not even a loose idea.
Magentas and purples and turquoises raised their hands. I put them on my palette, dabbed my brush in, whirled around to my easel, let my brush land wherever and however it landed.
Did it again.
And again.
Once I covered my sheet of canvas paper, yet another warm-enough-to-sit-outdoors November afternoon teased me out to the front steps with pens and pastels in hand.
With sunshine on my shoulder and paper, I traced ink lines around glossy shapes on the painted surface.
Loved the precision, the sharpness of the lines.
I selected pastels and rubbed their matte finish wherever my eye directed my hand.
Loved the relaxation, the softness of the smudges.
Such a new experience to see my insides on the outside in this way—in color, line, and shape instead of in words.
 |
| Undercurrents 8x6", acrylic, ink, and oil pastels on canvas paper abstract 2015 $48 |
8 comments:
OK, Dotty, now this is getting ridiculous.......I recently saw "Jersey Boys", and loved it. But it was no match for the mental and visual images that this entry conjured up in my mind. Geez..........I felt like I was at a show. And I didn't have to pay for a ticket or wait in a line! And what a great description about -"the morning: no painting. The afternoon: a painting" . Thank you for your your art and your words!
Laurie, highly welcome affirmation for opening myself to painting from within. Your comments were fun to read—here I sit in MA painting because it feeds my spirit, and then I send my painting and words out into the world through the incomprehensible-to-me magic of the internet where you sit in MI and see my post and experience all sorts of things I could never imagine. Love the mystery in it all.
... and I particularly liked your final comment about your insides being outside in colors and shapes instead of words. Oh ye of many talents!
Thanks, Joje. Such a surprise and gift to be adventuring with paint!
Love your writing as much as your art Dotty! There is a lovely rhythm in this. So bold a vibrant, yet the soft blue pastel, and the deeper tones seem to ground everything. Nice balance, not obvious or contrived :)
Hi Dotty. Wauw! All this brilliant pink at the header of this weblog. Looks fabulous! What do you use? Is it crayon? Or Indian Ink or something like that? Wonderful!
Thanks, Simone. Acrylic paints first, followed by india ink to outline various shapes, and then oil pastels to soften, highlight, create contrast, and add textural interest.
Thanks, Sheila. Writing is part of my creative process. I appreciated your commentary on color, tone, grounding, balance. This painting flowed organically, with ease and pleasure.
Post a Comment