I was reminded of writing certain kinds of poetry. Express whatever it is that you want to express, go wild with word choice and metaphor, but here's where you have to have a rhyme and here's the number of syllables you're allotted.
By contrast, when I painted up a new start a few days ago, I felt as though I were in the wide open formless space of free verse. Whoa, where are the boundaries?
Then, hooray! An online art friend, Gabriela, whom I met recently in the ArtNow Community, posted some collage-and-ink stick figure paintings that fired me right up and suggested an inviting limit-to-freedom ratio. My 'controlling idea' became locating and bringing to life a figure somewhere within the confines of my start, and I gave myself full freedom to do so in whatever wild way I wished.
F - U - N!
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| start |
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| figure |
Oh, wait! She wants to turn a cartwheel!
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| Shameless Delight and Exuberance 4x5"; acrylic, India ink, collage, and wax pastels on paper abstract 2017 |
10 comments:
Oh....'Shameless Delight and Exuberance'......I love you!! How awesome is this painting - pretty darn I'd say. Love that you went with an earthy colour for her dress and hair against the cooler blues/greens. Clever you taking her limbs off the edge in all but one - my eye travels around and around but returns to that 'orange'. How can you not like a a girl in a earthy orange dress cartwheeling?! Hope you'll do another - but no pressure!
Janet, how awesome is your feedback - pretty darn I'd say. Thank you! The earthy color against the cooler blues/greens was intentional; everything else was—if 'clever'—at an intuitive rather than deliberate or conscious level. I'm grateful to have achieved movement and focal areas—woo hoo!
Thanks for the links. Are you a part of this community? Will look into it. The drawing are simply wonderful!Love black and white, so fresh and new! Your cartwheel gal is jumping for joy that you found her lurking in the shadows of your start. I did try to imagine a figure in there and started, in my mind, about the same place. As usual love your descriptions of your process. Such a great learning tool.
ACK!!!!!!! This is BRILLIANT! Love this more than words can say! I feel joyous abandon just looking at it!!!
I can feel your joyous abandon in your words, Jen! Thank you! Isn't this just FUN???
Carol, you're welcome! Yes, I'm a part of the ArtNow Community : )
Thanks for your appreciation of my cartwheel gal (she may actually be doing a side plank here—not my idea of delight and exuberance!). Writing about process is a gift I give myself, and I'm delighted when the writing becomes a gift to someone else … such as yourself!
Hi Dotty, so fun to see Gabriela and the ArtNow Community are in your post!
So fun and my honor to share them both!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! The orange is perfect, love the mix of lines and mediums in her hair. Love the black splatters. Adds to the movement for me. (whizzing through the air). Love the first layers, the veil, the little white river flowing through. Love that I can almost see her face, two black splatter eyes, and a smile as wide as her face. Score! Again my friend ;)
LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY! To have your feedback, Sheila. Thank you. I learn so much from what you notice and name, and I am nourished as I head to my studio for new adventures today : )
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