These Littlest of Pointers

 So much gratitude when I notice the littlest things: 

    • the miniature tchotchke Meg gave me years ago—a half-inch-high wooden planter holding tiny faux sprigs of pussywillow perched on my desk beside a miniature wooden bench on which two dollhouse figures sit smiling at me;

    • garlic bulbs whose leaves are nosing out of our side garden;

    • a patch of sunlight created by the skylight over my workspace, framing the 120-year-old pine floorboards in the study where I sit typing;

    • the blades of grass sprouting on the canvas in my studio.

These littlest of pointers open my heart in nearly imperceptible increments to a grand sense of mystery. 

work in progress,
little pointers to life in my studio

Winds of Change

Sometimes the idea of following an emerging painting wherever it leads is just that: an idea. A thought in my head that makes sense but nonetheless remains no more than an idea, a mental concept vs. a physical action.

But sometimes I let go of directing where a painting will go and actually give myself over to following wherever it takes me.

In fact.

In practice.

Right in front of my eyes.

With the current patch in my bigger Core Values work-in-progress, I was all over the place. I went in with a starting idea and put paint on my blank canvas accordingly—paint that didn't land or look the way I thought it might.

But I liked it, so I followed it for awhile and got a new idea. Put paint in place in accordance with that idea and, of course, it also went other than where I intended.

Back and forth it went: I took the lead, then followed, took the lead, then followed.

Eventually I pretty much let go of bringing ideas to the painting and instead let the winds of change blow me along. I became so thoroughly curious, so entertained, so participatory.

This painting and I went from the iterations posted yesterday,

to here,



then here,



next here,



and finally here:

newest patch

new patch in the bigger picture;
working title: Core Values

Look at these breathtaking close-ups:

detail

detail

Snags

My felt sense after painting today is one of having some sort of mesh cage stuck in my chest.

My knee-jerk reaction is to want to stomp on the cage, or kick it away.

But, instead, I am walking over to shake hands and say hello.

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

in the bigger picture;
working title: Core Values

Sketchbook

I love looking through artists' sketchbooks. I'm intrigued by the many ways artists use them as part of their creative practice.

Off and on, I think about starting a sketchbook of my own.

But I never bring action to intention.

Today, I looked at Core Values, my huge sheet of foam core with its grid format, and saw it for what it is.

A sketchbook!

newest patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

underpainting for today's patch

offloaded paint from today's patch

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in the context
of the whole work in progress;
working title: Core Values 

   

Messy-Messy

I love watching youtube clips of artists at work, though I have yet to film any video footage of my own. My friend Simone has shot footage, however, and the gift of getting to spend virtual time in her studio watching her create infused my own creating today. I painted quickly and intuitively, with happy messy-messy freedom.

newest (4-)patch painted onto grid-format work-in-progress

detail from today's patch

today's patch as seen in the context
of the whole work in progress;
working title: Core Values