Reclaimed Art

Reclaiming paintings that have been languishing in the temporary limbo of the unfinished is bringing back the muse. The studio feels lighter and has more room for creative thoughts already. And I've got some pretty fun new paintings out of the process. Just seeing a smaller stack of unfinished, unloved works makes a big difference, which while refreshing, surprised me with it's effect. 

I'm starting to think in color and brush strokes again. The right brain is able to take over easier once again, shutting out time and the inner critic, ah...

It was exciting to see my piece as part of the members show at IGCA (International Gallery of Contemporary Art). Seeing the painting on the lovely white walls, surrounded by works by various other Alaska Artists and feeling I am a part of the whole, and contributed my own  unique artist voice to the group show was very satisfying.

My studio has reached a new level of "precious" to me. I am coming to realize that with the move, I most likely will be giving up the luxury of having an in home studio for the next year or so. It becomes about the needs of the "family", and finding a place to live on fairly short notice with 2 dogs means prioritizing and compromise. In the long term, it will give us more time to look for a place with all the desired things to buy and settle in to, that's what is important to remember now. It will also give lots of motivation for plein air painting, it will be nice to have more winter colors than blue and white! The colors we see in the winter in Alaska, while breathtaking and fleeting often look rather unbelievable and even garish in most painting attempts. They seem to be best taken in at the moment, as vague memories of the amazing beauty of Alaska skies and alpen glow. Montana has outdoor beauty also, just on a different scale, and a bit more accessible. Alaska lures with it's magnificently astounding beauty while also keeping it just out of reach, you often can look but much more infrequently be a part of it.

Muse is Missing

December was a crazy month in our household. Just when I was getting ready to have the Holiday Season behind us and a dark long winter to produce art-the Husband gets a new job. Not that this was a complete suprise, as he had been applying and interviewing. BUT it happened really quick and left me living solo (with the precious dogs) in Alaska.

No problem I tell myself, all kinds of uninterrupted time and the whole house to use as a Studio. Yes the whole house, ask any artist-that is a reasonable expectation. But now the place in my brain where art comes from keeps getting interrupted by all kinds of thoughts. Where will we live, how will I find a satisfying part time job, will we like it there, how much work will it be to pack,  and on and on......I try to push the mute button, but it doesn't seem to work so well these days. What to do? Just paint.

I'm finding the idea of a whole new mass of paintings while facing a big move to be a bit daunting. However there are unfinished paintings and paintings that I'm not completely satisfied with-these are who are calling to me right now. I seem to feel the parallel of a sort, of reinvention with the move and with my art currently.

Having an upcoming show however calls for a somewhat cohesive body of work. Learning to stretch big canvases and work big will have to wait until after the move. I've been revisiting some of these paintings and feeling a bit renewed in the process.

In progress with reference photo (mine of course!)

 

 

 

 You can see the bits of the previous painting still showing, when the painting is complete there may be only a hint of the old start, but it will lend a layer of unexpected mystery to the painting.

Close up, hard to photo the iridescent gold

Another close up of my first winter Sunflower

 This painting also has some hints of what went before showing in a few places. The Gold  (which doesn't show well in photo). was a new experiment and I know I will be working with it more. That's one of the benefits of working on renewing an art piece, that precious guarded feeling is gone and I am much more free to just try something new. 

Encaustic sunflower in progress

It will be fun to finish this piece. I finally decided that I was not going to wait for it to be above

zero to open the window and vent for encaustic painting (a necessity). I was able to paint for

a while, once I got cold and plugged in a space heater-there went the breaker-too many things plugged in in the studio-oops! 

Working on these pieces has been restoring my muse. Starting to be able to quiet the worries and listen to the podcasts and paint. Only thoughts of color and compostition......ahhh.