Sunet No. 3, Watercolor, Image Size 3 1/2" x 6 1/2"

There are times after I’ve painted something that comes our reasonable well that I sit back and ask myself… “How’d I do that?”  Then instead of trying the technique or subject again to find out just how I did do it I’ll move onto something else.  Fear sometimes keeps me from giving it another go.  Fear that it was a mistake to have met with any level of success.  Fear that this is the only time I’ll ever be able to achieve this or that effect and then once that train of though leaves the station I’ll put my paint brush down and that will be that.  Fear will have won the battle.  I find myself going through this cycle time and time again.

The cycle goes something like this.  I love to paint and so I sit down with an idea and probably a photograph for reference.  Then I’ll plunge into the painting without planning because the planning stage – the value sketch and color study – are just so… boring.  I want the meat of the project right away, instant gratification, drive-through art.  And I’m off….  Pretty soon the painting “just isn’t what I was imagining” and frustration sets in.  Sometimes I’ll slap paint on in a random and angry way and sometimes I’ll just tear the thing up.

Today though I’m going to try another strategy.  I liked the painting I did last night for the most part and I really liked how the sky came out.  Now I’m beginning to ask myself, “How’d you do that?”  This time I’ve decided to do a series of these little sunset paintings, experimenting with intense color, subdued color and the layering technique I found so helpful in rendering the dark clouds over the pink sky.  I’m going to do as many little practice paintings as it takes until I have this technique committed to memory.  Practicing is just the thing that makes us better.  Repetition and practice equals more and more successful pieces of artwork.

I’ve done a fair amount of paintings over the years so I have some experience to tap into but that experience isn’t as solid as it could be if I practiced more and repeated lessons, over and over again no matter how many times it takes to get it.  As soon as I figure out just what I did I’ll share a step-by-step demo and you can paint along with me if you like.

Once the information is committed to memory there will come a certain freedom and confidence and the art we create will flow forth from our fingertips in an effortless and joyful way!  That’s what I’m thinking anyway.

"More Paint on Paper" Watercolor, Image Size 3 1/2" x 6 1/2"

[5-10-15 or 20]

I’ve missed it, really missed it.

“What have you missed” you might ask.

Well… now that you’ve asked….I’ve missed that feeling of utter contentment that comes with the act of being creative.  Today it was painting and maybe tomorrow it will be pencil and paper but either way there’s something so serene and peaceful in the process.  If the results are good, all the better.  If the results are not so good, there’s the reason to paint again!

After last night’s painting I was satisfied.  Not satisfied with the result so much as satisfied with the action.  The process is the reward and everything else is a bonus.  During my little “vacation” from painting recently something happened and when I picked up my brushes yesterday there was an intense desire to paint, an excitement and determination to persevere no matter the outcome.

Perhaps these creative breaks in the action are a necessary part of the creative process.  I did other creative things around Christmas (remember those treasure boxes) but the medium was so different that I was forced to tap into other mental resources.  Mixing it up makes sense.  One medium can teach you things about the other and release you from the pressure to produce that masterpiece every time.

It’s kind of like eating your favorite dessert day after day.  After a fashion you might tire of it and then stop eating it altogether.  Then after a while your appetite for  that White Chocolate Carmel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake is back and you head right over to The Cheesecake Factory for a slice!

I like this little painting and I like watercolors again.  It felt good as I was painting it and I was able to tap into the information I’d gathered while painting last night’s sketch to make corrections and improvements.

Yup… I’m happy when I’m painting and I can’t imagine tiring of it forever.  I would imagine that other “vacations” from painting will surface every now and then but when they do I’m going to head right over to The Cheesecake Factory for a slice of my favorite dessert…White Chocolate Carmel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake… even though I know I shouldn’t.

[Side Note:  This is my 500th Blog post!  Holy Cow!]

"Paint on Paper" Watercolor Sketch (Image Size 5" x 7")

[Click here to see my 5/10/15 and 20 Portfolio of Original Paintings and Drawings]

Yes, Edgar Whitney was right when he said that “no talent can survive the blight of neglect.”   It’s been a while since I sat and seriously put paint on paper.  I’ve dabbled and doodled and done lots of other things but no paint on paper.

Truthfully, I was a little mad at watercolors.  I was mad, tired and frustrated with watercolor painting and so a few months ago I quit it and decided to try oils and then acrylics.  Admittedly, I didn’t make a serious commitment to oils and most definitely I held back with acrylics.  Acrylics have always pissed me off.  They dry too fast, make blending near impossible and without having taken any instruction I was left to my own inept devices.

So yesterday evening I opened my watercolor palette and I could swear I heard a heavenly choir singing “Hallelujah!”  The thing is “no talent can survive” not being exercised, practiced and challenged.  I know that but yet I stepped away and now I’m back with some ground to recover.  I’m back and it feels good.   I’m back and I’m no longer mad at watercolors.   My watercolor paints were never mad at me and like the very best of friends welcomed me home again… no questions asked.

"Two Orange" Watercolor Sketch

It’s nice to have done a little painting tonight.  Finally… breathe in… breathe out… Painting for me is meditation.  The peace that surrounds me when I am being creative is a salve to my lost and wounded spirit.   These past months have been a time of searching.   I have been searching for many things – as I’m sure we all do – love, contentment, purpose, proof of God, companionship, fulfillment and on and on I could go.   Sometimes though no matter how diligent our search the answers elude us and then something simple happens.

We head outside and weed the garden then step back with satisfaction at a job well done.  Or maybe we sit in the sun with a cat on our lap purring to high heaven – oh what contentment.  Perhaps you prepare a pot of your favorite chili and as you walk through the house the aroma is everywhere… delicious.  Or how about you pick up a paint brush and sit down at your art desk and paint a pumpkin or two.  I think these things are pretty darn close to heaven here on earth.

I am a spiritual work-in-progress and my Zen has been waiting for me.   I’m lucky because God patiently waits as I do all kinds things while avoiding the answers that have been under my nose all along.    I don’t know what keeps me away – fear perhaps – but once I rejoin my art I feel more whole and at peace.   What cheap medicine this paper and paint.   So fun and freeing and it can look any way I want it too.  That’s the beauty of art – in art everything is right.  Math can be unbending 2 + 2 = 4, but with art… everything is right.