Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Oswego Creek Study


Every painter knows the moment when the right color, value, or compositional tweak sets in motion a successful endgame. Like a jigsaw puzzle. It`s an exciting turn in the process. In the two large paintings I`m working on, this keeps happening, then I lose it.
I`ll take a break and paint something else, usually small.
Hopefully with new insights, I`ll enter the fray again. There is a real sense of a hunt; predator and prey. With adrenaline even! The high emotional stakes are, of course, what makes it fun, or at least compelling.

5 comments:

Maureen said...

I enjoy these peeks you give us into your thoughts and painter's ways.

Nikki Atkinson said...

These moments of sheer joy are what keep us painting. A day like that can carry me through several stinkers. The more I paint, the more of those highs I get to enjoy. Keep up the great work.

kate said...

Yes, that rush! That special excitement when the scalp prickles and the hair on my arms stands up. I've never been hunting for animals, but I'm sure there's a parallel. I never would have thought of it that way. Hunting for the beauty vibration. Yes.

Barbara Benedetti Newton said...

I'm a previous long-time instructor at Sitka and was pleased to find your beautiful work and your blog. I write frequently about the challenge you speak of here but haven't thought of it in those terms before. Thanks. Love your work!

Becky Joy said...

Its like gold a few good strokes and we keep coming back for more.
I see by the names of your paintings you live in the area I grew up in. I played in Oswego Creek when I was a kid and Johnson Creek that always floods.