I`ve been locked in mortal combat with this painting the last 10 days. This is the second painting on this canvas and the process made me wonder if it ever got easier? Doesn`t experience count? I`m so sick of it, it will just have to be 'good enough' for now. Elizabeth Gilbert makes the point that perfectionism will make us crazy and that sometimes it`s best just to accept the work when it isn`t our best. Move on to the next good idea. All I wanted was to create an intimate sense of summer. Maybe I did... No more green for a while!
Unknown works of Richard Diebenkorn have come into view at the Van Doren Waxler Gallery in New York! Look at this beauty;
And his sketchbooks were donated by his wife to Cantor Arts Center at Stanford and every single page is online! There is no better way to know what an artist thinks than by perusing their sketchbooks. They are the thing I grab when the house catches fire.
Good news, bad news. Your spouses were right. There is enough research now to confirm that creative individuals have very high levels of psychopathology. But they also test extremely high for psychological health. It seems that contradiction and paradox are the norm. As if we need to be told! The coexistence of opposites is the engine of creativity.
The Johnstone Financial Advisors give great advice, like good art, drink nice wine, and serve delicious hors d`oeuvres. Come meet them and me this Friday evening Feb. 5, 5-7 pm. The location is on 3rd St. just a block south of A [toward the lake] in downtown Lake Oswego.
work for sale in my studio
6 comments:
This painting is gorgeous. You are done!
I love your work!
Mary
Thank you Mary, I appreciate that even if I`m not in full agreement yet. Sometimes the intense investment in a painting clouds all judgement for a time.
Randall,
Sometimes you just get your rear end kicked. I do at least. A lot. I love the painting though. It is somehow encouraging to know that it doesn't get easier. (A little perverse, but encouraging!)
I enjoyed the look at Diebenkorn's work. I saw an exhibit a few years ago over in San Francisco. It was well worth the drive. Honestly, the guy could paint and draw. And I love looking at people's sketchbooks. It really is like looking directly at someone's thought process.
Good luck with the reception. I hope it goes well!
Libby
PS-The psych. article was good. I have never thought of myself as a creative person but maybe I am wrong on that point.
I have sat in this water and feel the muddy bottom below and the stillness above, waiting for a water snake to drift by lost in its own thoughts. You have captured it my friend.
I too would save Buddha and Erb of course, and my sketchbook. I don't care one bit about the finished pieces sitting around.
And always remember what T.S. Eliot said. Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity.
While this is a lovely painting, there is something un-Randall-esq about it...perhaps the flow in the background area is not there? Thanks for sharing the Diebenkorn - I like it a lot. I also understand the idea of psychopathology vs mental health = a contradiction we artists live every day? Take it easy on yourself and release the need for perfection on this one - time to move on and return to this later (if you still are not happy with it).
I think your last sentence is key. You are perhaps not ready for green yet. Put it away for another day.
Wishing you the best for your opening, and as always envious of those that get to attend.
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