painting #2

F

for my first painting i was inspired by romeo and juliet, for this one (thanks to a sugestion from ginny) i drewinspiration from another favorite book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

i started a landscape with this book in mind when i was getting frustrated with my other painting/was thinking i was getting to be done with it. It was cool working on this piece because it is so different from the other painting that i was working on. I found the lake/pond to be the hardest part for me to get right. I loved the colored blended in the sky and the trees. I'm thinking of adding back in some flowers or other plants around the water's edge to add some small details into a very open landscape.

at this point i had covered up a lot of what had been on the canvas. I was worried about how to continue. I wasn't sure of colors or patterns or what to do next. I was disappointed because I had covered up some of the textures and prints on the painting that I had loved the most. I think that kept me from being able to move forward with confidence.

ms. roberts suggested headphone...best.idea.ever.

i put my headphones in and little by little i was able to add on to my painting until i was beginning to feel excited about it again

art book

I found these images in a book in the art room and i thought these were really cool. I love the way they elaborate on what images are already there. that is the type of work that i like to do.

painting progress

There was a point where the blue didn't feel like it was going anywhere, I was stuck. I decided the best way to proceed was to throw some color onto the canvas. I decided to used some ink to put on the canvas too.

Wassily Kandinsky

Inspiration

Dana Schutz

Amy Sillman

Painting #1

My Studio Space

Beginning

Art & Fear

I could definitely relate to this reading, and there were parts that particularly resonated with me.

When she talked about not being a "real artist" I could really relate. I had never really considered myself an artist and always felt like I was trying to be something I wasn't when I did art. While I loved doing art I never felt that I would be considered a true artist.

I also really liked how she talked about doing your best work versus doing YOUR work depending on who you are doing art for. You have to do your art for yourself and produce what is your best and not lose yourself to try to please other artists.

Lastly, I really like how she talks about how people feel that there is a special magic that makes producing art easy and beautiful. I used to think that if it didn't just come then it wasn't real art. The more I work the more I learn that sometimes it is easy, but other times you really have to work for the end product, and that both can produce real art.

First Weeks

Started the class by experimenting with charcoal and paint. The blue piece is a mixed media piece with tissuepaper and ink

Twyla Tharp

What is scratching and how does Ms. Tharp suggest we do it? Knowing how you work in the studio, what methods, techniques, or tricks can you see yourself using from Ms. Tharp's suggestions? She's talking about dance. What would this behavior look like in the art studio?

Scratching is the way that we are to find ideas. Twyla tells us to explore new places, music, books, and art works but not to forget the established artists too. It's theses places and works that can spark a small idea that we can mold and allow to evolve into a bigger creation. I love going outside and seeing the shapes and textures in the world and letting them inspire how my next project will turn out. Since I haven't been as religious with my sketching I have been looking to things like buildings and places to inspire me until I get my personal style better established again before I go looking at other peoples' work. However seeing the way that other artists use their media shows you new techniques that you can incorporate into your own work.

For me actual dancing is what dancing in a studio looks like. I love being barefoot in the studio constantly moving to keep the pencil/brush/charcoal moving. The shapes, whatever they may be, change and I either hate or love them. It's the constant dance that keeps me from hitting a wall.

Inside the Painter’s Studio by Joe Fig

How do the workspaces and routines of these artists support the work they do? Which artist did you relate to the most and why?

their routines help them get into the creative mindset. Some like to work with music or tv, others in complete silence. Some prefer a city others a more natural setting. Some live in their studio space while others would rather separate work and home. For each person these make all the difference in their work.

I can relate to those who like to listen to music. For me music is a way to block out my surroundings and focus on what I'm doing. It also dictates or even emphasizes my mood. This can change the type of work I do. I like a cleaner space but it has to be separate from my living space. At home to do most of my sketching in the attic. It keeps a separation from my art and my home living space.

Looking at Artists' Studios

Most Studios seemed to have some of the same basics:

paint, brushes, canvas etc...

Each had lots of wall, floor, and table space for them to work on.

There were chairs in all the studios, some were actual chairs others were stools.

Some artists preferred music, others a TV.

Every studio is filled with finished works, works in progress, and other small projects or brainstorming ideas.

Me the Senior Artist

Last year I discovered that painting was the media that I preferred to work with. Charcoal was another media that I did a lot of work with. My favorite was mixing the two.

I need to be able to move around a lot and I feel like painting gives me that freedom. I am a very tactile person and tend to use my hands when I paint just as much if not more than a brush.

I like the charcoal because I can help blend the colors with my hands.

These tendencies lead to a sometimes messy space, but I prefer a little mess.

I like being in the corner, and that my tables create and enclosing space for me to work in. I can't work in an open space.

My brother is an artist (ceramics) so our house is filled with all his work.

His work had different colors, textures, and shapes which is they type of stuff that I like workign with when I do art.

I am definitely more of an abstract artist. I've never been someone to draw what I see, but more the shapes and lines that I feel.