Blog

This year had gone by very quickly, especially the last few months. Getting used to working all day in the studio, whether on fine art or illustrating my children’s science books, has been wonderful.  The creative juices have really been flowing. A schedule of sorts has emerged, yet I keep open minded about being flexible in what I do.

Several paintings are in various stages of completion in my studio. Do you start many paintings and not finish them before starting another? Often, when I start a painting, I get bored with it after a while. I have mentioned in other blogs that I will set a painting aside when I am not sure of its direction, but this is different. Most of the time I can visualize what I want in the piece, so I get bored and impatient with how long it takes me to get each painting to match my vision.  By the time I have several started, the first one again looks intriguing to me. I have learned to limit the number of starts, however, or I would never finish any of them.

One of the stages that is hardest for me to get through is what I call the “ugly teenager “ stage. Now obviously, teenagers aren’t ugly, but their behavior can be. We don’t give up on guiding teenagers because we know that they are only going through a tough stage of development. We guide their behavior as best we can to help them achieve their full potential. We may struggle, be sidetracked or want to give up, but we don’t. We go through all sorts of emotions as our patience is tested, but we persevere and continue to nurture. Our artwork is often like that “ugly teenager”.  Without our full, dedicated attention and nurturing it would not develop to its full potential. We must not give up on it!

My favorite time when I am working on a painting is when it is almost done. Paintings go through several different stages. The initial stage where the canvas or board is primed, the underpainting, the blocked in colors, the “ugly teenager” stage and eventually the refinement stage. The last ten percent is the best part for me. I finally feel like I have the basics done and I can add the final details that make it pop for me. For me, decorating a room is also fun. The initial placement of furniture and rugs that leads to lighting choices and window treatments are part of a process that I enjoy. However, the final touches of accessories that comes last and makes the room feel polished, is what I enjoy the most, for they make the room come together. This is the same for my painting process. When I start a painting, sometimes I don’t enjoy the process, because I can’t wait for it to be almost done.