I'm a Cheater Already...

Yesterday when I went back into my studio, I looked at my painting from Tuesday and decided it needed to be brightened up a bit. I know I said that I didn't want to hyper focus on any of these pieces and would limit myself to finishing it in one day, but it was REALLY bugging me. I decided I would let myself cheat and gave myself 10 minutes to work on it and decided that I wouldn't work on it past that time, I swear. I actually set a timer and broke out the liquin and did some yellow and white washes. It brightened up the painting and made the colors a bit more vibrant. I am now happy with the results. I know that I won't be touching it anymore because now it feels complete.

I wasn't in the studio very long yesterday, probably an hour and a half, if that. I did start another painting but didn't get much done due to my limited time at the studio. I know I won't be in for very long today too (I've had a lot of appointments/ meetings lately) so I am contemplating working on the same painting I started yesterday. I would like to work on each piece for at least two hours, I'm thinking. I'm already a cheater to my own rules by working on the first piece for an extra ten minutes the next day. I may as well go for broke and do it again today. Here is what I started, which doesn't look like much:

On a good note...THERE'S MORE COLOR! Yes boys and girls, I have broken out the blue tubes of paint! I don't think anyone will question whether this one is in color.

On a side note....Here are some installation shots of the three commissions I recently finished:

A New Colored Painting

Now that my studio is clean, I can focus on the important things, like painting. I decided to get back to my color studies and do one a day for every day that I am at the studio for the next two weeks. It should be an interesting exercise since some days I am only in the studio for about two hours at most, and other days I am there for at least 5 hours. Some are bound to have more details than others. Some will look better than others. The time limit is imposed so that I don't get too hung up on the details or getting a painting perfect when these are just studies/ exercises. This is practice and they don't need to be masterpieces.

Here is the first one that I did today. I was in the studio for 2 hours today.

"House and Trees" 10"x8"

I was pretty excited about this one and when my studio mate came by, I exclaimed "I'm painting in color!" She looked at the painting and said "This is in color???". Yeah, okay, there's not much color but it is in color. I used three different yellows, white, raw umber, and payne's gray. Baby steps, I keep telling myself. Baby steps.

Spring Cleaning

My studio space isn't large. In fact, it's pretty small at 7 feet by 13 feet. It's basically a cubicle in an open floor with many other cubicles. Since I don't have much space, it can easily get cluttered quickly, especially after getting artwork back from a venue (or from a consulting firm as is the case this time). My space was starting to get so cluttered that just being in it made me anxious and not want to paint. Because of this, I decided that it was time for some Spring cleaning. I just can't function surrounded by clutter, whether it's in my studio or at home, in my kitchen.

This is what my studio looked like earlier today:

Underneath the front table (closest one in the picture) were MANY cardboard boxes and packing materials. I try and keep any boxes supplies are shipped in so that later when I have to ship work, I can re-use the boxes. I order a lot of supplies and have a lot of boxes. These boxes were starting to overflow onto the floor. On the table are a bunch of prepped panels waiting to be painted, supplies, and old paintings that I don't know what to do with.

This is the view from my work table, which is also starting to be filled with prepped panels, work, supplies, and boxes. Underneath this table I have a bunch of storage boxes holding god knows what. Across from this table is the rack that my husband built for me so that I can store paintings. It had panels, paintings and cardboard stacked in it. 

I decided that what I needed to do was clear out the space underneath my work table and put all of my prepped panels there, all labeled so that I know what sizes I had by just glancing underneath the table. I pulled out all of the storage containers except for three small ones, one containing small canvases and the other two containing hanging supplies. My bubble wrap also went under there, on top of the container of canvases. 

Next up was the other table. I broke down all the boxes and lined them up against the wall behind the table. I also put all the packaging pillows in a storage tub which fit nicely underneath the table with plenty of leftover space.

The rack was also cleaned and emptied so that only finished paintings now live there. 

I can now see my studio floor and my table tops again. I have space to paint and walk around without running into anything. I feel so much better now that the area is cleaned. I am less anxious and ready to paint again, which is a good thing since I have open studios in April. 

When you don't have much space, it's important to be organized and clean. It's too easy to let the clutter take over though and invade not only your space, but also your mind. Ideally I would have a larger space, but since I don't, I have to make due with what I have and make it a useful, working space. I think I did a good job today. It may seem like a silly thing to write about, cleaning one's studio space, but for me, it's part of my creative process. It signifies that I am ready to start a next wave of creating.

Final Approval

The final two paintings of the three commissioned pieces were finally approved! I waxed them as soon as I could and will be dropping them off tomorrow. Phew!

"Drive In", 20" x 16", oil and encaustic wax on panel

These were not all easy paintings for me.The painting of the man and woman was pretty difficult. I am still not completely satisfied with it. There's something about his eyes that I just can't get right. Everyone at the studio I paint at seems to think that I am just being over-critical and that it looks nice. The client likes it and approved it so it must look like her parents, but there's something missing for me. I don't even know how to put it into words. After many days of trying to capture whatever it is that's missing, I finally had to put my brush down before I destroyed it by overworking it. Sometimes you just have to make yourself stop...and I did.

So how important is it for the artist to be satisfied with the work they produce? I think it's very important. The artist creating the work is probably the most important person to satisfy since it is their passion that is being represented. But what happens when nothing that you do with the work satisfies you? Do you trash it and work on something else? Or do you still put it out in the world and let others judge it instead?  I probably could have worked the painting forever and still not have been satisfied.

"Cannes, 1969", 16"x20", oil and encaustic wax on panel.

So when is being unsatisfied okay? I think that if this was NOT a commissioned piece, I may not have ever waxed it and called it done. I may have put it away for a few months and tried again later. I may have just painted over it and done something different too, though. I have called a few pieces done that I wasn't satisfied with and every time I see those pieces, I cringe. I don't want to do that anymore. But this is a commissioned piece and the client did approve it. So in this case, I think it's okay to not drive myself crazy trying to capture something I am not even sure exists or is possible for me. The customer is always right, right? Okay, maybe not always, but I think in this case it's okay to say she is.

Two Newly Waxed Pieces

I finally finished all three of my commissions...I think. One of the paintings was approved so I was able to wax it today. The other two I am still waiting to see if the client approves them or wants to make any changes. I guess technically they will all be done when the last two are approved and waxed, but I feel a huge weight has been lifted and I can now work on some color studies and pieces for open studios. YAY! Now let's keep our fingers crossed that the client doesn't want any changes!

Here is the waxed piece:

 14"x14", oil and encaustic wax on panel.

I was also able to wax my "Bee-line" entry for this year's encaustic conference. Here it is:

"Beehive", 16"x16", oil and encaustic wax on panel.

Making Progress on #3

I had a really good day of painting yesterday. I was playing hooky from work since I had a doctor's appointment so I was able to get in some good hours at the studio before and after my appointment. I went in at 9:30 in the morning, let for an hour for my appointment (luckily my new doctor's office is 3 blocks away from the studio!), came back and painted until 6 pm! That's at least 7 hours of painting! It was a long day, but I didn't even notice. I was having such a good time painting that I didn't even notice the time until my husband called to say he was on his way home. It was so good, I even painted most of the hands, which I usually leave for last since I hate doing them. I think they came out pretty well too!

I love days like this, where you are so involved in a painting that nothing else matters. Everything is clicking and working out the way you want it. Nothing seems to get in your way of accomplishing what you want. I wish everyday was filled with limitless hours of studio time and countless moments of loss time because I'm so wrapped up in what I am doing. I think all of us could use more days like this.

16"x20", "Drive-in"

Working on the sound pieces up against their ears was fun. I can't wait to add in more highlights so that it looks metallic. The faces were also a good time for me. I used thick layers of paint, which is different for me. I usually paint in pretty thin layers and "stain" the shadows but this time I layed it on thick. I like the effect and the process. Maybe I'll start doing that more....

Detail of "Drive-in"

Commission #3 of 3

After getting too frustrated with my recent painting (aka commission painting #2: the bane of my existence), I decided that I need to take a break from it in order to get some space from it. I just couldn't get certain elements right, which was making me resentful and angry.  Since I had one more painting in the series, I figured it was a good time to start painting #3.

I worked on the new piece for about 4 hours so it has a long way to go before I can call it done. Here it is:

The image is of two men at a drive-in theater with the listening speaker-thing that usually attaches to the car help up to their ears. One of them men owns a chain of movie theaters and I think the other person may be a business partner or friend.

A detail of the newest painting.