Category: Thoughts

Things I’m learning in Artworld.

Talent?

A friend stopped by while I was working on the mural. He said, “There is definitely some talent going into this project.” Not having the grace to accept a compliment, I immediately responded with, “Not really. It is mostly hard work, desire and determination.” We had other business to conduct, so it didn’t develop into a discussion. However, I pondered this for awhile, wondering if I am talented, or if I am just determined. (Dad used to call me “bull-headed”. Not sure if he was praising, warning or reprimanding. . .) It has been observed that an innately gifted athlete who does not train very hard can be beat by a less gifted athlete who works very hard at his skills. Seems the same can be said for almost any area of accomplishment. There were people I knew in high school who were very gifted in the area of art – their portraits were recognizable, their perspectives were always accurate, their lines just seemed to flow and they never seemed to have a shortage of ideas. How many of them are artists? I can only think of one, Kenny Cardoza. He was the best on-site sketcher I ever witnessed as a teenager. Despite his inherent gift as an artist, he works as a respiratory therapist in addition to painting murals. Here is a link to see the one he painted for Exeter: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM34QJ When I teach people how to draw, I always preface their first lesson with “Drawing is a skill, not a talent”. Think about it like typing or “keyboarding, if you are under age 25. Everybody can learn to type. Those who hit 90 wpm are the talented ones. Those who only hit 30 wpm are still typing, aren’t they? Drawing and painting are similar. And if a 30 wpm typist practices constantly, he might one day outdo the 90 wpm guy. I was one of those, but I got fired from a job for too many mistakes. (It was a stupid temporary job, nothing important. No, it did not scar me.) The point is, I knew I could fly over the keyboard and not need to focus, so I didn’t bother to focus. Besides, it was boring. . . yawn. In art, I always knew I loved it, but I was never the best. My work got criticized, sometimes harshly (no, that did not scar me either!), sometimes in a helpful manner. I could see when things were wrong but didn’t know how to fix them. Mostly, I wanted to get better! The point is, I have worked very hard, seen much improvement and am now earning my living this way. There might be some talent involved, but I believe more of my success is due to determination, hard work, a willingness to learn and a refusal to give up.

Favorite Parking Place, colored pencil, framed 14 x 18, $299

Now I’m Cooking With Gas!

Tee hee, heard that phrase yesterday and decided to borrow it! Today I painted like a maniac, and now every one of the six panels has paint on it. Some of the earlier – HOLY GUACAMOLE, WHAT IS THIS???

This creature just sauntered past my window. Looks like a giant, scruffy, Perkins-and-Zeke-eating cannibalistic feline! Guess I’ll have to tell you about “cooking” on the mural some other time!

Who am I??

I have been dinking around on a painting that supposedly was finished several months ago. This is before:

And here is after: (the color differences are due to my photographic ignorance)

It is representational of the inner war each time I paint. In my head is a cacophony of voices saying “looser, stop drawing with your paintbrush, just concentrate on color and value”. And then there is a clear voice of my own experience that says “make it right and include almost everything; treat your paintbrush as an extension of your hand and eye; paint like you draw because is is who you are”. Authenticity is always my goal in almost every thing I say and do. So why am I trying to discern voices from the cacophony? Look at that word: it has the word “phony” in it!!! Aha! There’s my answer!

Now I need to add some more detail to the trees in the foreground AND the pasture in the middle ground! Will I ever finish. . .? More will be revealed!

In which I climb back on the mural that threw me

On a new ladder, of course. My husband, who graciously didn’t say “I told you so”, said the ladder could be repaired. Right. Would you trust a repaired parachute? Anyway, when Michael came home and saw the twisted ladder flung outside, his first thought was that I had fallen off the thing and was in the hospital. (There is a minor history here. . . sigh.) So, he was relieved to learn that the mural broke the ladder rather than me! And, you will be pleased to learn that I did not curl into a fetal position under my dining table. Instead, I took myself into the studio and sat down with my pencils to begin work on a new commissioned piece. Drawing is safe. Drawing is good. Drawing is not full of surprises. Drawing doesn’t involve large panels that succumb to gravity. Here is an aside: for years I have had a couple of plastic thingies in my desk drawer. Although I have no idea what purpose they serve, they look important, so I have continued to save them and wonder why. Today the mystery was solved! As I unfolded my new ladder, I found the same kind of thingie holding the legs of the ladder from flying apart. Well! Now I can throw those old thingies away with good conscience. That’s a relief.

Take note of the different “feet” between panels #3 and #4. These will remain perpendicular to the panels and prevent another calamity. They also prevent the scooting together of 2 panels at one time, but stability seems to be taking precedence now.

Weird animal week

This week was about animals. First, I had to bury Jones. Meanwhile, I have been taking care of the neighbor’s dogs. This is a stretch for me, because, as you may have guessed, I am a Cat Person (with a borderline Cat Disorder). The dogs are 2 beagles and a very old dachshund. The dogs are missing their people in a large way, despite the fact that I am over there 3-10 times a day! So the dachshund has decided she wants to hang out with me at my address. I look down below my easel and there’s Bugsy.

I hear some serious cat growlings behind me, and there’s Bugsy.

Zeke keeps saying, “Person, it is LOOKING at me! Make it stop!”

I go to the studio to get some stuff, look out the door, and there’s Bugsy.

Perkins is fairly tolerant considering he lost his buddy this week – no growling, just a stare-down.

I head back to the house for something, look out the front door, and there’s Bugsy.

I’m just trying to get a little work done here, and there is all this disturbance. Bugsy’s nails click when she waddles, she slobbers, she clicks when she breathes, and she is upsetting my cats. However, I did get a little work done before it was time to run back to the neighbor’s place and change the sprinklers again.

Three 6×6 paintings were begun and completed. In light of the week’s upsetting events, I returned to my favorite flower for comfort.

p.s. My husband killed rattlesnake in the lawn next to the sidewalk that leads from the house out to the studio. Stop with the animals already!

a virtue

People say to me, “You must have a lot of patience to draw like that!” The answer is very simple: it doesn’t take any patience to do what you love. Think about your favorite activity – is it playing golf? It must take a lot of patience to chase that little white ball around! Is it watching teevee? It must take a lot of patience to just sit there! Is it playing music? It must take a lot of patience to learn to make it sound good! The mother of my Oh-So-Wise Dad taught me something about patience. She told me “Patience is not stifled impatience; it is love quietly waiting.” (Whoa! No wonder my Dad was so wise!!)

Antique Yard – graphite – sold

Jones

Today I came home from photographing a house for a new drawing. Jones was on the porch, as usual. I said, “Jones, don’t lie that way. You look dead!” She was. Zeke just looked over at her body and had lunch. I went into the house to put my things down and realized I needed a friend, because I am just a big baby. S came over and brought Ralph with her. They are so kind. They found no signs of injury, so they loaded her into a box, and I am now trying to get a hole dug in the DG (or whatever the heck this hard excuse for soil is) so I can properly lay her to rest. Jones was a dropped off cat who came to us about 8 years ago. She had pretty coloring, a brown tabby with clear green eyes and very soft fur. I used to tell her that she was made up of the leftover scraps from the Kitty Factory. Her legs and tail were short, and her eyes were too big for her face. She squeaked rather than meowed, and she always let me know exactly what she wanted. “Let me in”, “let me out”, “Perkins wants to come in”, “the food bowl is empty”. . . she was very clear. Each time we got a new kitten (she watched 5 new cats come into her space), she was outraged. If the new cat got too close, not only did she hiss and growl, she actually snorted! Not real ladylike, but she had a point to make. She was preceded in death Wilson, Scout, Prudence and Amos, but is survived by Zeke and Perkins. I got tired of her barfing, and I didn’t always like her, but I loved Jones and I will miss her. So will Perkins, but Zeke will just have dinner.

Perkins and Jones looked out for one another. Zeke looks out for his bowl.

Angels in the Wilderness

Today I had the privilege of hearing author Amy Racina speak about her 4 days of survival alone with 2 broken legs in a remote part of the Sierra. I used to be a backpacker and was always taught to NEVER NEVER NEVER go backpacking alone (not that I wanted to!) Amy is far more adventurous (reckless?), brave (foolish?) and strong (incredibly!) than I have ever been, and her survival story is remarkable, using extraordinary physical strength, rational thought and mental determination. She is a captivating speaker, and when she told of seeing someone after 4 days of dragging herself along, it brought tears to my eyes. I bought a copy of her book, Angels in the Wilderness. I hope I can put it down sometime before midnight tonight! http://www.angelsinthewilderness.com/

Friendship

For one weekend each summer at the cabin next door to ours, there is a group of men who call themselves The Sawtooth Six. They met in college, and have been assembling in Mineral King for 25 years now. The one who owns the cabin was one of my first commission customers back in 1986, and I may have met his buddies that same year.

Each year we learn a little bit more as we gradually move from acquaintances to friends. They have grown (less howling at the moon), married (some more than once), become fathers (one has 4 boys!), gotten more degrees (at least one Ph.D and probably several MBAs), changed jobs or careers, moved to different cities, states, or even countries, and traveled the world. There is a definite aura of confidence and success, combined with a sense of humor and courtesy. Several have returned to the area with their families, renting places at Silver City just down the road. ( www.silvercityresort.com ) When they bring their wives, parents and children up to show them the cabin, if we are around we have the pleasure of meeting their families.

Usually one or two will wander over to our cabin and we’ll sit and visit. We love hearing about their lives from around the country (currently San Francisco, Long Beach, San Luis Obispo, Spokane, somewhere in New Jersey and Snohomish, Washington). We don’t know where each one works, all their wives’ names or even all their last names. They live in entirely different worlds than we do, and yet while hanging around in the mountains, we are all just people. They seem to like hearing about my husband’s job and my art, and watching me split firewood (with lots of jokes about taking photos home to their wives to show them what “real women do”!)

So, Sawtooth Six, I thank you for taking the time to visit my studio today and I wish you a happy, healthy, safe year so we can visit again next year in Mineral King!

(if you count seven, that is because one of these handsome guys is my husband!)

Another day

In the continuing saga of what an artist does, here is what happened today. First, I photographed 2 good-looking teenage siblings for a portrait in graphite. We had to spend a little time walking around the yard, finding good locations, and then wasting a bunch of shots until they felt somewhat comfortable with a camera in their faces.

Next, I spent time messing around with the photos to decide which were the best possibilties for drawing. Digital cameras are very convenient, but do you remember the days when you just turned in some film and waited? Wow, take the photos and be finished! Now, in the name of convenience, there is an inordinate amount of messing around before photos are useful.

After that, a girl came to the studio for a lesson on portraiture. She was a quick learner, soaked up all I had for her and then drew a great looking eye!

Meanwhile, Maggie came to retrieve her lemons and another friend/business associate came by for a sketch. We are working on a possible mural together. . . as usual, more will be revealed! (we hope, anyway!)

Then, it was time to return missed phone calls. The best one was from an old friend who has been asked to paint an ornament for the White House Christmas Tree and had some questions! Since I am able to talk and draw at the same time, we visited while I worked on the big fat commission collage.

Next, a very thoughtful young man came by to get a wedding present for his sister. (He was referred by mutual friends and made an appointment.) He chose a most appropriate piece: The Honeymoon Cabin!

Thus concludes another busy day in the life of an artist!