With the upcoming show (opening August 7), with many days and nights away from home, with a little stretch of mild summer weather, I have shifted into overdrive when it comes to cranking out paintings. I am focused on getting some inventory ahead for the local shops that sell for me, along with finishing things that previously didn’t feel very important.
This means that I sometimes set up paintings assembly-line-style.
Does this make you wonder where the creativity comes in?
It takes thought to decide what subjects and sizes will best meet the “demand”*, to prioritize, to organize, and to be highly efficient with my limited time. Then it takes focus to be sure that each painting is the best it can be. I don’t go for perfection, which is basically driven by anxiety. Instead, I view each painting as if I am a critical customer unwilling to part with my hard-earned green pieces of paper with dead presidents’ faces unless something really speaks to me. (Because I have been that person many times.)
Oops. Sometimes I flip my canvas upside down to paint and forget to see if the hanging hardware is going the correct direction. That’s easy to fix once the painting is dry.
*No one I work for is demanding—every last one is wonderful to work with.
3 Comments
Cursive? What’s that?? (I even know how to dial a phone with a rotary dial, so there!
You can feel both joy and pressure during the creative process. It keeps ya young ‘n’ spritely, dontcha know!
And I assume you also accept pieces of paper that begin, “Pay to the order of . . . “
Sharon, yeppers, “young ’n’ spritely”, that’s me. In addition to Federal Reserve Notes, I do accept those old fashioned pieces of paper, especially if written in cursive.
Comments are closed for this article!