Donuts Are Always a Good Idea

One of the greatest feelings of reward that I get as an artist is seeing my work installed in someone's home. I also love it when I get to see images of artwork framed.

I am delighted to share the following photos of my work installed in a client's home after framing! I love everything about the way things turned out, from the color palette in the room, to the salon-wall of works, to the mixture of artistic styles.

Installation view of my paintings installed in client's home

Closeup image of the works framed (I love how they turned out!)

Closeup on my abstract painting

Finishing Old Business, Collaborating, Creating Something New

A great friend of mine, who is an exceptional photographer and artist, came over to my side of town yesterday. As we sat in my living room listening to music and catching up, we stared at an old painting of mine. It dawned on me that the canvas needed more work. At one point, I was happy with the painting, but looking at it last night, all I could see were areas of potential improvement. It had a better future ahead with some love and care. See [Water Marks]...the old version of the painting.

I asked Kelsey if she would be interested in adding to the painting the following day and combining our styles onto the canvas. She was up for it, so we put our minds together and decided to play a fun and silly game to get our creative energy flowing. 

The game went like this: I would say a word, then she would respond with her gut reaction of another word or thought...and so on. After our goofy rapid-fire brainstorm session, we stumbled upon the concept of Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. We didn't take the idea too seriously, but decided to roll with it.

In the morning before checking any social media or playing on our phones, we set up paints and put on a good playlist, then got moving. 

I had no attachment to the work as it was, and I was excited to see it transform into something completely different, working with her.

Sidenote: I am very interested in the idea of collaborative canvases and works of art. We are all creative beings, and I find it to be an exciting journey and experience, seeing what we can paint together.

Collaborating, especially on a single painting, is a fantastic exercise in letting go of control and surrendering. Why? Because it causes you to ditch attachment to your brushstrokes, color choices, and work in general and be receptive to what the other person(s) brings to the table. It also encourages you to be open to the energy of another and build on each other's strengths. 

Creating art is a magical experience, and I have always loved working alone, but sometimes doing it solo can feel isolating and/or block transformations and discoveries from happening. It is really good to work with another person and see what two (or more) people can come up with together. 

Once Kelsey and I started on the canvas, it took some time for us to fully let go and make bold changes to the work, but eventually we did, and at a certain point, we were finger painting! Here is the result of our two hours of painting together.

It was simply too fun!! Kelsey and I are both huge fans of bright, bold colors, so it made it even more enjoyable working together. It was also awesome working so large, because it gave us the opportunity to go wild. Every ten minutes or so, we would rotate the canvas and build on one another's work.

Here it is...

Morning Exercises [Resting Point]

Today I came to a good resting point on my canvas. I even named it "Water Marks". I will leave it be for a while, live with it in my apartment and decide how to proceed after spending some time with it in the background.

Morning Painting Exercise [Three]

I am still going strong on the morning exercises. Today I woke up at 6:00am (groggy, yes, but less than I was yesterday). I showered, ate a pretty little bowl of blueberries, brewed my favorite cinnamon tea, and put on my Spotify playlist: Stratosphere [Painting Flow].

Instead of jumping right into action (which I usually do without much thought), I studied the canvas, sipping my tea. I reached for something rather different today: graphite pencils. For some reason it felt right to lay down neutral-colored, sharp yet fluid lines onto the composition. I spent a significant amount of time playing this way, bonding with my graphite, feeling as though I had made some great discovery. Even though it is the most basic of tools, there is something alluring about graphite line atop canvas and amidst paint in its undefined form.

I felt inclined to cover the orange and yellow area in the center, taken by an enveloping whim to bring out complex greys, blues, purples, and turquoises, while masking the almost-insincere oranges and yellows that seemed to be imposters this morning. In general, I rotate the composition every 15 minutes or so, to change up the look. This is both exciting and challenging for me.

One of the difficulties of abstract painting is that there are no boundaries--no guidelines and no definitive end. I think of abstraction a bit like I do life: complex, fun, open-ended, with no direction until you create it, mysterious, beautiful, thrilling, curious. 

A lot of people roll their eyes at abstract artwork saying: "my child could do that" or "a three year old could do that". Perhaps they are correct, but I don't care. Abstract painting is an expression of the soul, and no matter how it looks in the end, it is worth something. Out of all of the art forms, abstraction challenges my mind and psyche the most. Painting this way allows me to get deep into the crevices of my innermost desires, questions, and expressions. To me, abstraction is the dancing of painting.

Here is an image from my third morning of exercises. I stopped almost exactly after an hour, realizing that I had reached a good ending point for the morning. Usually, I am inclined to work in a fury until I can call something "finished." 

This painting is not yet finished. I want to take my time with it. I will know once it is done.

Day Three

Morning Painting Exercise [Two]

It was my second morning doing painting exercises. See the last blog post Soul Exercises for more information on my positive motivation. 

This morning I awoke at 5:50am. It was tough; I did it anyhow. By the time I got set up, I only had about a half hour to paint, because I had also scheduled a session at the gym to work out. Even so, that half hour was truly enjoyable and eased me into my day and my work out. 

This morning for my exercise parameter, I used only one paintbrush and one color (at first). The initial color that I reached for was yellow. After getting warmed up, I introduced the lilac tone, mixing a violet-based blue with white. I then incorporated more white and magenta tones into the mix, and finally ended up including the bright green that is visible throughout the painting.

Day two on the canvas

Even though I only had half an hour to paint, it was worth waking up for. I also came to a good stopping point for the day, and I look forward to adding to the canvas tomorrow and seeing what my dream hangover brings to the canvas.

My palette and paints