why getting comfortable with discomfort is crucial to success

On Sunday I did a demonstration with a lively and wonderful audience at the Theater Lab Caberet Auction. I am always so nervous before these things. What if I make an awful painting that they then have to auction? To ease my fear I brought a few other paintings (completed) as my support cast. It said, "Yes I really can paint."
Prior to the demonstration I gave myself a pep talk. "People who step out of their comfort zone and into the discomfort of uncertainty will be those who will reap the biggest rewards."This article was not written for painters, but take the important information and think about it. Read this article in Forbes.

During the demonstration there was no landscape to view, no photos on the wall, I wanted to simply concentrate on making a vibration. I brought my board of 6 paintings as my inspiration (see the board below on my November 11th post) and then just let her roll. Trying not to think and to simply respond to the three colors I had chosen as my main color scheme.
 I am trying more and more to live in the courage zone.

distilling an idea

I continue with finding variations of colors and ways to express and idea. This time I looked at one of my plein air paintings, shown below. I know it really doesn't resemble the painting...but it was simply a springboard from which to jump.

To me it says, when removed from the scene and allowed to distill the important information I tend to have more success.

twilight no. 157 and no. 158

no. 158 6x6 pastel

no.157 6x6 pastel

My favorite field, done from memory. I keep struggling to get that unique vibration that is evening twilight. Lasting for about 4 minutes, it is elusive. These are just two (of many.) I switch papers and methods. I try different colors under and on top.

Upon returning from Sedona, I am settling back into my normal life- a balance between studio and plein air.

5 years blogging and mistake making

Opening yourself up to mistakes can lead to better things. Last week, when going to location, I forgot my pastels I painted only the watercolor underpainting and memorized the rest. Now I found a new way to paint that I love.  It combines my love of plein air and memory painting.

On another note, today I celebrate 5 years of blogging and 1195 posts. As I enter my 6th year I confess that I have learned more from my 4 years of daily plein air painting, than I learned in my entire art school education- BFA and MFA. Year five was more about using that experience and transferring it to memory painting. What will come next???? Come on back for year 6 to find out.
If I could give one bit of advice to anyone wanting to improve and find themselves it would be to, without fail, paint outdoors everyday. Don't wait for that silly thing called inspiration. She rarely comes knocking. When you ALWAYS create she WILL find you. Time and time again.
Onward.

risk taking and reworking

finished pastel #1

If you want to find a specialness in your work you have to search and be willing to take risks. Just doing what you know will never take you down that new exciting road.   Reworking failed works is a great way to open up the world of risk-taking.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

When reworking, you know it didn't work so all feelings of "preciousness" are gone and you are free to experiment. In addition the painting scene is no longer there to haunt you and make demands...you are free!

plein air piece to be reworked #1

The first thing I noticed when remaking this painting is that beastly green did not work at all. Yes, it is what I thought I saw (unlikely-not enough influence from the sky), but in the painting it fought the colors of the sky. That was the first thing to go. Next, although the sky colors were accurate they did not make a good design. And while I love that little pond and it's small line of shrubbery, it too did not work.
To rework a pastel you must first remove some on the pastel. (Use a brush, a vacumm or a piece of masking tape- depending on how much pastel you want to remove.)
Next, analyze your composition and color scheme. In the top painting I added a middle ground, rather than just two layers of space. And made a kind of envelope of the sky to create a feeling of "safety in the world."

finished pastel, #2

plein air piece to be reworked#2

Here is the second rework. Sometimes a plein air piece is just a study of sky and weather, as this one was. I don't know what I was thinking when I made the strip of land to be straight across. Sometimes I become fascinated with the sky and forget all sense. (Obviously you can see I skipped the notan.)
Here, I first altered the land mass and that was soothing. Next I just played with the upper sky to see what would happen if I darkened it. It was simply an experiment.


Art is about taking risks and experimenting. Why do the same thing over and over again just because you can? There is no excitement in copying a photo,  it's only technical skill and when was technical skill exciting? Push yourself, make mistakes, take risks. Only then will you find something new.

PS On Thursday there will be a special post...see you then!