Simple Joys of Life

Okay....here I sit, thinking about what exactly it is I want to say. I have an assortment of people that read this blog, a number of people are not artists, so I try to mix things up a bit. Mix things up in as far as what I post - what I want to post and what I think will be of interest to the different folks visiting my blog. There is not much point to this for me if it does not engage viewers....I tend to be traditional in some ways and would much rather write in a journal if this were mainly for myself.

Okay, so, with that in mind I decided to post some photos of a painting I am working on...have been working on and hope to finish soon. This is a 30" x 40" oil on canvas...just something fun I wanted to paint. I enjoy painting children and water/beach scenes and just simple things in life. Often people ask me how I go about creating a painting, well, I don't have a standard way. Well, rather it is has changed back and forth over time and it depends somewhat on what I am creating and the materials. With that said though, I do generally just roughly block in or loosely sketch what I am going to paint - or what I think I am going to paint - this too, can easily change once I start painting. For me, a tight, detailed rendering would be too restrictive and limiting; It is just not how I work and is probably a reflection of how I live??? I don't want to invest a lot of time and energy in sketching as I find it is not necessary for the way I work. I tend to draw, paint, and sculpt my paintings during the actual painting. Also, I might be bit too eager to get into the painting for I like the process of painting - tactilness, the smell, etc...And I suppose I am much like a child with a package before them - the anticipation as I open the package and find a surprise before me. I can't wait to see what develops by my hands and before my eyes.

So, back to how I create my paintings. I generally have a pretty good vision of what I want to paint, whether 'en plain aire' or working inside from sketches, studies, reference photos, models, etc...I roughly block it in as I feel more free to change my mind as I paint. I try to get a loose image or layout, and some sense of the colors, lighting, values, temp, etc...laid in too. As I paint I will step back often or leave the room for a bit as I think it gives me a fresh perspective, not unlike life, eh? If something doesn't sit well with me it will jump right out, although sometimes I will take photos of the piece or view it in a mirror or upside down (the painting, not me) as it gives me a different perspective and another accurate way to see what is not working. If I get things early on as I like than it seems the rest of the painting tends to go smoother and just come together better.

I must say that I have found that the paintings that are more spontaneous, some of my plein aire work or ACEO's, sketches, etc...are sometimes my favorite pieces because of their spontenaeity...they are not overthought, nor over edited, and just seem to come purely from the heart and soul.

Well, I will add to this discussion as I finish the painting. I will post an image of the finished piece and some close-ups too. If anyone has questions, comments, or observations, please feel free to post or email me.

"The path to your heart's desire is never overgrown". Kigezi proverb

Thanks for stopping by, Helen

P.S. Stop by again as I will finish this post and painting, also plan to discuss getting back on task with art we have abandoned/given up on (can be applied to other areas of life); discussion of creativity (inspired by a very creative M.D. I know), maybe an interview with some decorators I know; and getting back to topics I started in old blogs....artist-in-residence, ACEO's, my murals, etc....