I am on a search.
Last week I made some abstract paintings. How I made them was to make some loose, strong brush marks on canvases that had already been painted with washes of colour. I like the results very much:
Those first ones were a lot of fun - they seemed effortless because I painted them quickly. Well, the coloured ground took some time to make, but the finishing went very fast.
This week I've been trying to make more abstract paintings, and it has not been effortless!
Isn't it interesting how, so often, the first time you do something it just flows, but when you try to recreate the flow later it doesn't want to happen. I remind myself that whatever happens, it will at least make a ground for a future painting.
Above photo - the one on the left is nice but not quite exciting. The one on the right was made really slowly, with many stops for consideration. I'm not sure if I like it. I tell myself "what do you want, a formula?" No way. I had a formula for 5-6 years with those glazed city paintings and that was good for awhile but then it got boring. Now I am on a search.
Yesterday's work - a few more starts and building up the grounds.
Here used photoshop to desaturate, which I like very much! Perhaps today I will focus on using neutral tones.
This is the search. It feels very clumsy and awkward sometimes, and I have to remind myself that sometimes discomfort is an indication of growth.
3 comments:
"You are far from the end of your journey. The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart. See how you love." ~ Buddha
I have had the same issue. Last spring I went to this workshop did such AMAZING work. Ever since then I have been trying to replicate the style that I did. It was very free form, self developing, abstract = wonderful, however, what I have been doing since then to me has looked very forced. It doesn't have this whimsical, freeness like the first one did and I liked that very much. It's hard to get into that zone at times where your hands work and not your mind. But it' only to you that the others don't look as great as the first set, to everyone else, including me they look great. We are our own most critical eye.
Thanks for your comment, Francina! Good point you make about our own judgement of our work, compared to other people. :)
Yep, getting the mind to not interfere with the hands, that is quite a challenge!
:)
V
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