Cutting Through Fields. 2006, Oil on Panel, 12x16
Well, I had a crappy day in the studio on Wednesday. I am trying to finish up a few pieces and they are just not going the way I want them to. This happens occasionally and it usually gives me a nagging bad feeling that stays with me for the rest of the day. Often I spend that time second guessing my painting in general and wishing that I had a different painting style. Like abstract painters never have a day of frustration, right? R-i-g-h-t....
The way to get over this is to get right back to work. Unfortunately, this is a bad day for that. I wasn't planning to paint today because tomorrow I am going to NYC for the weekend and I have a ton of things to do, incIuding clean the house, do laundry, buy groceries and run a few errands. But if I don't accomplish something that I am happy about, that nagging feeling will stay with me and I would like to enjoy my weekend away.
Lately though, I have been having these days a bit more often than usual. While I love painting the landscape I am pretty sure that I don't want to do only landscapes forever. I want to paint other subject matter. Cityscapes, the figure, the still life, these are things I'd like to do more of. However, when I work with a different subject matter all of my work seems to shift slightly. Most of that time that works and is good. But sometimes the shift can be awkward and I get frustrated. All of this is positive really, I know that, but when you are actually in it and you have deadlines it's not hard to get a little wacky about it.
So that's where I am today. I did look at the pieces that I did yesterday and they don't look as bad today as I thought they did yesterday. Hopefully, I can still wrestle at least a couple of them into submission.
To try and counterract my loser artist feelings today, I am posting a painting that I just did last week, one that I AM pleased with.
2 comments:
I know that feeling of being painting impaired. It's like a disability. Sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not, and you just have to push through it. I'm finding that awful frustrated awkward feeling is a sort of necessity for me, something I have to push through to get to the good stuff. When you finally end up with a painting you like, it all looks so inevitable, doesn't it? Why is it so hard to take it there in the first place, when you're wandering in the dark?
Martha, you have described my situation perfectly, much better than I was able to! It's comforting to know that others go through all of this too.
Post a Comment