Rebooting 4: Fifty Silks and a Bridge to Canvas
That day, when I serendipitously started painting "Life" on silk, would have been January 18th. I was already a couple of weeks into 2014. But I thought to myself, "Hey, if I painted three paintings a week for the rest of the year, I would have almost 150 paintings at the end of 2014. Cool! So it began. Over the next few months I was continuously keeping the process of silk painting going. I would pin three silks to a board. Write the word "Life" with gutta and then embellish it further. I began to have more and more enjoyment in it as I went. As I shared with others what I was doing they would ask, "What are you going to do with the silks?" I really didn't know. I still don't, but I have a box with a growing pile. I did purchase some 17 inch squares and some 10 inch squares that are pre-hemmed since I was making so many and I don't love doing that kind of sewing. The first thirty or so have raw edges.
I really didn't keep count as I went. It can be a little confusing since there is the pinning, the gutta, the painting, the dye-setting, and then finally the professional dry-cleaning. There were always various pieces in various stages of completion. So as March began to fade into April, I took inventory. To fulfill my three a week, I needed at least thirty paintings. I was not prepared to find that I had created over fifty! Wow. At this rate, I could break from silk painting and perhaps try to relaunch works in acrylic during April. Then it dawned on me. The last time that I did any real painting was April 2013. Here I was at the one year marker of the unplanned, unwanted sabbatical. The last silk I painted was a tribute to Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
Thanks to the silk paintings, I was at the very least in the habit and rhythm of going into my studio. But oh, to have to get out acrylic paint. ughh. Something in me was not rushing in to get started.
It just so happened that it was soon the first Thursday of April, time for another Joan Moody class requiring acrylics. I couldn't even figure out what to pack to bring to class as far as acrylic color. I was really fuzzy on acrylic colors and after working with the silk dye, acrylics seemed very dull and opaque as I visualized them. So I just threw a bunch in a bag and set out.
As I began painting, I found I had left some of my main staple colors at home. Oh well, I just had to make do. We were painting birds in a particular style. I got into a groove, painting some sand pipers that I had photographed in Florida. When I left class I still had a ways to go, but I finished this painting back in my studio and here it is:
I started another canvas with roses, a subject I had not done for some time. They were "pretty" but left me un-enamored. The next day I decided to judiciously add some paper to spice it up. I also added more color and large brushstrokes, giving it a looser feel. By the end of the day, I was in love.
There is nothing like that kind of love to lure me back into my studio. BLISS!
I really didn't keep count as I went. It can be a little confusing since there is the pinning, the gutta, the painting, the dye-setting, and then finally the professional dry-cleaning. There were always various pieces in various stages of completion. So as March began to fade into April, I took inventory. To fulfill my three a week, I needed at least thirty paintings. I was not prepared to find that I had created over fifty! Wow. At this rate, I could break from silk painting and perhaps try to relaunch works in acrylic during April. Then it dawned on me. The last time that I did any real painting was April 2013. Here I was at the one year marker of the unplanned, unwanted sabbatical. The last silk I painted was a tribute to Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
Thanks to the silk paintings, I was at the very least in the habit and rhythm of going into my studio. But oh, to have to get out acrylic paint. ughh. Something in me was not rushing in to get started.
It just so happened that it was soon the first Thursday of April, time for another Joan Moody class requiring acrylics. I couldn't even figure out what to pack to bring to class as far as acrylic color. I was really fuzzy on acrylic colors and after working with the silk dye, acrylics seemed very dull and opaque as I visualized them. So I just threw a bunch in a bag and set out.
As I began painting, I found I had left some of my main staple colors at home. Oh well, I just had to make do. We were painting birds in a particular style. I got into a groove, painting some sand pipers that I had photographed in Florida. When I left class I still had a ways to go, but I finished this painting back in my studio and here it is:
I started another canvas with roses, a subject I had not done for some time. They were "pretty" but left me un-enamored. The next day I decided to judiciously add some paper to spice it up. I also added more color and large brushstrokes, giving it a looser feel. By the end of the day, I was in love.
There is nothing like that kind of love to lure me back into my studio. BLISS!
Wow love both of these pictures. I can't wait to see what you do with art this year. I see a place where art is going to just emerge in new ways. It's strange I had been doing art journaling, nothing as exciting as painting and yet working at home after the class of Joan's I did two painting and it was a blast. I'm thinking for both of us the habit of art is creating a loop in our brains that is making art less of a hardship. Don't know if that makes any sense, but it made me feel happy, just as your post did! LOVE.
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