What's on the easel ?

One of the most often questions I get asked, as an artist, is
"What are you working on now"?
I now invite you into my studio to see what's on the easel.

Most artists are funny about showing work that is not completed. Looking at an unfinished piece you get to see the mistakes, the re-works and you have to remember that the painting may change before it is completed. It's like an author writing a story. The story may change several times before it is finished.

This painting is 30 x 40 on stretched canvas and depicts a trio of hunting wolves. I have been working on this painting for quite some time. My painting time has been greatly reduced due to the Parkinson's disease. When I have a day with no or just minor tremors I have to take advantage of it and work as long as I can.

These three wolves have picked up the scent of a rabbit. The rabbit is hiding in the hollow log in the foreground of the painting. Over to the left, two wolves are standing, watching for some movement.

What is interesting about these two wolves is that wherever you move in the room, not only do their eyes follow you, their entire heads turn and follow your movements. I hope you can move your head from side to side and see that ,indeed, their heads do turn.

I hope you don't get caught moving back and forth at your computer . . . your sanity might be questioned.




The larger wolf in the middle ground has picked up the scent of the rabbit but has been interrupted by the presence of YOU the viewer.


The eyes of this wolf follow you as you move about the room, although the head remains straight forward.





There is alot of work to complete on this painting and many problems to solve. Do you show the rabbit in the hollow log? or not and let it be part of the viewer's imagination? Do you add any more wolves? Many questions to be answered and many problems to be worked out.


This next painting is just about finished. On a stretched 24 x 36 canvas it shows seventeen pelicans and is appropriately titled; "Seventeen Pelicans". I need to finish the pelicans in the foreground and add a little more detail to some of the other pelicans.

Have you found yourself "counting" the pelicans ?
The viewer is automatically drawn into the painting by counting pelicans.

What?

There are only 15 ?


I guess two flew away.







This 30 x 40 stretched gallery canvas shows
Iris . . . . . this was going to be my entry for the
ESMarts team September challenge.



Tremors kept me from getting it done in time.

Oh well, maybe next time.











This 30 x 40 painting of a frog diving below the water is a "toughie". It is painted from a view below the subject, looking up.




Above the frog will be seen the shadow of a Heron.




"The Great Escape" as a title will tell the story for the viewer in just a few words.


I don't know if it is that enjoy a tough challenge or that I am a glutton for punishment.



Besides all the visual problems in completing this painting . . . who wants a painting of an expensive frog hanging on their wall ?

I do have to admit I am enjoying working on this one. Doing all the little air bubbles under the water, caused by the splash of the frog, should really be fun.






The last painting I have on the easel is a 18x24
stretched canvas entitled



"Spirit of the Eagle Dancer "











I love doing pieces like this, it's just in my blood.
This will be posted on my Etsy store . . . .
http://kickingbear.etsy.com/





Well, so much for what I have on the easel. When these will be completed, I have no idea.
At least you can see that I am not just sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I welcome your comments about what I have on the easel and any thoughts you have.
Be sure to take a look at my Etsy store . . . http://coastalartist.etsy.com/

The Competition Monster

Once upon a time in a land not so far away lived a monster called "Competition". ALL the people in the kingdom feared Competition. Especially, all the King's jewelers, stone masons and artists and lived in daily fear of competition. They were afraid Competition would drive them out of business. They feared having to go to work in the fields and not being able to do their craft. Competition was kept chained up and locked away.

All the artisans were afraid to share their talents and skills with their fellow craftsmen. So they worked in secrecy everyday hiding their techniques and methods of producing their artistic crafts. They were successful in keeping their secrets and everything remained the same.

One day the King asked them, "Why is everything you make the same? Nothing is new, nothing is different."
They looked at one another and scratched their heads. They had no answer for the King. They were using the same methods and techniques that they had always used. They took PRIDE in their work. Their work and how they did it was a secret known only to their particular guild of craftsmen or to them personally.
They didn't know why nothing changed.

The King called on his wise old Sage. "Tell me old wise one, what shall we do to bring about change in the arts?" The Sage rose and approached the King. The old Sage smiled as he whispered in the King's ear. "Release Competition and let it run free."
"But the artisans fear Competition," the King said, as he now scratched his head. The wise one turned as he walked away and said one word. "Exactly."

The King then saw the wisdom in the old man's thinking. The King decreed that the thing that the artisans feared the most, "Competition," shall be released and allowed to roam the kingdom.

All the artisans in the land ran back and forth not knowing what to do, "Competition" had been released. Some put their tools up and prepared to go to work in the fields. Others stood and scratched their heads. (This was a head scratching kingdom) Others gathered together with their crafts to discuss what they should do. This was the first time they had all been together. They walked about and looked at one another's work. Now, there was an enormous amount of head-scratching going on. So much so that it aroused the attention of the wise old Sage. The Sage entered the great hall where all the remaining artisans had gathered. He stood among them smiling (Sages do that alot).

The arrival of the wise old Sage had an effect on the artisans, for they respected his wisdom and knowledge above all else. The Sage raised his hand and the room went quiet. The Sage spoke in an even and low voice, " Growing old is mandatory, Growing wise is an option."
Now the head-scratching began again with more vigor than ever before. They had no idea what the Sage meant by his words. As the head-scratching continued the Sage quietly left the great hall (yes, smiling).

"Help me scratch my head," said the jeweler to the stone mason. "Help me scratch my head," said the stone mason to the painter. Yup, you guessed it. Before long they were scratching one another's heads. They began helping one another scratch their heads. This was something new, helping one another.

As the stone mason scratched the head of the jeweler (looking at the jeweler's beautiful jewelry), he said, " You know if you will split that stone this way you will find a beautiful crystal inside of it." And then the jeweler said to the stone mason (looking at his beautiful statues), "If you will hammer out silver this way, then you can use it on your statues." The painter not wanting to be left out chimed in, "and if you will crush this stone and mix it with oil you will have a beautiful blue color to paint your statues with". They continued scratching their heads and sharing their talents and skills with one another. They no longer feared "Competition." Soon they ALL had new ideas on how to do their crafts differently and make them more beautiful. All of a sudden they stopped scratching their heads (temporarily). They were sharing talents and skills. They realized this was a good thing and they saw their art in a whole different way. New possibilities bloomed in their heads on how they could use these new talents and skills to improve their art.

Soon they noticed a message the old Sage had "scratched" on the floor of the great hall.

"PRIDE, like the magnet, constantly points to one object, SELF, but unlike the magnet, it has no attractive pole, but at all points repells."

ALL the artisans stopped scratching their heads, and somewhere, a Sage smiled.

Scratching your head ..... thinking this story would be about sharing?
Somewhere a Sage chuckles.

Becoming The Creature

I find it amazing that even after thousands of years, we as a people do the same things. We love. We hate. We go to war. We make peace. We live. We die. As artists, we are a bit different (some more different than others). We try to love all things. We hate going to war. We try to live in peace and harmony with the world around us.

We find a beautiful stone or gem and make a necklace or we paint an animal or carve an object. We have moved from painting on the walls of caves to using canvas. We use sterling silver/gold to enhance or hang our stones from rather than a piece of leather. We use power tools to carve. The processes of what we do might have changed and grown (duh) but the human creativity remains the same.

We still try to capture the 'spirit' of the stone, animal or object. As a visual artist (aren't we ALL visual artists?) I try to capture the 'spirit' of the animal by understanding and knowing the animal's habits and life-style. In a sense, 'becoming the creature'. I start by painting the eyes. If the eyes don't show that spirit then I start over. My question is .... what is it that YOU do to capture that 'spirit' in your jewelry, your painting or sculpting? I would be interested in knowing how you as an artist do this. What is your process or is it pure 'feeling' ?. If that is your answer then you are truly gifted. You have "become the creature".