I think that artists are quite good at delayed judgment, realizing that the notion of pure good/pure bad is a false one, and that all creative endeavors lie somewhere in that indefinable "gray area". Sometimes we are unable to confirm an opinion for quite a while. Sometimes there is a silver lining where we find that we actually love that we had originally shunned. Two years ago, I offered a summertime class where we utilized reduction printing to create holiday cards. The papers, inks and ideas abounded in diversity. I was the only one to use an oil-based ink as well as the heavy paper Lenox. I wanted to cut out my prints and use them as ornament-type greetings. After all of the labor, I was distressed about the heaviness of my prints.......the ink seemed to have too much texture and the design that I had made seemed too complex. They were stored away for 2 years. I recently opened the box and found that my opinion had changed to supreme delight as I cut out the shapes! The heavy ink seemed to have melded into the paper and was actually perfect for my ornament idea. The feel is almost like a heavy cloth. What an amazing surprise! Let that be a lesson..................don't be too quick to judge!
Many of the artists in my classes yearn to be freer in their representational painting. Tightness feels yucky in painting as well as in life.....to me. (qualifier) In my opinion, painting from photographs offers the least amount of freedom. Painting from life is better. And painting from sketches is better yet. It is indeed a bit intimidating, but offers more creative possibilities than the latter two. I have been haunted for many years by a winter of my own inner-city Akron, Ohio. It is a scene from my childhood of the neighborhoods that populate the center of every city across our country. I have schlepped all over the city on dusky winter nights looking for the "perfect neighborhood", the one that matched all of my aesthetic requirements. There were none. I have settled for a drawing that is a composite of all that I have seen. At first, it seemed a bit intimidating working on such a large painting from such a small sketch, but has provided more excitement for me as a painter than any other work in recent history. I can't wait for session 2!
