Some lessons must be learned again and again....especially for me. The notion of "simple" is a case in point. I am not sure there is really such a thing. Consider those smooth 3-point baskets by LeBron James. And Michael Jackson's sleight-of-foot dance moves. Reports emerge of his endless hours practicing in the studio. To be really really good at something requires more than talent.....we must add in desire and lots and lots of practice. Drawing and painting follow suit. Those whose hands make amazing marks and strokes make them continually.....the ease and comfort with the tools become part of who they are. In our spring watercolor class, we tackled the painting of a tricycle....simple, right? NOT. Those little machines are complex. Mine started as a simple painting which evolved into a mixed media work. I printed rectangles into the background, reminiscent of the cement block garage of my childhood. The grass in front was carved from linoleum and printed on. Graphite marks were added throughout. I like the smudging, the unsure lines and the power lines as well. Time has a way of simplifying the complex. Would a unicycle be any simpler? I don't think so.
