Yardsticks...

Pot of Potatoes   watercolor on paper   13 x 17

are good for measuring things, even measuring finished work, but lose their function when trying to measure the quality of our work.  One day at the end of class, one of the artists asked me if I thought his work had improved over the past couple of years.  Wow...talk about a loaded question.  I hate to respond with another question, but I think that improvement can only be judged from within.  With some paintings, I felt that I really hit the mark.  Others, not so much.  I have sold many paintings that were not among my favorites.  I am happier with my work than I was a decade ago....does that count?  It seems that my earlier work garnered more awards....but I may be wrong.  I am doing riskier things these days...solving more difficult problems....I feel that my work is now really mine.  But how would others measure it?  I don't know.  Sometimes I really love a painting that has not even gotten a second glance by others.  I guess improvement is in the eye of beholder.

"Pot of Potatoes" is the aforementioned work.

Time to Paint....time to eat...

Pot of Potatoes   watercolor   13 x 17

Fresh Produce is alluring....to shop for, to prepare and to paint.  I have always enjoyed painting fruits and vegetables....they are beautiful and they are a part of my life.  Seasonal foods are exciting.  We are graduating into the warmer sunshine of Spring and the offerings at the market will be changing as well.  Actually, when my children were small, I spent a crazy amount of time in the kitchen daily.  Cooking is where I first experienced "flow" and its remarkable comfort and sense of well being.  Although my time in the kitchen has morphed into time in the studio, I still enjoy my time spent there.....for the most part....there are definitely exceptions.  My future daughter-in-law is studying currently at the Cordon Bleu in San Francisco and has a remarkable facility in food preparation.  I enjoy working and learning with her.

"Pot of Potatoes" has always been one of my favorite paintings....it just offers up something so basic that is part of me.  I also offer two of my favorite food blogs.  Partake.  Enjoy.  Paint.

Pot of Potatoes

Pot of Potatoes   watercolor   13 x 17

Sometimes life is just a pot of potatoes....common and not so extraordinary. Artists such as myself often paint ordinary objects in our daily lives, and through the work of their keen sensitivities, elevate the daily into the monumental. There are many such paintings in every exhibit. Luckily, we, as individuals, see things in our own personal and subjective ways. That is what makes for a varied and interesting existence. So..............when a judge comes to town and selects work for exhibit, he/she brings with her/him, her/his past experiences and notions of the extraordinary. It breaks my heart to see work that I consider to be wondrous excluded from the exhibit. (Competition is actually a left-brained notion to which we right-brained artists continually subject ourselves). I guess I think that in the final run, we artists have to determine for ourselves our own sense of extraordinary and hold fast to it, regardless of outside opinion. We take responsibility for our work. We are our own best critics. Hard to do. "Pot of Potatoes" was painted many years ago. I love love love it, despite the fact that it has never gotten much attention from anyone else.