in progress

new work

AACCCKKK... help! This is the first attempt at water and rocks with oil paints. It seems dark and dull and mechanical. How do I make it look more realistic? Any suggestions?

Sophia

Sophia successfully made the move from my old studio to my new one. She was made for me by my bff Marta and bears witness to many adventures.

a start

I'm finally finding a few minutes here and there to begin painting again. I've switched from realistic pastel plein air painting to abstract oils. I've tried acrylics and like the idea of their quick drying time but I just can't manipulate the paint the same way as oils.

Where I've been...

This is the kind of art I've been doing... realistic pastels, mostly plein air, water and rocks or meadow scenes. I'm feeling like I'm tired of the pastels and I'd like to return to the abstracts. Funny though... I teach students that when we look at art we use the form to understand the content. And here I am, wanting a change and not knowing what it is I want to communicate with it. But maybe I should do less thinking and more doing.

Loving what you do...

Do you love the art you make? I often wonder what the trick is to loving what you do. I find myself being my very biggest critic... along with my husband. For someone who was actually educated in art I have to say that I have no sense of loving what I do. Instead, I usually hate my own work. Am I alone? And how do I change that? How do I find that playfulness that my friend has who seems to love what she does?