frustration
i have painters block. i tried to paint yesterday, but everything seems so flat. i'm afraid to finish the 2 saints i have in progress right now, since i've switched oil mediums (to walnut oil) and it tends to be runnier. plus, i've already laid the paint on pretty thick so i wonder if the top layers will crack? i have always liked that look and actually fantasized about it for this series, though i didn't know what would make it happen before.
i am also frustrated with my cats. they have all this hair, and the hair flies off their chubby little bodies and right into my paintings, or even better, to the tubes of paint- right along the caps.
we've been watching the hbo series carnivale, which is insanely good. i've forgotten a lot of it, because as i'm watching it, i tend to wander away in my mind and dream up paintings inspired by the show. the contrast, the use of color, the manipulation of depth of field, the imagery is stunning. i was able to figure out what to do with a painting i'd started when i watched the series the first time... but will my execution of the idea be any good?
i think what's really hard for me is the use of colors... it helps to plan it all out, but it isn't as rigid as silkscreen like i am used to. i layer the colors on, but it takes so long to dry in between, that i sometimes forget what i had planned, or lose interest, or both. i know what you're thinking- don't quit your day job. don't worry i won't.
on a brighter note, my mentorship started last week. katie, my student, is 6. she's interested in painting, and is so polite and sweet, especially when we compare her to last term's student. there is another mentorship going on in the same room- a 10 (or so) year old boy who is working on a comic book. his imagination is very wild and violent compared to katie's, and though lots of times she doesn't really understand or care what they're talking about, i'll sometimes watch as her glance lingers in horror over the picture the boy is drawing of an ogre with an ear on his forehead who's about to wipe out the entire town because of his unreturned gold.
i am also frustrated with my cats. they have all this hair, and the hair flies off their chubby little bodies and right into my paintings, or even better, to the tubes of paint- right along the caps.
we've been watching the hbo series carnivale, which is insanely good. i've forgotten a lot of it, because as i'm watching it, i tend to wander away in my mind and dream up paintings inspired by the show. the contrast, the use of color, the manipulation of depth of field, the imagery is stunning. i was able to figure out what to do with a painting i'd started when i watched the series the first time... but will my execution of the idea be any good?
i think what's really hard for me is the use of colors... it helps to plan it all out, but it isn't as rigid as silkscreen like i am used to. i layer the colors on, but it takes so long to dry in between, that i sometimes forget what i had planned, or lose interest, or both. i know what you're thinking- don't quit your day job. don't worry i won't.
on a brighter note, my mentorship started last week. katie, my student, is 6. she's interested in painting, and is so polite and sweet, especially when we compare her to last term's student. there is another mentorship going on in the same room- a 10 (or so) year old boy who is working on a comic book. his imagination is very wild and violent compared to katie's, and though lots of times she doesn't really understand or care what they're talking about, i'll sometimes watch as her glance lingers in horror over the picture the boy is drawing of an ogre with an ear on his forehead who's about to wipe out the entire town because of his unreturned gold.