Committing to the Creative Process

Master teachers do not teach lessons;  they teach how to work.  They can 'enoble the art of practice'.  Isn't that an encouraging phrase?  As a Saturday's child, I have often felt that I work much better than I play.  I think this is largely because what I love to do most is a form of work.  I am committed to honing my skills, so my work becomes playful.  It also brings me joy, fulfillment and satisfaction, and really does not feel like work at all.

I have often said of students who want to paint and voice that desire, yet lack the commitment to practice daily, that you must work at acquiring skills and face the blank white paper often.  It is a creative tabula rasa.  By doing so, you create a rhythm in your work.  The momentum you build by working regularly creates a different kind of mental work zone where one is able to reach higher, finding a new and greater level of creativity.

Painting is like any other art form.  It takes listening and hearing, and the willingness to work at seeing more clearly.  When I have personally experienced these flashes of insight, I lovingly call them epiphanies.  Any master who can instill the desire to fulfill the art of practice in another person is truly worth their weight in gold.  Somehow, these masters find the words so that the student who is listening can hear.  When I think back on the professors who had the greatest impact on my own professional growth, I can hear their voices.  Robert Levers, saying 'You are resting on your laurels', when I wasn't doing enough to prepare.  I can still hear his voice today telling me to stop and take note, 'Less is more, less is more!'  I understand that today.  I did not at one point in time.  Peter Saul once told me, 'You are complacent, and risk nothing.  It is time to risk!'  I once had a young master teacher say, 'Be brave and be bold!  What do you have to lose?'  These words changed my life!  What, truly, do we have to lose?  Our sense of control?  Our sense of order?  Our sense of what we've been taught is truth?  Those are very false premises, and until we can let them go, we will never achieve our full potential and reach the heights of our abilities.  An ancient Zen master, Shunryu Suzuki, once said, 'There should not be any particular teaching.  Teaching is in the moment...' 

Master teachers are not infallible superheroes.  Master teachers are master teachers because they're good learners, as well as effective communicators, constantly reaching out to build the ultimate skill in another person, who has shown potential and is serious about becoming more skilled.  Master teachers construct and help build on the talent of others.  They know how to do this because they were able to apply it to their own talent and were lucky enough to have had a master somewhere along the way who showed them the path to committed work, to see the benefits of constant self-assessment and re-assessment.

Keeping an open and ever-learning mind is the key to refining and building creative skills.  Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist Way, encourages the individual to take a creative time out for an artist's date with oneself, and go to a new environment and quietly experience a different creative form.  It can be amazing how looking and exploring can open one's mind to new possibilities.  If you have never done it, I heartily recommend it.  It is a simple task and can provide amazing insight and inspire ideas to rapidly form.  On an artist's date, I once visited The Paper Place at Central Market.  I wanted to build a dream bowl.  They had several that were constructed totally of paper products, for display purposes.  I examined them closely, noting details and points of construction.  This is the dream bowl I created as a result, seen from two angles. 

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I call it my Zebra Bowl because it is so difficult to change my stripes (habits)!  The idea behind the dream bowl is to create a place, literally, to put our dreams until we can make them a reality.  I love that concept.  I loved it even more after making my own dream bowl.  I used hand-carved wooden exotic animals, beads and shells, suspended on copper wire, to further enhance the bowl's visual presentation.

A similar idea is to make a creative altar to honor and inspire the creative process that we wish to follow.  I'm sharing my own creative altar for honing my skills as a visual artist.
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There are many things present here that are near and dear to my heart.  It hangs in a place of honor above my drafting table, where I paint most of my work on paper.  It serves as a reminder of my commitment to my own creative process.

I took a similar approach to making a creative square that defined my core values as a visual artist.  It is a three-dimensional collage of paper and found objects,  A very important aspect of this square was the miniature dress form covered with words of artistic inspiration, and also a bumper sticker I found that says 'No limits!', which is my own personal mantra.
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This slogan helps remind me to work every day with an open mind, and to reduce any self-imposed limits on my abilities.  I find it very helpful to be reminded.

There are many ways to affirm our creativity once we have found it.  When we are committed to allowing our creative self to have the freedom to reign and roam freely, we add a wonderful dimension to our life.  Life and living can become richer and much more interesting as we move through our days.  When you commit to a creative life, don't be surprised if others find you more interesting and full of verve.  Who knows where creativity may take you?  It helps me, and it can help you, to remember to be open, to listen, and to keep learning.  Find a mentor who is willing to talk with you and share insights, then set about to do it...every day.  This decision could be the most important first step of the rest of your life, opening new paths of discovery, fulfillment and joy.

3 - 2 - 1...Shazam...Spring has sprung...!

I am always ready for Spring each year, and this one is no different!  All the signs of new life:  the birds chirping and gathering twigs for new nests, the grass turning a bright green and the trees budding and bursting into bloom are all harbingers of the new season.  We often get a false spring in January in central Texas, where the temperatures soar into the high 70s.  Out come the shorts and sandals, bikes and strollers, and trees, like the redbud, bloom!  All around the town are the signs:  the red and pink blossoms of the Double Take rose variety, along with California poppies, iris, pansy and pink hawthorne, and many, many other types of flowers.  We may be in a drought here, but Mother Nature is funny about Spring...she finds a way to show her colors.  The bluebonnets are not as plentiful as in years past, but they are out there, as are the buttercups, the bright yellow daisies, and the wild pale yellow mustard.  Living in central Texas is really an amazing experience.  From the colorful sunrises to the beautiful sunsets, our lives are filled with color!  Blue skies, and every color imaginable is in the landscape.  I grew up on the Gulf coast and knew the beauty of an early Spring, when the daffodils and jonquils, sweet peas, flowering quince and pink magnolias, otherwise known as tulip trees, made their presence known in February.  Winter meant rain, and that it did in Jefferson County...almost every day.  So you can imagine how glorious the Springs were!  When the camellias and azaleas made their appearance, I really didn't think it could possibly get any better.  I was shocked at the number of wildflowers in the fields of central Texas when I came here as a college student, so many years ago.

I love flowers, and cut flowers from roses to lilies are the epitome of abundance, very much like fresh raspberries.  They are fragile and don't last very long, but while they are here they provide such vivid color and bring to mind so many feelings of joy.  I received a beautiful bouquet and marvelled at the various flowers in it.  Knowing full well their days were numbered, I decided to photograph them as well as paint them in a traditional watercolor technique on Arches 140-pound CP watercolor paper.  They were a joy to gaze upon, to drink in the beauty, as well as to do my best to capture their beautiful essence.  I call this painting 3 - 2 - 1, Spring has Sprung.

Once I finished 3 - 2 - 1, Spring has Sprung, I really felt that I had to try to do justice to the Texas wildflowers, so I began an acrylic work that was painted from memory, as well as from photographs taken in the countryside along the Willow Loop, where so many varieties of flowers burst forth each Spring.  In memory painting, the details are smudged, and it is more of an impression of the flowers' essence.  I wanted to capture the dead grassy undergrowth that is still dormant in early Spring, along with the shoots of very green grass and the leaves and foliage of the various flowers.

Because it is a memory painting, the mature dandelion thistles are present among the other flowers, even though in Nature it might be weeks before they would scatter their seeds from the lacy puffs.  This, too, was painted n 22 X 30 inch Arches 140-pound CP paper, with Liquitex acrylic paint.  When I finished the painting compositionally, one thistle dominated the landscape and was literally too large.  I reduced its size by painting into the negative space around the thistle.  I was happier with the flowers overall, but felt it did not work well compositionally.  It lacked balance.

After looking at it for several days, photographing it and generally using my editor's eye, I made the decision to cut the painting in half, making two 11 X 15 paintings.  Each of these smaller paintings has a more pleasing and satisfactory design element.  Depicted here are the two finished paintings, Shazam 1 and Shazam 2.  They could be matted and hung as a grouping, but would work equally well hung individually.  These works would be considered tonal paintings.  They were painted as if it were a rainy day, or first light, or even possibly last light, when the natural light is lower and the details of the flowers are less discernable.

For individuals like me, who suffer from seasonal asthma, Spring, with all of her fragrant abundance, brings the 'gift' of awakened allergies.  Riding in my car with the top down, with the wind blowing in my face, is a luxury that I can ill afford.  I cannot take an inhaled breath of Spring's fabulous bouquet without ingesting the flowers' pollen, and sneezing for days afterward.  This year the oak pollen has been at an all-time high, covering the sidewalks, grass and cars with its old gold green catkins.  When it rains, it knocks the pollen out of the air, but the wet seed pods need to be swept away, or they will stain everything a dirty brown color.  Oak bloom, as it is lovingly called, also plays havoc with my ability to breathe, talk, and laugh without coughing at length.  So, to pay homage to the complete picture that Spring brings to me, with her blossoms of fabulous and amazing color, I have completed a traditional watercolor on Arches 140-pound CP rag paper called An Ode to Spring.

The picture plane is filled with many imagined forms of the various pollens that fill our air and torment those who have lived in our fair city for any length of time.  This painting completes my personal celebration of Spring, and captures all the facets of the flora extraordinaire...all the good and the somewhat evil characteristics.  It could be said that the pollen is Mother Nature's little irony for us mortals...a real 'gotcha!'

Color at Play...Dancing in the Wind

March has arrived, and the wind is blowing a gale today.  In fact, it's been gathering velocity since about the 23rd of January!  I thought it fitting to honor the wind with a post about my newly-created prayer flags.  During the holidays, my friend's daughter-in-law gave her a three-yard-long artist's interpretation of a Tibetan prayer flag.  It just captured me!  The colors were vibrant, and it had such a great feel.

I was so taken with it that I wanted to make one for myself, so I studied the construction and took note of the materials required.

MODA markets several fabric products that feature similar patterns in a variety of color combinations and sizes:  Charm-paks, Layer cakes, Honey buns, etc.  Even the names of the products appealed to me.  In the Charm-paks, each an assortment of 5 X 5 inch squares, MODA offers many combinations of batik patterns.  I love batiks, as I can see the artist's hand in the fabric design, as well as the spontaneous color combinations that occur within the dye and wax-resist process.  I chose the batik Charm-paks for these very reasons for my version of the prayer flags.

Authentic Tibetan prayer flags are limited to these specific colors:  red, white, blue, green and yellow.  They signify fire, air / clouds, sky / space, water and earth.  The flags traditionally contain writing, a sacred animal, or a mantra.  They are used to promote peace, compassion and wisdom.  It is believed that the prayers contained within are blown in the wind, bringing joy.  The Tibetan word for the horizontal prayer flag is Lung ta, which translates literally as wind horse.  Over the years, since 1959, when China invaded Tibet and made refugees of many peace-loving Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, the flags have become symbolic of prayers for a peaceful world in the Peace Flag Project.  The people of the world have been invited to make their own flags to express their wishes for the world.  Although the flags may be hung indoors, they are intended to be strung up outside where the wind will disperse their messages.
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My prayer flags are hung across the bar separating the dining room from the kitchen, and remind me daily to remain hopeful.  They serve as a visual reminder to send prayers out for world peace, kindness, compassion and generosity.  Their bright and vivid colors both delight and lift my heart whenever I gaze upon them.
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The Tibetan prayer flags depicted here are made of fringe 3 yards long with two batik squares sewn back to back along the top of the fringe base tape, equally spaced in a row.  It's important to find fringe that has a significant band at the top, greater than 1 inch in width.  I took many liberties with the colors used, and chose their placement randomly.  The result is color at play, dancing in the wind.  What could be more appropriate as we celebrate March and the promise of an early spring...?

Love Abides...

For the past forty years, people have been at the center of my professional life in a number of ways.  I have learned to listen beyond the words people use to express themselves, and to hear the variety of messages they convey.  Most of these messages are rarely spoken, per se.  When recruiting, I strive to really understand the attributes, skills, experience and education a person needs to successfully fulfill the job requirements.  In this setting, I sit back and take things in.  As an observer, my intuitive skills have been honed to an art form.  This is very helpful in making a hiring decision, and it's really no different in my personal life when I go about making friends.  If anything, I become even more discerning in picking companions for friendship along my life journey.  I have little time for pastimes, so in order to spend my time more productively, I am very selective about what I do and with whom I do it. I do not mind spending time alone.  In fact, I need some quiet time every day.  Maybe because my day's activities are so public, filled with a lot of people and drama, quiet time alone is precious.  Some people meditate...I think when alone.  I examine many things:  people, situations, theories...and the list goes on and on.  I turn them over in my mind's eye to examine and ponder from various points of view.  This is a very satisfying pastime for me, as it allows me to see beneath the surface.

So many people reveal their core values and the goodness held within by the numerous gifts given to others of their time, talent and selves.  This is even more amazing when the individual doesn't encourage close relationships, yet constantly gives.  This type of behaviour reveals a caring and generous heart.  'By his deeds shall he be known' is an old saying that rings true here.  I heard this growing up, and it remains alive and applicable today.  Contemplating such thoughts as these led me to create this next painting.  This work began as a random watercolor with radiant hues, splashed, dripped and painted on a 22" X 30" piece of Arches CP 140-lb rag paper.  Bright, cool colors were interspersed with marks of a watercolor crayon in old gold green.  There was no particular pattern, no form reminiscent of any particular object, just splashes and patterns of color throughout the picture plane.  When this was dry, black gesso was brayered randomly over the surface to set up a visual tension between extreme light brights and darker darks.  This application was allowed to dry thoroughly before an acrylic gloss varnish glaze was applied over the whole painting.  This is a very important step, as it allows the colors to separate and 'snap' to the attention of the viewer, often defining random shapes and forms that heretofore were hidden within the painting's landscape.

After this step, I photographed the piece and called it Fire and Smoke, as it reminded me of ashes.

I began to see a heart form within the picture plane.  Not totally satisfied, I continued to apply my 'edit-eye' for several days.  I decided to pursue the heart shape, and to give it greater definition.  I chose a translucent metallic brown paint to apply over the negative space surrounding the heart.  The heart form is off-center and turned slightly, as if trying to escape the attention of the viewer.  The brown was applied in thin layers, with some overlapping to form additional texture within the flat negative space.  This created some visual interest away from the heart shape.  The heart holds the viewer's eye as the focal point of this painting.  I then added a bit of copper to warm up the sweetness of the pink within the heart.  While the brown was drying, I drew into the surface of the negative space, making marks signifying the licks and kicks that life provides us on our worldly journey.  Some of those licks cut deep and leave scars...heavy marks that teach us lessons along the way.  These lessons are depicted in the painting by the black marks overlaid with red.  The red here is symbolic of lessons learned.  It is so important as we experience life, even though it may batter us a bit, that we never miss the lesson.

February is a month of celebrating hearts in all the various ways we experience love, friendship and caring.  I call this painting I See the Goodness Within Your Heart.

This painting celebrates those friends who may never be able to say the words 'I love you', but tell us by their kind and generous deeds that spring from that vast reservoir held within...their heart of hearts.

Raise your glasses, folks, one more time...to February, before she slips away.  Look around and see...love abides...here's to the goodness held within the heart.

Farewell to the Dragon

Today is the last day of the Chinese Year of the Dragon, and it seemed appropriate to pay homage to its fearsome, feisty nature.  Ever since I discovered the red and gold Chinese dragon puppet at the Art Institute of Chicago in December of 2011, I have been captured by its undulating form.

Using the whole surface of my latest linoleum cut, I printed it black-on-white on a quarter-sheet (approximately 11 X 15) of Arches Cold-Press 140 lb paper.  The shapes lend themselves readily to the dragons depicted in ancient Asian silkscreens, paintings and panels.  Oftentimes in Western culture the dragon is construed as evil and destructive, but in Eastern traditions it is a fierce protector and a benevolent force that keeps evil and misfortune at bay.

The Twin Dragons is my whimsical effort to capture the mystical spirit of these mythological creatures.  As we enter into the Year of the Snake, may it be one of good fortune.

Hearts, hearts and more hearts...!

It's February already, and Groundhog Day has now passed.  The groundhog saw his shadow, so we are due an early spring.  Before I get to spring and all the promise that the season holds, I must celebrate the season of hearts...and Valentine's Day.  I must admit it is one of my favorite holidays, and I truly love it's symbol:  the heart.  With rounded edges and a sharp point, it's shape is pleasing to me, as well as all it represents.  A romantic at heart, I relish making art 'for heart's sake'...!    This February is no different, as I began to think about making Valentines a few weeks ago.

Using my newly carved linoleum block, I printed several 3 X 5 watercolor cards with images in a black gesso medium mixture on white.

linoleum block...



After they were completely dry, I added gold and a few reddish highlights.  This was done randomly, as design elements, with no real outcome in mind.  Truly an experimental exploration of the printed shapes and lines, it was more about how the blocks looked once printed.  After doing several, I set them aside.  When a few weeks had passed, I decided it was the season of hearts, so I retrieved them from the pile and looked at them once again.  The old childhood riddle came to mind:  'What's black and white and red all over?'  Where the old answer was 'a newspaper', I mentally added 'my Valentines'.  So with that silly riddle in my head, I began my current quest to make a few Valentine cards.  Instead of a true red, I mixed Scarlet Lake watercolor with copper and gold metallic fluid acrylic paint to make a red-orange color.  I used this red-orange on some, and on others I used a true red handmade paper.  Both served as the base paper color for hand-cut hearts.

After ten or so printed and collaged little works of art, I branched out to try a similar technique on mounted Ampersand boards fitted with specially treated paintable surfaced grounds for all water media.

These are the results of my experimental play...

The cards...

The blocks are larger.  The first two are 6 X 6, the third is 5 X 5...

If you haven't made a Valentine since you were a kid, there is no time like now to do it.  Your favorite sweetheart will appreciate seeing your hand in the card's creation.  For you, the creator, get ready to feel a tremendous sense of satisfaction. For the recipient of your handiwork...well, get ready to see their delight!

Happy Valentine's Day...!  May you find a real sweet heart...!