11-28-09

I'm making slow progress lately on the paintings in progress; it's a busy time of the year!  A couple of things have happened lately.  I sent ten images of recent paintings to an expert to be critiqued.  I wanted to know why my paintings don't get selected for alot of the shows to which I enter.  It's actually a little scary to do that, because you have to be ready to hear criticism.  I was, though, and what I got from it that was most valuable is that I've lost some of my "painter-ly-ness", and I think it's because I've been painting mostly from photographs.  I'm getting pretty good at copying a photograph, which is making me a pretty good artist.   I don't want to be a pretty good painter.  I want to be a GREAT painter!  I'll spend the rest of my life striving to reach that goal.  That's half the fun of it, really.

I've decided to start painting mostly from life.  I'll be doing alot of small practice paintings, and will be calling them my "Plein Air, Alla Prima".  They'll be just as described.  I'll set up simple still-lifes, or go outside somewhere and paint a scene, giving myself one hour from the moment my brush touches the canvas.  I believe this will help me become a better painter, plus it's fun to paint like that!  Here's the first one; I'd like to do one a day, but haven't done it - need to organize my time better, obviously!  I might go to two hours after a few one-hour sessions - depends on how I feel about it at the time.  The cool thing is that I'll be enjoying myself!

The picture is less bright than the painting really is - I kind of like it.

Next year about this time, I'm planning to have a one-woman show.  I love doing that!  I don't know any more details than that, but will start planning it after the first of the year.  I'll have plenty of paintings for it; so far this year, I've completed 20 paintings, and will be up to at least  22 or 23 by the end of the year.  That's alot of painting!  It's really been great, and I do think my paintings are better than they were at the beginning of the year.  I look forward to continueing my "Painting Frenzy", as a friend and fellow painter called it.