It's an interesting mix of confidence and terror as I approach the 30x40" gessobord surface. Some find the blank white surface intimidating, but I actually think it's beautiful and inviting. Yes. Yes, that's what I think! It's one thing to paint whatever I want, knowing I don't have to show it to anyone and by contrast painting something for an upcoming exhibit. There is a certain pressure that involves not failing. I try to shove that thought aside whenever it rears its ugly head. I'm not afraid, I'm excited! (One of our family mottos...)
Well, I discovered once again, that making that first step to dive in is all it takes to jump on this ride. Such a relief. Why can't I remember this? You can see that I am 2/3 done with the underpainting I spoke of in yesterday's blogpost. The fight I had in my mind, as I went to sleep last night, was whether to create a smooth, serene sky or something with more color and movement. I kind of came down in the middle. The white area will become the sea and in the foreground, the beach. The lower part of the sky will be smoother, with a more serene feel moving up into some beautiful areas of great movement and color, perhaps suggesting the greater universe. My thinking on this is that I want to save some areas or "windows" that show great beauty and life as I add the next step on top of this underpainting. So I concentrated not on making it a recognizable or realistic sky, but rather creating areas of beautiful color interaction. My ultimate goal is to create a painting that is about beauty up against wreckage. We will see....
Well, I discovered once again, that making that first step to dive in is all it takes to jump on this ride. Such a relief. Why can't I remember this? You can see that I am 2/3 done with the underpainting I spoke of in yesterday's blogpost. The fight I had in my mind, as I went to sleep last night, was whether to create a smooth, serene sky or something with more color and movement. I kind of came down in the middle. The white area will become the sea and in the foreground, the beach. The lower part of the sky will be smoother, with a more serene feel moving up into some beautiful areas of great movement and color, perhaps suggesting the greater universe. My thinking on this is that I want to save some areas or "windows" that show great beauty and life as I add the next step on top of this underpainting. So I concentrated not on making it a recognizable or realistic sky, but rather creating areas of beautiful color interaction. My ultimate goal is to create a painting that is about beauty up against wreckage. We will see....