THE RESULTS OF FOCUS
February 3, 2010
Wade in the Water 18 x 24 Oil
Available through Salon International 2010
First let me share with you my good news that one of my paintings was juried into Salon International 2010 to be held at the Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art in San Antonio, TX in April. I am honored and very excited.
The subject of focus continues. I have taken my own advice, finally, and am happy to report that concentrated, focused effort using both sides of my brain actually creates results. Tell me what you think….. Here are the first 4 (you saw in the last blog) and the next 8 paintings of England all done in about 3 weeks. If I had chosen to paint larger paintings it would have taken longer and you can gather that some of these are really just sketches.
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England # 1, New Forest 8 x 10 Oil
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England # 2, Winter Solstice Sun 9 x 12 Oil
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England # 3, Beach Huts 12 x 16 Oil
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England # 4, Customs Buildings 9 x 12 Oil
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England # 5, Clouds to the North 12 x 9 Oil
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England # 6, Snow in the Forecast 11 x 14 Oil
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England # 7, Tangled Boats; Low Tide
16 x 20 Oil
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England # 8, Marsh on the Solent 9 x 12 Oil
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England # 9, Cotswold Christmas
11 x 14 Oil
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England # 10, From the Top of the Ridge – Isle of Wight 12 x 16 Oil
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England # 11, Headlights in the Fog
8 x 10 Oil
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England # 12, Christmas Wishes 8 x 16 Oil
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All of this took a lot of hours in the studio and I will probably re-work some of them and others are simply playful sketches. A sharp critique will and has been ongoing and I know there is room for growth. Nevertheless, I have succeeded in the steps I set out to accomplish my goal. Not only have I found that when focusing on one subject (England this time) I didn’t get bored, once I really got started, and I began to feel more in tune with my subject the longer I painted. Initially I got antsy and jumped to another painting, but almost immediately I felt the urge to complete the English painting goal and I never looked back. You probably won’t notice, but I did jump ahead in time in the sequence. In reality we visited the Isle of Wight before we headed to the Cotswolds for Christmas. Did that constitute a lack of focus or just a desire to allow some freedom in this quest? I really can’t always follow the rules, you know, but you probably already guessed that.
I usually jump around from one geographic location to another and from a broad and grand view to a more intimate one. Will I continue to focus on a single subject for a collection of paintings? Will my dedication to one geographic location for a series of paintings bring me eventually to boredom? Will the results of this focused effort help me grow and learn and get better as an artist?
I know one thing for sure: it really is all about FOCUS. “The art of focus is elusive and difficult to maintain.” True.
I’ve many more mistakes to make. Let’s hope they aren’t repeated mistakes! And I have many more steps to accomplish in order to reach my ultimate goal. Life is a problem to be solved, a journey of understanding and growth; so enjoy every human moment of it.
Before I forget: YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE INVITED TO MY:
SECOND FRIDAY STUDIO WALKS
February 12, March 12 and April 9
4:00 pm to 9:00 pm
At my studio in Castle Pines Village, Colorado
Email or call for directions.
Thanks to you, my faithful readers for allowing me to carry on writing from the heart. Hang out on my web site for a while and return often as I always have new paintings to share. Please sign up for my Email Newsletter. The next one will be published in a couple of weeks.
Ciao!
Ginger
