PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
March 3, 2010
March arrives in our neck of the woods with gusts of wind and snow on its breath. A good sign, me thinks, as it points toward more normal weather and some hope for spring.
Practice makes perfect – that’s my mantra for this week. I have focused, re-focused, kept my focus, renewed my focus and acknowledged my new focus. Now it is time for Practice.
I’m not moving as fast as hoped (interruptions from every direction), but I’m gonna share these paintings with you anyway.
Perhaps you will recall my new theme of Large Montana Water, which I have already adjusted to Big Western Rivers and will probably change again as I get deeper in the process. Choosing the first scene is difficult. You know, when you begin some new journey you never know in advance what the outcome will be. You just begin somewhere and little by little you find the courage to get more adventurous, assert yourself and rise to the challenges presented and somewhere along the way you begin to understand the true meaning of your undertaking. Did you get that? Whew! Maybe I should re-state that in a couple of sentences.
Some of the excitement comes in the very beginning. You have a rudder, a sail, a direction to travel, the skills and equipment, the desire and focus, but you have no idea if you will succeed or fail or even what the adventure will bring. So you just start. I chose a scene I love dearly, one filled with memories stretched over many years.
Good Morning 14 x 18 oil
I’ll probably work on this one some more. It gave me a gentle beginning as I thought about those chilly summer mornings with the night’s rain clouds slowly lifting in the fresh sunlight. The earth is refreshed and the pungent fragrance of wet grass and forest matter underfoot permeates the air. Lots of fish will take the bite today and around every corner ideas for new paintings abound.
Now with one nearly done, I jump headfirst into the next. The reins are in my hands now and my confidence spurs the beast into action.
River Run 30 x 40 Oil #1
I’ve chosen a large canvas; a grand river scene, dramatic afternoon light, heavy summer foliage and rocks!
River Run 30 x 40 Oil #2
I’ve advanced to here in two full days of painting and I am having so much fun. These big paintings are such a treat – one huge brush and lots of paint!
Paintings (especially large ones) create their own sort of energy. It is as though you are pulled into the scene as you paint. Literally, I could feel the air and sun, smell the river and grass and pine needles as I walked along the shore or in the water over rocks unaware that only my memory was at play – this was not reality. If a long interval occurs between painting sessions this intense, some of the magic disappears. And so, to return to work on this painting, now a week later, I must paint another similar scene, get involved once again in a new beginning and then in the heat of the moment, jump back into the original painting with the same fervor. Not easy – unless you can build in a large block of time. I didn’t have that opportunity last week and so I grabbed this painting which has been hanging out in my studio needing attention for about a year and completed my re-work in a couple of hours.
Short Stop at the Falls 16 x 20 Oil
I began this painting a year ago, hit a brick wall for some reason, and stacked it against the wall. I love this falls in the Tetons. Initially I used one photo which showed a large log jam in the river. More recently, I took photos of this falls without the log jam and decided the warm water color was a better compliment to the warm earth colors and removed any hint of a log jam!
Now to get back into the flow of the large painting, I have begun a small water scene – again with a subject of water, rocks, trees and scattered sunlight. This will be fun.
Welcome Wilderness Trail 12 x 12 Oil
I can see my day ahead of me full of hours in the studio. It’s time to get back to the magic of painting. Thanks for heading out on this new journey with me. I wonder where it will take us.
Don’t forget the
SECOND FRIDAY STUDIO WALK
March 12
4:00 pm to 9:00 pm
At my studio in Castle Pines Village, Colorado
Email or call for directions.
Thanks again to my faithful readers for allowing me this dialog. Please sign up for my Email Newsletter.
Ciao!
Ginger
