I had an epiphany about my painting...and then about my life

I realized the other day, while I was working on a new painting, that my best work, the work that has the most depth, is usually accomplished by painting a new painting on top of an old one.  Why is that?  because what inevitably ends up happening is that I leave parts of the old painting visible in the new painting.  It is almost unrecognizable in the sense that the intention of the old painting is usually completely covered up--but small details, layers of color or shape, are woven in.  In doing this, the painting takes on more layers, more detail and usually a sense of freedom or etheriality.  The weaving of layers is an essential accident of my best work.

When I realized this I had two thoughts almost simultaneously--the first thought was I need to start doing this intentionally.  I decided to start creating "underpaintings" as a part of my process.  Many artists do this, at least with color washes--they paint a solid color or color wash onto their canvas before they begin a painting.  This way, when they paint, they are responding to a unified color throughout the work (instead of the stark white of a blank canvas).  My under painting idea is similar, but rather than wash the whole canvas in one color, i create  a very quick abstract image with multiple shapes and sections, and fill them in with paint or collage.  In doing this, essentially, I"m setting the stage for color play and shape integration by creating pieces that may or may not be woven into my final painting.

This is an underpainting--quick shapes and colors filling the canvas

My second insight was far more personal:  I have moved many times over the past few years.  I find it most striking when thinking in terms of my children and their lives.  My 12 year old son has lived in 8 homes during his life.  That is 5 states and 2 countries.  Considering I lived in the same state for my entire childhood until I graduated college, this moving around thing has been a surprising twist to my life that I could not have even imagined when I was a kid (I had never been on an airplane until I was 11 or 12--my son did his first cross Atlantic flight/move when he was 9 weeks old).

Moving around a lot has added shape and color to my life in ways that I'm not sure I can even explain or fully understand. And while many of the moves have been positive, there have also been challenges.  I certainly did not expect to move from Pennsylvania to Michigan with my boys last year only to move again this year to Maryland.  And while new is exciting, and we might like to think of our life as one big adventure, I am frankly over the adventure.  I would love to settle down, find a home, build a life and let my roots grow deep.

But back to the layers:  I realized, each time I move, each time I become part of a new community, I grow.  I create, or uncover, a piece of myself--and, like my paintings, I realized that as I move on, I become my best self by layering and weaving those pieces together.  SO while the moving has had its challenges, I also know that I am becoming the person I am supposed to be--growing, layering and learning as a result.

Dreaming of Home  36"x48" Mixed Media on Board

This painting, measuring 36" x 48" is the result of painting on top of an existing painting.  It is called "Dreaming of Home"--with each home representing a state or country I have lived in with my family: Michigan, New York, Israel, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,Michigan again and Maryland.

A Year of LIving Creatively

Its been over a year since I made the commitment to making art everyday.   It has been incredibly empowering and has lead to some exciting developments.

One of the best things that has happened is that in a very real way, creating art has lead to more creating of art.  I think this is true of any practice--doing more has lead me to be more motivated and more inspired to do even more.  It is pretty cyclical that way.  And so, the more I create, the more I create.   

It has also been true that the more I create and put out into the social media universe, the more jobs and commissions I have received.  Last week I shipped out 9 (9!!!) paintings to new homes, and I have 5 more in progress that I am hoping to finish and ship out by the end of January.  I'm also working on a new book (details coming soon!) that I am very excited about.

Here are some simple principles that have helped me in my practice of making art every day.  

1.  Making art everyday does not mean finishing a piece of art every day.  It can be anything from doodling/drawing while relaxing at the end of the day to adding a layer or details to a piece of art.  most of my art takes many layers--I almost never finish a piece in one sitting.  so I am not looking towards completion--only working on the process.  

2. Finding my best time to work:  I am at my most creative and motivated in the late morning, so I do my best work then.  I find that if I get started around 9 or 10 in the morning, after getting the kids off to school, attending to emails and more mundane tasks, then by 10 I am ready to get painting.  If I hit my stride, I can work for a few hours before stopping to do other non art related work.  In doing art everyday I have learned that I have a pattern, and if I wait too long to begin, nothing real or productive will get done (unless I am on a deadline, in which case I push myself and end up creating on fumes--sometimes this pushes me to create my best work, other times it just feels desperate).

3. Having supplies at the ready: I know which supplies I use the most, and generally have them available when I get started.  This includes the paint colors I use the most, the brushes, canvases, cups for water (really--you have no idea how annoying it is to be ready to paint and not be able to find a container for water), and a clear working space.  I do like a good art supply run, but running out to the store instead of using that time to create is not so productive.  

Here are some of the pieces I have created this year:  

I have benefitted so much from creating art every day.  I can't wait to see what will happen next!

Freaking Out!!!

Its been about 8 months since I got the call from the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art that they wanted me to do a solo exhibition with 45 original pieces.  This is a really big deal for me, both in terms of venue and in terms of quantity of pieces and exposure.  I was really excited, and nervous, and of course I said yes.
After that call, in July, I had the director of the museum visit my studio and help me determine which pieces would work for the show.  We determined the theme: Tradition and Inspiration, we picked out 43 existing pieces, and we agreed on two large scale pieces based on concept alone.
This means that I have been working for 8 months on getting ready. I have been framing, fixing up and formatting, as well as creating the two new pieces, and finishing up three others.

And here we are---the work is due in ten days, and NOW I'm panicking.  You know that feeling when you've been looking at something for so long that it no longer makes any sense? Thats how I feel about my work right now.
I sort of hate it.  but I love it.  but I hate it.  And I'm wondering if any of it is good enough to be in a museum.  And I want to start completely over, because the work in my head is SO much better than the work that I actually see in front of me.  And whatever I'm working on in the present is always the BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE and everything else that I have ever done is total CRAP.  and also, give it a week, because that is about how long it takes for the best thing I have ever done to become total crap too.
oy vey---I think I'm a little nervous.