Painting Ramblings & Happy Accident
Posted on Mar 25, 2007
This morning I related I was finished painting Oakland. Soy libre!I dug into a new canvas today--my first "New Mexico painting as a New Mexico artist." I was a bit apprehensive as I haven't painted for awhile, what with all the moving preparations, moving, getting settled, etc. Really, it's been 3 or 4 months since I seriously set to canvas. And getting out of the groove is evil easy, getting back into it can be like making and baking bricks.
The best thing I've done recently was to quit the Oakland series and dig into new work. Should have done it a week ago. It's that stupid "clean up your plate" thing. Finish what you started. The Puritan work ethic. When was that? Like 300 years ago? What I say (ok, after a whole week of guilt) is if it's not working out then toss it out. Life is too short to "should" on yourself. Go forth and get a grip.
I've got 2 drawings on canvas--started painting today on the one I mentioned would be similar to Painted Desert (you can see it, along with a lot of my other work at: www.trishbooth.com). I tend to paint large, and although this one isn't big--it's only 36" x 36"--still it took me all day to get the underpainting done. I am as fastidious with the underpainting as I am with everything else--yes, you could call me "anal" when it comes to painting. I insist everything be as close as I can get it to final, even on the opening pass. I've found that saves me lots and lots of grief in the long run--especially as I want a really smooth, finished surface, and I work with lots of blending. Big gobs of painterly paint just don't do the trick for me. But that's not this discussion.
In another surprise on this piece--I see images emerging from the clouds that I'm going to leave in. Yea, it's OK to see anything in clouds when you're on your back in a meadow doing nothing, it's another, quite considered thing, to leave them in your paintings. Then it turns into a statement.
Since I grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana--that cloud image of the skull in the sky....reminded me of that. A narrative of sorts.
All accidental! All marvelous! Oh the happy accident....I'm out of, or lost, or misplaced, my Cereluean Blue. Necessary for the top part of the sky. All I have are cool blues with the exception of one, Indanthrone blue--a recent discovery and new favorite. I couldn't make Cereluean but I made something that gave me close to the effect I required (without a three-hour trip into Santa Fe and back, YAY!!). Turquoise/Indanthrone.
Lindy (2007-03-26)
Oh my goodness, Trish. You are talented. Really. I've run across several blogs of artists and have wandered over to take a look at their stuff and.. typically, I'll think, 'Good for you that you are doing what you love..' but rarely do I wander over and find myself saying, 'Holy holy! This is amazing!' When you sit in front of a canvas, you make it come alive with a culture I've never experienced and want to know more about. It's quite something.
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