The Contemplative Artist (2015 February, France)

The Contemplative Artist

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Yes, I am working while in France.   (shown here are bits of works-in-progress)

Daily I work on one or two paintings. The last time I concentrated so much on painting was the last time I was here in Payenché - two and a half years ago.  Since then I have done very little art, truly, being so focused on teaching and all that goes with those responsibilities.  I love teaching and I love my students so much and I dedicated myself totally to them - to the detriment of my personal artwork.  Now it is taking a while to get back into the creative mode. 

Truthfully it was probably the mid-eighties or early-nineties when I felt the most successful and satisfied with my painting, especially in oil.  But then certain familial circumstances caused me to stop oil painting.  Painting which at the time, I feel, had become productive, well planned and accomplished.  There were creative plans and processes:  thumbnail sketches in black and white, then in color, specific and sophisticated color schemes created for each painting, then a quick final over-study in a smaller form, and finally … easily and enjoyably the painting came into being.  It was not for my own situation, but for the discomfort of another, that I had to stop.  

    "Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do."  ~Edgar Degas

Pastel and watercolor painting I continued.  Soft pastel eventually became my favorite medium.  It was easy to pick up and put down when children were young.  Pastel is a way to keep working when it was so easy to stop completely (as many of my artist friend mothers did).  Soft pastel is the most pure medium being formed from pure pigment with just enough glycerin or other binder to hold the stick together.  It is immediate, exhilarating, gratifying.  Energy, texture, color, emotion - all come together in an intuitive and transient experience to create an exciting work of art.  

At times, the artist within struggles.  Inspiration comes and goes so I must work whether I am enthused or not.   Dreary and frustrating old habits of thinking constantly sit behind me, taking turns criticizing or encouraging.  I concentrate on relaxing and becoming more fluid in my work, trusting the creative spirits within, yet often I am overruled by the meddlesome trained artist who knows “just how something should be done, and then the work becomes stilted and unsatisfying.  Toiling to overcome these old habits is difficult.  Too many years of authoritative strictures trying to control the process today. 

"The artist uses the talent he has, wishing he had more talent. The talent uses the artist it has, wishing it had more artist." ~Robert Brault

 

I do find that pastels still give me the greatest freedom and joy in creating paintings.  I sometimes consider focusing solely on this approach, but then the gallery agent in the back corner of my mind says: “hmm, but will they sell?”  A great artist should not even ever have to consider this!!  However, one must make some sort of income, so there is a tussle there.  If an artist can be free of this consideration, free of whether something will sell or whether anyone else likes it at all, if one can be truly free, then the best art is created.  This I believe.  But to acquire this freedom ... ah ... that is a great challenge! 

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams

 

** Artwork Website:  TravelingArtista.com **  

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