.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}
   Welcome to my blog! I'll be posting thoughts about art, photos, happenings, and other things that strike me--and hopefully my readers--as interesting. And please visit my website by clicking the link to the right--thanks!

   Also please check out my second blog, The Painting Archives to see older (pre-2004) paintings for sale.


Sunday, May 18, 2014
  core ideas

In my last post I wrote about shape and its importance in my recent work. But the painting above (36"x48", as yet untitled, oil and mixed media) which I just finished, is about the least shape-ly one I have done in a while! It's atmospheric, shimmery, undefined, with the emphasis on layers of subtle color. It might seem a strange follow up to what I was excited about just a few weeks ago.

But like a lot of artists I almost always have more than one direction evident in my work at any one time. Working back and forth between a paintings that is unfocused and ethereal and one with bold dark shapes, I find my awareness heightened--so that I make the surface colors and textures in the "shape" paintings more subtle, and in the more atmospheric paintings I see soft color/shapes emerging.

Having several approaches going at once also works for me because I see the core ideas they share. In my recent work, both the strong shapes and the softer paintings relate to my time in Ireland and to various aspects of the land there, the soft, textural boglands and the strong shapes of the sea cliffs. As these exist in juxtaposition in the landscape, so do they in my studio. I also have some work going that is quite minimal, mostly white, as in this recent 40"x30" (as yet untitled) painting:


Working in mostly white with emphasis on physical textures has been an ongoing interest for the past five years--it is a longstanding investigation that I keep returning to .These paintings are to me about solitude, quiet, and aging. And so they seem related to almost any other work I am exploring, because these are big, underlying themes that encompass many experiences.

Of course the work of any one artist is connected on some level--all made by the same person at the very least, and very often underlying themes and ideas can be discerned. But how much and what kind of variety to aim for in the studio can also be a challenging issue. As an instructor I work with many artists who are on the path to finding a personal style, and who struggle with (to quote the singer Joni Mitchell) "the crazy you get from too much choice." Especially with process-oriented methods, such as I teach with cold wax medium, the possibilities inherent in the materials and techniques can easily pull an artist in so many directions that there is little to show who the artist is and what characterizes his or her work.

I often tell my students that their art work is their lifetime research project into what is meaningful to them and how that may best be expressed in communication with the viewer. The beginning stage of producing one-off paintings with little connection to one another is important--experimenting, learning to understanding the materials. But to follow the research analogy, this stage tends to be a little like surfing the internet, browsing around with whatever catches your interest. Which is fun, and can lead to new ideas, and be a jumping off point--but it isn't usually great for gaining in-depth understanding. For that, obviously you need to stick to a main idea and make dedicated searches, print out and study certain pages, make notes--and meanwhile, not be too distracted by YouTube videos or Facebook notifications.

To conduct research via your own art work, what helps a lot of people is to focus down, to set parameters, create in series with defined boundaries, and in the beginning take one step at a time. Until the focus begins to come naturally, it may need to be imposed.

But alongside that serious and dedicated research, a little browsing is also a good thing! By that I mean, find ways to play and experiment off to the side--do quick works on paper, make monotypes, take photos, write in stream-of-consciousness style--whatever is stimulating to your art brain and heart. These kind of activities allow your intuition and spontaneity to flourish and are important to sustaining your energy for the deeper and more focused work.

If you are struggling on this path, know that with dedication to studio practice, there will come a time when your core of meaning has grown strong and solid. Explorations can freely sprout in various directions, simultaneously or in succession, and there will always be connecting ideas.
 
Comments:
Great post! I want to read it again when I am home again from long journey. There is great food in this for my brain.
 
Love the white painting, in particular, Rebecca! This post and the earlier post about Shape are both wonderful reading!
 
Important reading for me. Being a relatively new artist I am traveling the road to finding my voice. The more art I make the more I see I will get there eventually. Reading you post reminds me of the value to "truck on" and know it will come. Thanks
 
Thanks very much for your responses. I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately and may perhaps have more to say in future posts.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

       www.rebeccacrowell.com




     September 2005 /      October 2005 /      November 2005 /      December 2005 /      January 2006 /      February 2006 /      March 2006 /      April 2006 /      May 2006 /      June 2006 /      July 2006 /      August 2006 /      September 2006 /      October 2006 /      November 2006 /      December 2006 /      January 2007 /      February 2007 /      March 2007 /      April 2007 /      May 2007 /      June 2007 /      July 2007 /      August 2007 /      September 2007 /      October 2007 /      November 2007 /      December 2007 /      January 2008 /      February 2008 /      March 2008 /      April 2008 /      May 2008 /      June 2008 /      July 2008 /      August 2008 /      September 2008 /      October 2008 /      November 2008 /      December 2008 /      January 2009 /      February 2009 /      March 2009 /      April 2009 /      May 2009 /      June 2009 /      July 2009 /      August 2009 /      September 2009 /      October 2009 /      November 2009 /      December 2009 /      January 2010 /      February 2010 /      March 2010 /      April 2010 /      May 2010 /      June 2010 /      July 2010 /      August 2010 /      September 2010 /      October 2010 /      November 2010 /      December 2010 /      January 2011 /      February 2011 /      March 2011 /      April 2011 /      May 2011 /      June 2011 /      July 2011 /      August 2011 /      September 2011 /      October 2011 /      November 2011 /      December 2011 /      January 2012 /      February 2012 /      March 2012 /      April 2012 /      May 2012 /      June 2012 /      July 2012 /      August 2012 /      September 2012 /      October 2012 /      November 2012 /      December 2012 /      January 2013 /      February 2013 /      March 2013 /      April 2013 /      May 2013 /      June 2013 /      July 2013 /      August 2013 /      September 2013 /      October 2013 /      November 2013 /      December 2013 /      January 2014 /      February 2014 /      March 2014 /      April 2014 /      May 2014 /      June 2014 /      July 2014 /      August 2014 /      September 2014 /      October 2014 /      November 2014 /      December 2014 /      January 2015 /      February 2015 /      March 2015 /      April 2015 /      May 2015 /      June 2015 /      July 2015 /      August 2015 /      September 2015 /      October 2015 /      November 2015 /      December 2015 /      January 2016 /      February 2016 /      March 2016 /      April 2016 /      June 2016 /      July 2016 /      August 2016 /      September 2016 /      October 2016 /      November 2016 /      December 2016 /      January 2017 /      February 2017 /      March 2017 /      May 2017 /      June 2017 /      July 2017 /      August 2017 /      September 2017 /      October 2017 /      November 2017 /      December 2017 /      January 2018 /      March 2018 /      April 2018 /      May 2018 /      June 2018 /      August 2018 /      September 2018 /      October 2018 /      November 2018 /      December 2018 /      February 2019 /      April 2019 /      May 2019 /      June 2019 /      July 2019 /      August 2019 /      September 2019 /      October 2019 /      December 2019 /      January 2020 /      March 2020 /      April 2020 /      May 2020 /      June 2020 /      August 2020 /      October 2020 /      January 2021 /      March 2021 /      May 2021 /      September 2021 /

       Rebecca Crowell