Making a Racket

posted in: All, Art Lessons, USA, Work in Progress | 17

The studio is getting noisy. Paintings lay on the floor, lean against walls, chattering to each other. And to me. Today’s chosen one, propped up on the bamboo chair/easel, holds court in the designated place of honor. Sketches, tacked up with painter’s tape and fluttering with the movement of the ceiling fan, lend voices to the choir. Or should I say racket?

Writers tell us that their fictional characters talk back, let them know what they need. Painted counterparts are no less bossy. Artistic characters include figures, architecture, landscape, and abstract elements such as line, shape, and color. Once placed upon the canvas, they develop a mind of their own. And a dialogue ensues.

Sure it’s loud, but having multiple works in progress is advantageous, even necessary, when in full production mode. Each stage of the painting process, beginning, middle, and end, requires a particular mind set. And I’ve gotten good at knowing where to report for duty. Tired, distracted, or uninspired? Start something new. Feeling confident and capable? Tackle that problem child just begging for resolution. Loose and in the groove? Put down the finishing strokes, sign on the bottom right, and step away.

Whatever the state of mind, there is a piece to match it. That’s one way to keep working.

There are other benefits to the production pipeline. A breakthrough moment on one image may provide the solution for the problem of another. Paint needs to dry on this piece, a timeout is needed from that one. A color is mixed, all wrong for the intended passage, but gorgeous nevertheless. I hold up my mixing knife, slathered with the orphan pigment, searching for a new home. Several. Like a good hostess at a cocktail party, I work the room, making sure the needs of my guests are tended to.

There comes a time though, when each piece must be set apart and given full attention. And if I listen hard enough, it tells me what to do.

thisone
Save the dates:
Exhibit opening, September 2, 2016 at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Bainbridge Island, WA
Multi-media presentation, September 8, 2016, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

17 Responses

  1. Pierr

    Brava, Amy!! This is very exciting. A September exhibition. I like your process of tending to all your paintings as “a good hostess at a cocktail party…” Here’s to a fabulous summer of working the room – with mini parasols. – Pierr

  2. Gayle

    Very delightful and inspiring description of the creative process – that magical sweet spot where technique and intuition work together!

  3. Jennifer

    Tell them they get their first airplane ride soon. See if that settles them down or turns up the volume. I love the image of you being “the hostess” as it implies letting them go at the end of the party, a.k.a, selling them all to new homes!
    xoxo love

  4. Vanessa Davies

    Amy, I love the evocative metaphors you use when you describe your process. I laughed out loud at the waitress reference and found the “orphan pigment” a moving and tender description. Thanks for sharing your process with us!

    • artconsp

      Thanks Vanessa! Looking forward to seeing you at the shore!! Much love to you and Jim.

  5. Denny Fechner

    Love you sharing your creative processes, your art and how you see things. You enrich us all.

    • Denny Fechner

      Thanks for sharing your creative process. Looking forward to Sept show.

      • artconsp

        Thank you Denny! I think we missed each other last visit. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again.

  6. Nancy Filsinger

    Wonderful! I’m so excited to see them in person. You’ve been working very hard!

  7. simonetta

    wonderful description of a multi tasking painter/waitress/poetesse, attending to all with masterly attention/distraction. you really sound like a queen in her own kingdom, and the way you describe the process of ruler among the painted is captivating. i especially love the way the painted and the paint come to life, as you move around them to bring order. really enjoying this blog, thank you!

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