Process and Progress

The new year will bring a new batch of paintings. This group will concern a period of time stretching from October ’05 to June ’06. All of them will be based on experiences since my return to the New Orleans area.

The pieces will again feature abstract patterns of dots. All I have to do is work out the dots. The backgrounds are finished.

So what about this past year?

I guess I’ll have to chalk this one up to “process” and “progress.” Although I have not taken any specific direction, there are hints of evolution along the way. With each new work I’ve completed, I have brought a new solution to a certain format. I have exerted more control over the colors I’ve used. Some works have surprised me and excited me.

Sometimes, it is best just to dive in . .

Transition

Artistically I am befuddled. I know where I’ve already been and I’m not sure where I want to go next. I certainly know what I am tired of doing. At this point I find myself in transition to whatever is next.

Just painting and not having a direction can really be a disaster. I work best when I have a general idea and dive in. Minus that and I just make a mess
of materials.

Over the last few years I have made a point of looking at art that is being made now. I’ve traveled to see art elsewhere. Nothing has moved me to do something specific, but I have been moved by some of the work I’ve seen.
I guess all the visual input will eventually be a catalyst for whatever I
make next.

Oh, I wish this would happen soon . . .

Up All Night!

Marathon painting is not ideal, but sometimes I just have no choice.
Thus was the scenario last Tuesday night. By 6 p.m. Wednesday I had to deliver art for an annual art show. That was the “cut-off.” It’s one of the better-attended shows I participate in all year. Last year’s show was canceled with all the Katrina upset.

So I had the television going and I set up my palette near the range in the kitchen. I had my roll of paper towels ready. Yes, I am a messy painter.
The remote was to my right. As I completed another area of dots, I had to find a place for that canvas to dry. Rotating between three canvases worked out fine.

On into the a.m. hours I continued to mix and paint. What color do I do next? Once in a while I had to change channels on the tube. Finally around 6 a.m. I was adding dots to the sides of the canvas. By 7 a.m. I was in bed resting up for the final touches.

Some hours later I sealed the pieces with a gloss finish. Around 1 p.m. I added signatures. After grabbing lunch I did I a final glaze over the signatures. Then I added screw eyes and wire. That went smoothly this go round. I labeled the backs of the canvases and put them in the car.

I drove madly Uptown for the drop-off. Arriving with an hour and a half to spare I breathed a sigh of relief. I set them down and was gone. Now I was back to the film fest schedule.

This weekend I finally managed to catch up on sleep. Marathon painting really did in me for a few days. I had hoped to finish these sooner having started them four months ago. Before I was sure how they were going to end up, I had to send in titles for the title cards. I simply named them
“Uno”, “Dos” and “Tres”. Click on the links to see them.

Deadlines

Sure I’ve had deadlines for art shows before. Unfortunately the artwork I make, when I have one, is never as good. Worse yet is when I don’t know where I want to take a piece. Such is my dilemma tonight. I know I need to finish and nothing is clicking. Even if I do have the pieces in a show for the next two weeks, they might not be really finished

Art is Slow

No matter how long I’ve been making art, it is still a slow and draining process. I had assumed at some point it would become easier. Then again, I don’t like to keep doing the same thing over and over again either.

Coming up with a new directions is not easy. I’m constantly looking at books or shows featuring contemporary art. There are too many works that are derivative of what’s gone before. Once in a while I see something memorable that inspires me. Anyway, back to the studio.

Didn't Like at First

Once in a while I make a piece that I don’t like at first. But then, some time later, I realize I’ve made a breakthrough.

In making some pieces last fall, I felt like I was in an artistic rut. That has hindered me from creating new work. A few weeks back I made myself paint. Although finishing the pieces was a slow process, I feel like I made progress.

Sometimes I just have to do and hope for the best. In the meantime I’ve already sold three of the new ones. Now I just need to finish the eleven remaining. They are three fifths of the way completed.

Creative Burst

Suddenly the creative energy has come back in a burst. I need to just run with it while it lasts. I’ve digested what’s happened in recent months and now I am anxious to dive in again.

For a while I got bored and burnt out. I guess it is part of the process. You exhaust exploration in a certain direction and then it is time to go another way.

I wish all this was less of a roller coaster . . .

Insomnia

I’m ready to go to sleep, but my mind is still awake. Oh, another thought. Then another thought. And don’t forget this. And don’t forget that. Oh, but that made me think of another this or that. When will my Tylenol PM kick-in. Hmmm . . . maybe the monitor will wear my eyes out making it easier to close them and . . . OK, my eyelids are starting to close. Maybe I’ll have luck this time.

Creative Block

Once in a while I experience “creative block.” I produce absolutely nothing. It is very frustrating to NOT be inspired.

During these interims I still look at other art for ideas. Yet, nothing comes. Not that I’m interested in merely imitating someone else’s art. I simply hope that something I see will be a catalyst for my own artistic expression. Usually that “spark” comes when I am doing something else.

Remakes

Recently there have been a number of 70s movie remakes with more on the way. For the summer season we will see "Poseidon" and "Omen" going head to head. Of course special effects are more spectacular now than back then when Irwin Allen ruled the disaster movie genre.

So what is it that makes us redo something old over and over - as I move my thoughts to art. Haven't we seen enough still lifes, figures, landscapes and so on? If you see some abstracts, haven't you really seen everything?

As I look at video clips there are people taking what they see on television and at movie theaters to make there own versions on video. Sometimes these folks manage to do something interesting, but often times their
efforts miss.

There is an amount of comfort in things that are already familiar. However, I do prefer something new - particularly something unexpected.

You know, surprise me for once.

Repeat

An aunt of mine has seen "Walk the Line" six times. It's been a while since I'v heard of someone going back to see a movie more than once. That was more of 70s thing.

In eighth grade there was a girl who had seen "Star Wars" a bunch of times. She had "Star Wars" sheets, toothbrush and so on. When I saw "Jaws" the girls in front of me had seen it already and advised me that it would scare the hell out of me.

But then I remember the folks whose holidays are not complete if they have not watched "It's a Wonderful Life" or "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Then there are those who await an annual showing of "The Wizard of Oz" or maybe have to watch "The Sound of Music" the next time it comes on. OK, so I have soft spot for those two, too.

A friend will IM me and tell me that he's watching a particular version of "Numa Numa" video again. I think he watches that video at least once a day now, if not more. He loves happy music.

People say you see more things each time you watch something. I'm not convinced it is true with everything you watch. Maybe it's true for complicated plots or plots with many twists. There are some things that are the same for me no matter what number of times I watch. But there is at least a familiarity that is comforting. The surprises are not quite as jarring as the first go 'round.

I do get bored quickly . . . next topic.

This Year Like Last Year

Back in 2000 there was a musical review I saw at a theater in our "arts district." The show was full of excitement about a new millennium, but it also had a cynical undertone of "well it feels a lot like the old one." Becky Allen still made the show a fun experience.

There is the old French expression "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

So far this year is a continuation of the last one. The number is just a number and the problems are not going to be solved overnight.

Here's to something different soon . . .

New Year

A new year is just like a blank canvas. The question becomes what should I do next?

First I'll have to kick around some ideas. Four months of hurricane and flood woes have been tiresome. So, I'm definitely ready to move on to something else. (By the way, my roof and gutters are fixed.)

There are some pieces I need to finish, but I have to start working some new stuff.