Words of Inspiration

My go to reading material is fiction. My mother would say "weird fiction," because I don't like ordinary romance or mysteries, but if you add a strange character or a strange setting, you might suck me in. I digress, though. The purpose of this post was to share some of the books and podcasts that have helped me with my artistic and/or personal growth.

Books:

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

This book probably comes as no surprise to any of you out there. There are classes and workshops and various other conceptual ways of putting the information in this book to practice in your life. My take-aways...don't judge yourself or your art too harshly, make time to play, channel anger into something positive, try to detach from the crazymakers in your life. I found the "morning pages" exercise to be extremely helpful in clearing my mind for my day. I should do it on a consistent basis. She writes the book speaking of a God or Creator. If this isn't something you believe in, you will probably find the book unreadable.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

 A dear friend suggested that I read this one and sent it to me. I was surprised to learn the author's name because my husband loves Steven Pressfield's fictionalized history novels. I don't think I liked it quite as much as Mike did, but then again, I marked a lot of pages! I think the best part for me was when he talks about treating yourself as a corporation; in other words, write down goals and plan for success, take feedback objectively, not personally and price realistically.

Everyday Sacred by Sue Bender

This book talks about embracing the perfection in imperfection and mindfulness. It was one of those that I liked only "okay" when I read it, but then, a passage that she wrote about a friend doing multiple photographs and colorful drawings of a white metallic pot kept coming into my mind. Although the pot was nothing particularly special, it reflected the environment it was in. (She writes this in a much more lovely in lyrical way.) I finally figured out the name of the book and bought myself a copy.

Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

This book came up in a bible study many years ago. I've lost touch with Sharla, but I will forever be in her debt for introducing me to Anne Lamott (in book form, not in person, sadly).

Bird by Bird was written for writers, but it also applies to anyone working creatively. I love so many things she says, and the way she says things, but she speaks to me as an artist when she talks a lot about putting down the truth without worrying about what others will think of it.

Imagine by Jonah Lehrer

I read this book back in 2012 before the scandal. Despite the facts, I found the book fascinating and entertaining. Perhaps some of the science is flawed and over-simplified, but my memory isn't very good and I don't recall any of those facts anyway. I loved the stories of how the Swiffer was designed and the way Pixar runs its creative meetings. In fact, just this week I heard about the book Creative Inc. by Ed Catmull. I sure hope it tells more of Pixar's stories!

Free by Chris Anderson

I got this book FREE (of course) on Audible. It could have used some significant editing in my opinion, but the parts that I found interesting are truly fascinating. Now, I just have to figure out how to apply it to my artwork. ;)

Podcasts:

Create & Inspire Podcast with Aunia Kahn

This podcast is a new one for me. I can't say that I agree with everything Aunia Kahn says about the business of art and although she says that the sources are in the show notes, it is sometimes hard to tell what is her opinion or the opinion of another. Every time I listen to a podcast, though, it makes me REALLY THINK about the subject that she is discussing, and that is a good thing. (If I could blog in my brain, there would have been several additional posts written while I am listening to Create & Inspire in my car.)







Accidental Creative with Todd Henry

I found Accidental Creative by accident (ha, ha) while trying to find Create & Inspire on Stitcher. The segments are short and subjects vary. They are more creative business related than fine art related, but I'm still listening.



Artists Helping Artists with Leslie Saeta

A friend I made last year turned me on to this podcast. Sometimes an artist is interviewed. Sometimes tips from listeners on a subject are shared. Different facets of running your "art business" are common topics. The format is a two person hosting situation and it is certainly more chatty and giggly than some podcasts. I find this makes it down-to earth and it only occasionally makes me wish for a more professional approach. My favorite shows have been 50 Favorite Art Products, the interview with Robert Gamblin (and I'm not an oil painter) and the Getting Ready for 2014. I think there is something everyone will like.

Ink on Yupo with Masking Layers

I was organizing some stuff in the studio the other day and ran across a pile of 11" X 17" "xerox" copies that I made thinking I would use them for Pronto prints or paper lithography prints. My last attempt at the paper litho didn't go particularly well, so the project had been abandoned.

I decided that these images might be a good basis for some alcohol ink on Yupo artwork.

I knew that I wanted to use a LOT of masking fluid (I use Miskit) in a new abstract way and that I wanted a turquoise background when I was finished. For this new method, I decided that pink would be a nice contrast to the turquoise, so I painted the whole background in pink. I think I added some shadow gray as well...and perhaps some purple.

I let this dry.

I then took a 1/2" brush and applied the masking fluid (Miskit) to my favorite pink areas and added a lot of splatters and dots.

I let this dry.

Then, I held the painting vertically (over paper towels and trash can) and used my spray bottle of 91% alcohol to splotch and rinse the pink from the unmasked areas.

I let this dry.

Then I began painting the actual images inspired by the photocopy. I used both a round brush and a fan brush and the droppers of course. Because the Yupo was more opaque than I thought it would be, I used a light box in a dark room to see the image through the Yupo. I could have drawn the image first, but for this particular piece, I decided that I didn't want pencil lines. Below is the painting with the masking liquid (Misket) still in place, but the main imagery painted.

I let this dry. It takes longer for the ink to dry on top of the masking fluid. (If you are not patient, ink that is still sticky will make a mess in the next step.)

I was very pleased at this point. I almost wished I could ignore the masking fluid and call it done, but I was also very curious what it would look like removed, so I started taking it off. Dried masking fluid sticks to itself, so you just sort of make a ball as you go. Some bits are stubborn and the Yupo tends to release ink if rubbed more than some other surfaces, so try to touch only the masking fluid, unless you like the scrubby look below.

As you can see, the masking fluid also lifted some of the pink ink. I found that using a gentle touch and not re-daubing, I could keep from lifting as much.

Some of my darker areas and some of the yellow flower bits were painted over the masking fluid and were lifted away, so I then went back in and repainted. I also worked in some straight extender and some diluted inks to add some rhythm to the dense area.

Here is the finished piece:

(Scheduled for Cross-posting on AI Art Blog)

"Hidden" Paintings

This morning, one of the trending stories online was about "Pablo Picasso hidden portrait found beneath famous painting 'The Blue Room'". I clicked over to read the accompanying article and I began to think about what Picasso would think about the ability of art conservators to "find" these painted over canvases...Would he be mad that a portrait he did not care to keep is now being revealed?

Artists paint over some of their paintings. Some artists use a single canvas MANY times before ending up with a painting that they deem good enough to exhibit or sell. We may not be Picasso, but would we want these paintings revealed to the public? I tend to think we would not.

The act of painting over a painting can be a bit sad, but is often cathartic as well. It gives you a clean slate to begin again. The thought that the first painting is "still there" is quite a strange concept to think about. I paint over a canvas on occasion. In my case, I often do this because I hate to waste anything or throw away anything that could be reused or repurposed. Will my thoughts on this subject change this practice? Perhaps stretching new canvas on the old stretchers will be a more desirable method in the future.

What are your thoughts on uncovering paintings that an artist has deliberately covered up? Fascinating? Invasion of privacy? Cost of fame?