Thursday, October 15, 2020

How Long Should an Artist Ruminate?

 Some paintings feel pretty straight forward- you start them, know where they need to go design-wise, and the color palette is set in your mind (more or less). And then there are those paintings that need a little more time to ruminate - to work things out in your mind. It can take years, and sometimes there are thoughts of loving the painting one minute, and then despising it the next. There are paintings that get painted over, and paintings that never, ever get finished. And then there are some, that after a few years, will spark an epiphany, and suddenly the painting direction becomes crystal clear. That's what happened for me with this painting during Covid lockdown; I suddenly felt renewed energy to finish it. There is such joy in gliding a brush drenched in color across a canvas, and the process that goes along with it. And when it's completed, there's sometimes that wonderful momentum to keep painting, unless one of those moments takes over like it did with this painting. Stay healthy, stay positive, stay creative.