The Unexpected Value of Development

The Unexpected Value of DevelopmentHello Everyone!
It's June 3rd already and we are starting to transition from Spring to Summer.  I  love these seasonal changes and also have interesting tranformations occuring  in my studio.  

I started an intensive one year art program in January with the intention of experiencing a full range of artistic techniques that would broaden my current painting practice.  It's been quite the journey and I'd like to share some of the classic to contemporary art  instruction through my  study work.  Ready?  Here we go...

Drawing...drawing... and drawing with pencil charcoal, pastel, and paints

Painting...classical techniques with still life, limited palette and multiple layers of oil paint.  Oh how I loved this section of practice work!  My choice of subjects.  Pure play!

Mixed media....contemporary painting utilizing paper, collage, acrylic, spray paint, oil pastel and inks!  What I thought would be a joyous experimental playtime... stressed me.  I actually whined and cried to my husband Bill, that I wasn't a real artist because I just couldn't appreciate this type of painting!
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Yes...I experienced the good, bad, and the ugly.
And then,  something interesting occurred.

Part of the curriculum focused on Artistic Voice, which is... who I am,  artistically,  and how I want to say it through my work.  I learned about archetypes and the characteristics they portray and could see myself  strongly in three of them.   But not until I spent time studying and acknowledging my temperament, did it make sense why I preferred classical over mixed media art making.
Who I am affects how I lay down paint and which materials I gravitate towards.  

Some artists approach their work with passion and multiple layers of mixed media and will bring it all together in the end with minimal finish work, and it looks  unique and masterful.

That's not me..  I am a conscientious painter and enjoy deliberate well placed brushstrokes. I put my paint on my palette the same way every time.  I love working with light, rendering form, and am drawn to traditional processes.
So that is why I freaked out,  laying down multiple differing media  and creating a hot mess.  I was relieved to know this was not the best process for me.

I have loved my  past watercolor competitions and most recent acrylic river and waterfall hiking series.  What I know about my artistic self, is now leading me down a very different path of exploring and painting the feminine power and strength through symbols, archetypes, and nature.  All my art is blending together.

I have been painting my Women of Worth for a couple of months now and have enjoyed keeping them to myself in their tender development.  Would you like to see them?
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"Enjoying Her Secret Inner Beauty"
30x24x1.5  Oil on canvas

"Blossoming Hope"
30x24x1.5  Oil on canvas