Tucson Artist, Melinda, and the Quick Plein Air Study

Image © 2010 Melinda S. Esparza It may seem like a subtle change here, as most of my links are the same and only the template design has changed. However, I do have some fun things to share today. And, I've got a new and improved attitude...See?! Bright colors again! 

This painting, from a day of plein air work next to the Rillito River and a few miles north of midtown Tucson, is of a popular site, Thimble Peak. Most of the work was done on site, but I did paint a layer today over the foreground, darkening it to enhance the drama of the peak. Last night, we drove across town to buy a large (48" x 48") canvas that was on sale. It was so inexpensive that I thought it might be good to check online to see what else is available. I went to ASW Express, and couldn't believe the deals. No, I don't get paid to hype this art supplier. Wish I did, though, 'cuz this week should get them a lot of sales. Their canvases are greatly discounted (check out The Edge 1 1/2"). 

Wait! There's more! I found an online coupon for an additional discount that resulted in free shipping. Not everything is included in the extra discount, but it's worth a try if you're looking for more supplies. I've also been doing some online research. I've got a great new link to Joanne Mattera's blog. She's the artist who wrote the book, The Art of Encaustic Painting. Be careful. It's a great book. It might get you hooked on another medium. Her blog will keep you interested for a long time too. Then, I've got a link to the Google Art Project. Wowza. If you haven't seen this yet, take a tour of the MoMA, or travel virtually to some of the best museums in the world. 

There is also a new link to ARTINFO. There are some very interesting things to see and read at this site. Here is a great link to the only way to see Guerrillas In Our Midst. I recommend this to all artists, but especially women artists. 

Finally, if you get discouraged with your art and the isolation that we artists often endure, this link to Carol Diehl's blog, Art Vent, features a quote of Alberto Giacometti's that I find meaningful. A snippet follows: "....It becomes always more painful,” Alberto (Giacometti) said, “for me to finish my works. The older I grow, the more I find myself alone. I foresee that at the last I shall be entirely alone. Even if, after all, what I’ve done till now counts for nothing (and it is nothing by comparison with what I would like to create), fully aware of having failed till now, and knowing from experience that everything I undertake slips through my fingers, I enjoy my work more than ever. Is there any understanding in that?..." Read on. Paint on.

Skipping Step #3

Reading a bit of Art & Fear today brought to mind the new process I've been working with. Just in the first couple of chapters, I've seen how good 'ordinary' feels. 

Sounds rough, doesn't it? Really, it's liberating. The locus (bonus word of the day) from which the authors begin their treatise is that "creatures (perfect beings) having only virtues can hardly be imagined making art. Art is made by ordinary people." 

This being so, this thinking provides freedom for us to paint in a way that is uniquely our own. Karen asked, in a comment recently, how I feel as I approach these new landscapes. 

I feel ordinary, like me. Ah, ha! As I was pondering this subject, I realized that I had changed my mind about painting. You know how it is. You decide that something isn't working for you, and you drop it. There isn't a great epiphany or anything at that time. You merely do things differently. It's almost as simple as deciding not to touch a hot stove. And when something pleasant happens and you don't get burned, well, you experience a revelation. 

There is, of course, the fact that we are all visiting fellow artists online and enjoying certain elements of each of their works. If we collect the most successful of these and apply them to a painting, we cannot help but imbue the work with our own distinctive and personal signature. 

There is something else that I'm finding, too. I'm now approaching the work without any concern for audience. Again, sounds rough, but you'll understand how subtly we artists are influenced by the push toward pleasing others (approval/sales). What if we let that go, too? 

So, I will choose an image that I find interesting, start a painting of it, see too much detail (get annoyed here--step #3), wipe out detail, and finish by stepping back and analyzing what I do enjoy about the image graphically, color wise, etc.

Today, I was able to skip step #3.