This has been a gradual process.

Since my April 2011 update, I’ve been experimenting with the boat painting I mentioned in that post.

I’m [...]]]> Once again, my non-art work has kept me very busy. I’ve almost reached the point where it can be managed without compromising my time for art.

This has been a gradual process.

Since my April 2011 update, I’ve been experimenting with the boat painting I mentioned in that post.

I’m complacent but not happy with it yet.  I photographed it this morning so you can see what it looks like at this moment.

I’m experimenting with the colors of the water, especially the ways I’m conveying depth.

In addition, I’ve just added red to the trim of the boats.  That’s what the actual boats had.  (I’m working from a photo I took when we were in Rockport, MA, a couple of summers ago.)

The painting is improving, but it still has a significant distance to cover.

This is a large painting, for me.  It’s 24″ x 30″ so, when I decide something isn’t quite working, I need to cover a lot of ground to change it.

Frankly, I like the challenge.  It keeps me focused.

When I paint, I lose all sense of time.  I’m immersed in the creative process, and the sensory experience of working with color and texture.

Much of my work with this painting has been about “thinking time.”  It’s like I park my intellectual processes to the side while I paint, and my left brain keeps turning the gears, processing whatever is on my mind.  My attention is on the painting during this process, as I sink into the colors and impressions on an intuitive level.

It’s sort of like an active form of “sleeping on it,” to sort out certain challenges.  The biggest challenge has been to understand the parallel paths I’ve been following in recent years, and the purpose that helps them converge for greater personal fulfillment.

So, that’s what’s been happening at my easel and away from it.  The upcoming month will be busy, preparing for my oldest daughter’s wedding in Florida.

I’m hoping to make time for far more painting, but… well, we’ll see what happens.

I’ve been wrestling with a lot of nostalgia and ennui this summer, and now — with many old project concluding — my energy is rebounding.  I’m looking forward to what’s next, and how I can bring more creative & artistic expression to the center stage in my life.

More details:  In April, I resolved to focus more on art, phasing out most (but not all) of what I do that’s not really art-related.  I realized that I’d accomplished most of my initial goals in that field, and throwing more time into it… well, it wasn’t returning the personal fulfillment it once did.

By distilling that work to what I most enjoy — the research and my books — I could recover more time & focus, while still finding satisfaction in that field.

Gracefully stepping back from that work… it’s taken most of my time, this summer.  There were a lot of loose ends I wanted to conclude.  To me, it was important to do it “just so,” but I’m not sure if anyone noticed.

In retrospect, I wish I’d read Steve Pavlina’s Living Congruently essay, sooner.  I have had too many plates spinning at the same time.

Following his advice to articulate a purpose, I’ve spent a couple of days this week, considering what’s important to me… what brings me such delight,  I sing in the shower (literally and figuratively).

Here’s what I’ve realized:

My life definitely focuses on people, especially those close to me.  My husband and children bring me joy, daily.  So do my friends, personal associates, clients & collectors, fans… and even the strangers I talk to when I’m in line at the grocery store.

In addition to the people in my life, here’s what lends continuity to all that I do, and what I aspire to:

• To illuminate the past for inspiration.
• To live a life of transcendent elegance and simplicity.
• To savor the ever-changing magnificence of nature.
• To share a reverence for the abundant beauty in everyday life.

That list ties together my love of travel, history and selective research, my passion for theatre, my artistic expressions in visual arts and writing, my urge to inspire others, and — last but not least — my spirituality.

So, as the agricultural year is concluding, I feel very pleased with the decisions I’ve made and where I am right now.  The paths are converging nicely, and I have a focus and confidence that was lacking.

I understand what what motivates me, and what I hope to accomplish. With this clarity, life simply makes more sense to me.

I’m smiling as I write this, and getting ready to work on this and a few other paintings in progress.

Here’s how one color study is leading to a series of landscape paintings.

At left is a nearly-finished oil sketch.  I painted it this morning.

It’s based [...]]]> Sometimes I forget that others — even those who work with color studies — may not “see” the art in some of my more urgent, sometimes fragmented works.

Here’s how one color study is leading to a series of landscape paintings.

At left is a nearly-finished oil sketch.  I painted it this morning.

It’s based on Sunrise – Snowy Skies, painted on January 14th.  (That color study is shown at the foot of this article.)

The original color study was painted in about half an hour, but it captured the important colors — and variety — in the sky and the snowy foreground.

(Color studies are useful because they capture the energy and impressions of the landscape.  I also work from photos, particularly if they’re vivid and extraordinary.)

However, there was an additional step between the original color study and today’s painting.  That extra step is shown below, on the right.

Using the January 14th color study as my inspiration and reference, I worked on a traditional painting on an 11″ x 14″ canvas.  Paintings like that are sort of visual brainstorming.

At one point, I paused to photograph it.  When this photo (on the right) was taken, the colors were still too isolated; that was fine in the color study, but not for a more formal work.

What I’d learned at that point — and improved after this photo — was to limit the colors and connect more of the masses.

I put that canvas aside to dry before I continue working on it.

Overnight, I thought about the original color study and the creative visions that are emerging from it.  As usual, I woke up at 4 a.m. with a very clear mental picture of what I wanted to do.

After another hour of sleep, I was at my easel and painting by the light from my Ott lamp, waiting for sunrise so I could really see the colors in my work.

My only canvas with the correct proportions was an 8″ x 16″ canvas board that I hadn’t sanded enough before using it.  So, this painting appears to have brushstrokes that aren’t actually part of the finished work.  (Unless the painting is illuminated with a harsh, angled light, the extra texture isn’t very obvious.)

Nevertheless, it’s a truly lovely work of art with lots of softly blended colors.  I’m very pleased with it.

I want to heighten the whites in the sky and soften the foreground tones. After that, it’ll be finished and — when it’s dry — it will probably be for sale.  However, first option will go to whomever buys the color study that inspired it.  I like the idea of someone owning both this painting and the color study that led to it.

In addition, I plan to base at least two more paintings on the original color study, and get them started before the current eBay auction closes.

Note: I’m working on this series quickly because — as I’m writing this — the initial color study is in an eBay auction.

Here’s the original color study that’s inspiring these works:

When I was cleaning one of my palettes this past week, the running colors were so gorgeous, I had to capture them with a photo.

(Note: I paint with water-soluble oil paints, so I can clean them in [...]]]> One of the best things about being an artist is the beauty I see everywhere I look.

When I was cleaning one of my palettes this past week, the running colors were so gorgeous, I had to capture them with a photo.

(Note: I paint with water-soluble oil paints, so I can clean them in the sink without toxic cleaners such as turpentine. My cleaning product of choice is Incredible Pink, a biodegradable general cleaner from Maine.)

At left, that’s my palette in the sink. The picture was taken without a flash.

From left to right on my palette, here are the colors I routinely use for my paintings:

French ultramarine blue
Alizarin crimson
Cadmium red
Cadmium orange
Cadmium yellow
Lemon yellow
Pthalo blue
White (sometimes Zinc white, sometimes Titanium white)

For some paintings, I also add Sap green and/or Burnt umber.

Of course, in the photo above, you’re seeing the residue of lots of mixing on every square inch of the palette.

This is the same palette I photographed — before cleaning it — for this website’s header graphic (as of Jan 2011).