Thursday, January 11, 2018

New work + Thoughts on Limitations and Opportunities

Grape Salad
informal pic of finished work
18" x 18" acrylic on canvas
I decided to show just an informal shot of my last piece. Normally I use natural light to photograph my work and since it has been rainy and cold I haven't much felt like trouping outside to take a picture. 

This is the last geometric piece that I have done and as I was making it I wondered a lot about what I was trying to do and why I wasn't really enjoying the process. Introspection and critical thinking are so important for making art. I can't emphasize it enough. If you aren't thinking about things there is likely to be trouble.

I knew that my collage work was a response to this taping business. I didn't want to tape anymore but still wanted to have the crisp lines as part of what I was doing. So, the cut paper collage made a lot of sense. I also started in again with painting directly, thinking that I wouldn't mind the taping (even though I knew I hated it). But just as one problem was solved another problem surfaced. It's very tricky to make all of your lines work together to form a straight cohesive unit, no matter whether you are doing collage or painting directly. I found that with most of my work, painted or otherwise, the lines were off to some degree, even if that amount was really small.  Sure, all the lines were straight but the whole piece wasn't perfectly straight. OK, I was willing to accept that idiosyncrasy. I am not perfect and so the pieces aren't perfect either. Still.

So, I have been thinking about what I am willing to do and what I don't want to do. I don't want to line up those shapes anymore, cut paper or otherwise. I also can't tolerate painting squares and rectangles freehand and not having them be perfect. I have tried it many times and ultimately don't care for the results. I love my crisp lines though and don't want to give that up. And I have worked hard to develop my ideas about proportion, shape and color, though I still have far to go with things. What to do?

The solution came about when I thought about breaking apart the grid. At least that is what I call the solution. I sat down and took my last painting, which is painted on a grid system, and started to skew the shapes. I guess the resulting shapes are what might be called quadrilateral shapes-four sides and four angles of varying lengths and degrees. (Rectangles and squares fall in this category but I mean shapes without right angles-don't ask for details though because I got a "C" in high school geometry and barely escaped with my life!) I also went online to learn (once again) how to get sharp lines with taping. (Everything about making art becomes remedial after awhile.) I have started a new piece which I hope will solve some of the technical problems while still satisfying my need to express myself through shape, clean lines and color.

What I learned from the above set of experiences over the course of the last year or so is this: It is hard to accept your limitations and even harder still to work around them. So many of us just quit (which is an option). It's tough to admit that your results aren't up to par and that retooling is needed; that more learning is needed. It's also crucial to know when to keep pressing forward, trying to perfect your efforts, keeping in mind that not everyone will turn out a work of high skill.  It's important too to know when to take a different approach and hopefully achieve your goals in another way. The realizations and admissions are critical if progress is to be made. And nothing will happen unless you are thinking and being honest with yourself. Not listening to others mind you but listening to yourself. So there! Start the New Year off with that little gem:)

Hope everyone is well and happily working away at whatever you choose to do. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Libby

6 comments:

  1. I see time, talent and materials as unlimited. An artist can keep evolving forever. It's all good.
    I like to be fluid when I work. I'll work in a particular direction for awhile and then one morning I'll just move off in another direction. I'll move back where I was or not but I realize that everything I've done to that point will move forward with me in the new direction.

    I love your geometrics; probably because they speak to my quilting heart. But, I also loved your earlier work too. As an aside, I am using the quilt you sewed with me quite a lot lately in the evenings when I read. It looks very much like your geometrics.

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    1. That's really nice that you are using that quilt. Thank you for that.

      We'll have to keep evolving forever. There just isn't any other way! I think that when you stop doing that then you are dead in the water. It's the kiss of death to become uninterested and complacent. Always thinking:)

      Stay warm and toasty with that quilt. Thank you for the visit:)
      Libby

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  2. Dear Libby - this is just wonderful...having made grape salad to eat the colors go perfectly with the title. To my eye your rectangles and squares look super. Very striking friend. I hope your new year is off to a good start. Hugs!

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    1. Thank you Debbie! You know how you always want everything just so! I guess art isn't any different:)

      Hope that you are staying warm and dry and that the snow and cold isn't too bad. we are having some fairly mild weather so far but did get quite a bit of rain earlier this week. Still too early to tell what the whole season will do.

      Thank you as always for the visit and observations. Hope all is well:)
      Libby

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  3. Your color choices and their shapes work perfectly in this one.
    Your love of quilting shines through, Libby, and combining both art forms works so well for your creative and intellectual leanings. A true artist.

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    1. Thanks Julie! I think it's all part and parcel of the same thing-paint, paper and fabric with shapes and colors. The medium doesn't seem to matter-my preferences seem to surface eventually:)

      Hope all is well. I follow along with your posts on Instagram and FB. Nice to keep up!
      Libby

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! I reply back in an email if you are signed in and I can see your address. Otherwise I will post the reply here under your comment. I tend to cut and paste my emails too so that others can experience the back and forth which I think is integral to blogging.
Libby