January 24, 2012

playtime

Winter Wild 16" x 16" oil on wood panel

I had a hard time photographing this painting as it's pouring rain outside, but I did my best as I need to look at it analytically before it dries. I can't do that with the painting itself, just after finishing it, because I am still too close to the process. Digital photography is such a great tool because it means I can immediately place the image in a new context, allowing me to be more objective.

As you can see, I'm in experimental mode. Greg reminded me that "you need to just follow where your paintbrush leads you right now". He knows that I hit a bunch of brick walls last year (or maybe it was the same one over and over) and need to explore a lot of half-formed ideas before I commit to a new path. That new path just may end up being an old path. In any case, I'm not making any decisions until I've played a bit longer.

It helps that I'm taking another in an ongoing series of Facebook recesses. It means I can't get the feedback I like on my work but it sure allows me to focus better. And I'm taking some time to look at blogs again which I am really enjoying. It's like the difference between reading newspaper headlines and sinking into a novel: one feeds the immediate need for distraction; the other feeds something broader and deeper. Bloggers: keep doing what you're doing. It works.

15 comments:

Angela Wales Rockett said...

Amen, Sister! I'm in the midst of deciding how better to use my time and energy online as well, and I mostly just want to go back to just blogging. I miss the depth I found then. I was just thinking today how my computer time has all become "work" time and energy sapping time. When it was just blogs, it was also fun time.

Also, I love the simplicity of this beautiful painting. Keep following that paintbrush!

Ponita in Real Life said...

I really like the red outlines of the skull and trees... ties in nicely with the red on the birds.

I'm trying to find a creative outlet I like now that I have so much time on my hands. *sigh* Will post something on my blog when things coalesce.

dinahmow said...

For a change, I'll keep my mouth closed. But smiling.

andrea said...

Angela: I feel better already without the obsessive checking in on Facebook. So glad I don't have an iPhone or Android with a data plan. Luddites unite!

Ponita: Good luck -- having that outlet is such a great way to make peace with shit that happens. You've had your fair share.

Di: That's big of you. You well know my love/hate relationship with the evil FB.

SamArtDog said...

I've also discovered that I shouldn't call a painting finished until I see a digital image of it. I usually catch something I hadn't seen before.
I really like these totem paintings of yours which are so rich with natural patterns. Do what they tell you.

andy said...

Nice to see that skull again; it must have been sitting there in your psyche since the canoe painting ;)

andrea said...

Sam: Yes, ma'am! :)

Andy: You noticed! It most definitely has. It's one of those images I need to revisit regularly and I decided that it needed to be the star this time.

Indigene Theresa said...

Wow! We're both in experimental mode! I have to say, I'm loving this work, too! But, then again, I love all your art and photos! Does this mean I'm an Andreaphile?! :)

andrea said...

I: An Andreaphile? The egotist in me loves that! :)

kj said...

winter hiberation, andrea. seek and you shall find... (or, wait it out and 'it' will find you :^)

if i can offer the slightest bit of inspiration or one silly grin, i'm all yours.


kj

kj said...

make that 'hiberNation'

:^)

valerie walsh said...

loving this birds on the sides :) hibirdnation!

andrea said...

HiberNation + hibirdnation = Hybridnation!

xxx said...

I like this very much... :)

Kathie Brown said...

Good for you! I love the woodpeckers in the border of this painting.