The Girl with the...

My favorite part of painting is always the very beginning no matter what type of painting i am working on. A blank canvas is the idea phase where the sky is the limit, my instincts are in charge, and I am allowed to dig deep into my thoughts and feelings. Sometimes the script is obvious and I am coaxed by an invisible guide that cues me in on composition, color scheme, subject matter, message, brush strokes. Sometimes its an expirament and my process is driven by curiosity, observation, admiration of other artists and the drive to become better. 

Other times its a fight the entire time. I know now that when painting becomes a boxing match, a rat race, a junior high text chat gone bad, a month in Montana with weather patterns matching the people's extreme belief systems and differences, I know that it's time to take a break from the painting and wait until the dust settles and I can remember what I'm fighting for.

This painting started out as an abstract. It was intended to represent nature, the mother, the feminine. But the brush strokes turned themselves into a figure drawing...so then, I thought I'd add vines, plants, trees, etc.. almost a tribute to poison Ivy, but the heroic Poisin Ivy, not the villan. however, I didnt know how to handle the face...especially if it were to be an abstract-ish. (BTW, abstract is very challenging and I'm in awe of people who can do it well.) So i ditched the abstract idea and decided to take it another direction. Abstract realism, expressionism, impressionism...? For the realism element I decided to take some notes from the second most famous portrait painting of all time, and one of my favorite paintings, The Girl with a Pearl Earring. My question was, what about this painting is so increadibly alluring to all people? I decided to make an attempt to imitate the face.

And it was awesome!!! I learned so much from studying the famous painting, and it was really fun to give myself permission to sponge as much as i could from a master without feeling guilty. So here I am with this painting. It is not finished in any way, but it is still compelling, I think. Maybe? It's a strange mix of an abstracted figure painting but with a realistic face painted on the body. You'll probably notice that the neck of the girl does not work with the position of her body. That's because the painting that inspired my piece had the woman facing away from the viewer with her head turned towards the viewer. I know i can fix the neck problem, but I'm still not sure about what I am trying to do with the whole piece. What am I fighting for? My painting is strange right now. I'm definately at the fighting stage of the painting and as i mentioned before, its time to step away for a bit and wait. I have at least 50 paintings in my studio that are patiently waiting in this phase. and that is something that I have learned recently. It's okay to step away until the right time comes to make a change. It feels great to know that the inspiration will come, and someday I will know exactly what to do.

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