Floral Nebula, Original acrylic on canvas, by Cindy Davis.
UPDATE: Painting Sold 10/931/21010, notecards available from Cafepress.
Comfort in Linear Creativity
When I first began to explore painting, it was a little like an explosion. I wanted to try everything, paint everything, become everything. It was exciting. It was consuming.
It was hard to keep that up. I am finding this summer in particular a certain comfort from limiting my palette, my subjects, my medium. I am doing small oil landscapes on smooth, slick gesso boards. That’s it this summer.
Those of you who know me well, know this is pretty unusual for me and my short creative attention span. I try to intentionally avoid the confines of control in my studio. That is part of the reason I am in there anyway! Self control is useful for dieting, wine, and driving in Atlanta.
I did not choose these small oil landscapes. They chose me. My studio is really, really hot this time of year. Painting small pieces allows me to paint inside. It is a physical necessity.
It is comforting to know that each day, I won’t need an explosion of creativity to get something on canvas. I have surrendered and accepted my landscape series. I am hoping by the end of the summer, I will have made progress. Whatever progress is for little ole individual me.
I feel comfortable accepting my own definition of progress. I am comfortable using my own measuring stick instead of someone else’s stick.
This landscape series is linear for me. I don’t typically follow a linear journey with my art. Each painting is basically comprised of a series of steps. The steps remain the same, the only the subjects change. I am sure I will tire of it. But for now, with the summer heat, I am enjoying it.
Could it be that I am beginning to mature? nawwww, I think it is just a phase. I will be back to explosions and experiments when the heat breaks. I found a bunch of acrylic mediums on sale last week and I want to try them out and make some bumpy, gritty, blobby paintings maybe with moons again. I also bought a HUGE mop head brush that is waiting for me as soon as the heat is gone.
Cindy
