Friday, December 08, 2006

Ready for Winter

This weekend, it has started raining in earnest in the Bay Area, but I am ready for winter. I ordered a pack of Lanaquarelle hot pressed watercolor paper, I bought some new colors, and I am going to retire to my studio during those long rainy evenings to experiment with reference materials. In other words, I will create paintings with photos, old pictures and my imagination. There's no pleir air in this weather, and very little light outside most days, so I go and work on oils that need revision, or on pushing the my own boundaries in watercolor. One of these boundaries has been my difficulty in working outside of "reality," so that is the direction in which I want to push myself. And pushing myself to do something with which I am not totally comfortable requires concentration.

I find that half of the effort is getting to the area where we normally do art, and the other half is producing the piece itself. It is easier for me to paint during the winter, nothing outside is calling my attention. It is also easier to reflect on what I've done.

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