Free to Play

Since I have a difficult time writing once I get to the gallery, here I am on my porch. The problem with that is that I have not taken the photo of the piece I want to speak of. I will try to do that when I get to work this morning. It is not so much the end result that matters as the journey to get there.

Freedom to experiment is what has been on my mind lately. Several weeks ago, when the transition to less is more began, I took about a dozen canvases and primed over them. Since much of my work is very textural, I needed to add modeling paste to the canvas to even out the surface of the design, but still left a highly textured support to work on. So last Saturday I took one of the canvases and began to paint. The point was simply to use up leftover paint from a creative expression workshop and play a little. What ensued was a process I am working to duplicate because I liked the effect so much. First applying texture to the canvas, then a thick layer of paint mixed with gel medium, then brushing it with a wet brush, then sponging off, and finally smoothing out areas with a palette knife. And that was just the background.

Here's my point. Give yourself freedom and time to simply play at your easel. The artist in all of us is a child and given too many adult responsibilities that child can become stifled. Explore, have fun, enjoy the reason you became an artist in the first place. You know what they say, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." It holds true even when you love doing what you do for a living. So have some fun today!