English Please

Just a note to say that I love the world wide web, but I am limited to reading only in English. If you'd like me to read your comments, would you mind translating them please. Thanks!

The Rest of the Story

A matter of time. A matter of timing. Recently I sold a painting to a customer who had first seen it (and fallen in love with it) a year ago. Meanwhile, most recently it had hung on my gallery wall at home and I had decided that it needed more work. So, I brought it in (it was time to rotate my gallery wall pieces anyway). The very day that I brought it back to the gallery/studio, the customer walked in. By the end of the day I had delivered it and sold it. And the piece in its new home didn't need anything else. Perfect timing!

Ribbon of Light

This is the first piece birthed in my "less is more" season. It is a re-purposed canvas which had so much texture, that I added more to actually smooth the lines out. Paint added with palette knife, the brushed with a wet brush, then removed with a damp paper towel created the base from which the rest of the painting evolved. It feels like I should call this the phoenix collection since thus far all of the canvases used to be something else. Out of the fire, a phoenix arises. Hmmmm. Someone yesterday used the phrase "fire-bird" and I immediately saw a new painting. Can't wait to see what develops.

A Matter of Time

Sometimes it is JUST a matter of time. Naturally that can be interpreted several ways as in if you have all the time to create imagine all of the painting you could get done. Or the reverse, if you had double the hours to put towards your business think of all the marketing ideas that you could complete. However, that was not what was in my mind when this phrase came to me the other day. Nor was it the point when another interesting thing happened in the gallery.

What was in my mind? I was painting, actually repainting a piece. This particular piece has gone through several transformations as I continued to see more and more clearly how to develop my vision for it. What I realized over the past several weeks was that the wrong part of the painting was pulling focus. So, back on the easel, paint brush in hand, pink became dark red, and spring green became dark olive. That allowed the bright center to shine...just where I want the viewer to concentrate. Stare at something long enough and in a matter of time, you'll know what needs to be done. Part 2 tomorrow as I share the rest of the story

What's it Worth?

There are few questions an artist has to answer that are more difficult than "What is it worth?" Pricing work is on the surface of that discussion and is so personal and subjective it seems that no two artists approach the subject in the same way. I had an amazing experience Saturday night that totally bore that out.

I sold this painting. Awesome, right? And I would agree. The rest of the story is this...

I painted "Abiding Presence" four years ago specifically to hang in out home over the mantel in our great room which is sort of the center of the house. It is in my book "Heartbeat of God" which was sort of my way of sharing its story and had prints made (8x10 limited edition) to enable others to share in its beauty. The piece however is 40x60.

So, Saturday.... A woman comes into the gallery who had fallen in love with the painting from seeing it in the book at a mutual acquaintances place of ministry. The longer we talked and discussed artistic options, the more she came back to "Abiding Presence". Here's the point. It was clear at one point that I was to offer this piece for sale when in my heart it has always been a NFS (not for sale) piece. Was it about money? Absolutely not! Rather it was an answer to my heart's cry that my artwork would break through

Stop Thinking, Start Painting

I love the question "What if?" In fact, I include it as part of my inspiration as I push boundaries and explore new territories at the easel. I also love to sit and ponder and meditate. It brings me closer to God, opens my spirit to the unusual, brings new perspectives and directions. However I have also discovered that thinking too much can deter me from inspiration and "What if?" can paralyze creativity if either is focused on the negative rather than the positive. "What if I don't get into this or that show?" "What if I don't sell anything?" "What if it rains all weekend for an art show?" Are just a few of the questions that the enemy of my soul wants me to dwell on.

This morning I caught myself going there so I did the thing that works best to silence the voice of doubt. I got up, got dressed, and got to the studio. Starbucks in hand, music playing, I began three new paintings. I stopped thinking about anything other than what I was doing and truly began to enjoy the process and the day.

Whatever your life medium, my advice is this: when you find yourself thinking too much, get up, get out, and get going to whatever it is you enjoy. You will find that the doing overtakes the thinking and you'll be on your way to feeling better.

What's Pulling your Focus?

Okay, I won't be in the studio/gallery tomorrow so I wanted to write this today while it was fresh on my mind. " What's pulling your focus?" is a question I ask my students as they are completing a painting. It is a question that is meant to ensure that the focal point of a painting is in fact where the eye is being drawn. If anything else is competing with the focal point it is "pulling focus".

Lately, as I have been broadening the whole "less is more" idea to include my professional life, I have realized that there are those things in my work life that are pulling my focus away from what I feel I should be doing. Recently I have come to the end of the season of grace for a commitment I made and have followed through with for 4 years. It is time to release it. A good sign that it is time is I lack the passion and motivation I once had. I also find myself putting off what I should do for my career in order to fulfill the commitment.

It is good to evaluate our time commitments every so often. Sometimes we wake up to see that we're not looking at the focal point of our life; we are in fact focusing on and spending valuable time and energy on a distraction. Less is more. What are you focused on? I hope it is the true focal point of your life.