Bug-a-boo (noun): 1) A mythical, nocturnal creature; a hobgoblin. 2) Any imagined fear or threat, or a fear presumed larger than it really is.
It is becoming apparent that I am going through… something. A few months ago, I felt like my style had settled, and I was able to produce some pieces that I really liked. But not getting into AAEA, then WSO, really shook my confidence (what there was of it). As I said in my last post, I have a couple projects that can’t be shown right now, but I have been painting in addition to those projects. Just what I have been painting is up for debate.
Basically, I feel like everything I see in my head is “too much” for me to do. Fear of failure haunts me to the point where it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I keep telling myself to go back to Step 1: Apply Paint. But what I’m producing seems… invalid. That is the word that seems to fit.
Human Contemplations
I bet you will never guess what is on my mind with this set.
Still Panel-ing Along
This set is an experimental set that I created by gesso-ing over used panels, then adding ink, before letting it dry under plastic (cling) wrap. “At the Bird Bath” was the first experiment, and I attempted to create a painting out of the shapes that appeared. That was so much fun that I started “Impress the Girl” to see if the technique could be worked with figures.
Paler and paler
These are four small paintings I worked on while gallery sitting. All of them look pale and timid to me. I don’t do my best work with people around, but these are really insipid. But all are also unfinished.
In addition to having trouble focusing while in the gallery, I am using paints out of a palette, which means I always make them too watery. It’s why I’ve mostly switched to other methods.
Upcoming
Next Monday I will start a six-week class at the Artist Studio Association (the teaching space behind the Pacific Artists’ Co-Op Gallery) focusing on mixed media techniques. I haven’t tried some of the techniques they listed, and I need a little creative boost.
Also, in less than two weeks I will be traveling to Grand Haven, Michigan, to take a workshop with Kimberly Kelly Santini through the International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA). I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and having “Gifts” in the accompanying show is icing on the cake.
