Working Quick, Working Small

It's been so long since my last posting!  I just took on a new position and have been wrapped up in learning a new environment, a new staff and new communities. But today on a quiet, chilly gray Sunday, I decided I needed to do some catching up --

Is this my "Blue" phase? Not sure but this winter seemed to bring out blues in a variety of hues and values. For Wassily Kandinsky, blue was the color of spirituality: the darker the blue, the more it awakened human desire for the eternal (On the Spiritual in Art).  Kandinsky also developed a theory of geometric figures and their relationships, claiming that the circle was the most peaceful shape and represented the human soul.

Circular Thinking

acrylic on paper, 6" x 8" 

 mat opening of 3.5" x 5.5"; 8"x10"

Perhaps that helps explain the prevalence of blue -- the need to keep calm, to focus on serenity amidst a chaotic period of life.  I found I had to work quickly, sometimes just on a smaller scale; otherwise, I'd never had done anything. When going through interviews and waiting to hear the results, it was hard to concentrate on anything else. The creative life was shoved off to the side; not a good thing, but I had no choice. So these mini-works were about all I could handle.

Racing the Storms

oil pastel on bristol paper

3" x 5"

And I find that as I look back over these paintings and sketches, I like what came through -- nothing belabored, heavy and dull -- at least, in my opinion. The funny thing is that I have so many more that I unearthed from the piles stacked on the shelves or in portfolio bags -- pieces of larger paintings that just didn't make the grade, that I salvaged by cutting up and matting.

Ghost Barn

watercolor and pastel on Cartiera Magnani paper

6" x  6"

Why do larger paintings sometimes not work while the smaller bits do?   I'm not sure -- perhaps the brain can only take in and register pieces of a whole. Or is it that the artist is truly working on several paintings within the larger one?  Is it the push-pull between the right-brain and left-brain processes that seem to create this phenomenon?

Waterfall

6" x 8", acrylic on Yupo paper

matted to 8"x10" with 3.5"x5.5" opening

And then there is the color, again pushing through, insisting on a presence whether you want it there or not. Working quickly, working smaller -- spontaneity, process over detail -- swift movements that evoke a kinetic energy that inevitably calms . . .

Mini Art and Close Scrutiny

Substrata
oil pastel on bristol paper
2.25" x 3.5"

It's been awhile since I last posted. Going through budget hearings and waiting for cuts, etc. at work. Not a happy time for my non-profit organization, as is so with many others.

The other night I was so tired but knew I wanted desperately to work with color, something positive, something creative, but too tired to go downstairs to my studio especially as I had a fire going in the fireplace. So I reached for a box of oil pastels, a charcoal pencil, some heavyweight bristol paper and a clipboard and sat down on the couch to scribble, sketch and scratch.

I did about 3 or 4 of these "miniworks" -- they measure no more than 2.5' x 3.5" and I envision a whole wall of minis, framed in simple 8x10 black frames. I think this small scale works on several levels: their size forces one to pause, they invite close scrutiny, a sense of intimacy with the viewer.

Also, if I screw up, no great loss -- just start another one. They also allow one to react on a more visceral level, not intellectualizing too much. I'm also liking the richness and impasto-like quality of the oil pastels. They are immediate and easy to use. I have oil sticks, too, but have not really played with those yet, so must try that. I think that, mixed with Liquin, the oil sticks would be good for outdoor painting this summer, as well as the oil pastels.

If you'd like to see the others, go to my "Mini Artworks" gallery at ArtID, and I'll continue to post more as I work through this series of petite art!