New Beginnings

Happy New Year one and all. Today is the first day I am back in my studio full-time and I am thrilled. So what does full-time look like? There are about as many varieties as there are artists. I would prefer to be in my studio from 9am to 5pm a minimum of five days per week, in other words, forty hours of painting. Realistically that is not how it goes down in my world. There is so much more to this business than painting, all be it the most important factor. And there are the other responsibilities connected to living well that require time and energy. I have devoted the last two months to those…. So what does full-time look like for me? It comes in clumps. For the next two months I will be the happiest of artists, pushing paint, creating invitations, connecting with my clients and manoeuvring around the other tasks in my life. I will be spending about forty hours per week on studio matters, the major portion of the time being devoted to production as I savour the process. I require ten more paintings for my solo show in March. Will it be 9am to 5pm? Probably not. There will be evenings, some weekends, earlier mornings, whatever it takes. And after my solo is installed, paraded and advertised? I do know I will be moving. Yes. Again. The last time I am sure. In any case, it takes about three months for me to reorganize my studio. Full-time will not include much studio painting. It will include en plein air and some practice with notan. So much fun! Life is good.

Challenges

So I am technologically challenged! I do have the necessary equipment with me. If I had thought about it earlier I could have used it. Instead I used the tried and true way, my camera, which uses an XD card instead of an SD card so it does not readily fit into my computer. I could have used my iPad. It was in my purse…. Sigh. Technology makes all kinds of things possible, like this blog!! In the midst of a learning curve it can drive some people to drink. I am at the brink, not really, just annoyed. I will learn. One of the more important things I will learn is how to use my iPad to remind me of appointments. Lately there has been a significant increase in missed dates with various people. So there is a choice in all this: I can choose to become cranky and make everyone around me wish they were somewhere else or I can accept what I cannot change and move on. Sometimes that can be funny. I missed a funny episode this week because I chose to be cranky. As I was explaining to some friends of mine, I had discovered just how little counter space I have in my kitchen when the roaster with the turkey in it fell into the sink and the stuffing escaped onto the floor in the rescue attempt. I had to laugh too as they were all doubled over. After all, it was funny. Life is good, the new snow is redefining beautiful and I am warm and comfortable. Celebrating thirty years with my wonderful husband is good too. Life is very good.

Preparations

It is a little over one week to Christmas and the lights are sparkling everywhere. Our tree is up and there are even a few presents beneath it. My creativity will be focused on Christmas cards and composing a letter to accompany it, baking and making curtains. It would be so easy to get frazzled. Frazzled steals our awareness and our time. Yesterday while driving to one of the myriad of events we are attending at this time of year my husband noticed how green the lights were, and red too on the other side. I mentioned something about it being Christmas at any time of the year. Red and green. Bright and flashing. Yes. Being present to the moment allows us to appreciate the delightful colours, the quiet moments and the peace in our hearts. That is my present to everyone this year, a peaceful heart. There is joy in a peaceful heart, patience, forgiveness and love. My gift to you. Life is gloriously good.

Moving

Moving is the prime test of virtue. I am not going into my shortcomings or how many times I failed the test; suffice to say, judgment apart, moving provides many opportunities to smile and rise above…. My daughter caught me in one of my favorite places these days, atop a step stool. In this case ‘favorite’ is measured by the amount of time I spend there. I enjoy the challenge of fixing things. Lately I have had to remember that. ‘All things in moderation’, there is wisdom here. Excess leads to a tipping point where one chooses to growl or smile and rise above. My husband does not like to hear me growl and I have been doing too much of late so he has sent me into exile today: I am going to my studio for the first time in a month. I can hardly wait. Tomorrow I will continue to fix and arrange. It will be easier to smile with a dose of painting under my belt. I think I will indulge in some printmaking… By the way, I am very remiss in getting out my invitations for the VASA member show which is on now until the end of January. My computer problems will be fixed and arranged shortly, not today. The opening was last Saturday and a very pleasant time was had by all. I intend to send out the invitation I have created some time before Christmas as a reminder that the exhibition is still on. My mailing list is still under construction. VASA is closed Sundays and Mondays, open 10am to 5pm the rest of the week. 25 Sir Winston Churchill Ave. St. Albert AB, just in case you are interested. Also, I would like to apologize for last week. My blog got lost among the screws and hammers. Life is still good.

Playing with Light

I am just beginning to understand the system of notan. One of the most interesting aspects of being artist is the constant possibility of learning new things. The subject came up in the previous two issues of International Artist Magazine. Notan is all about light and the patterns made in the simplest version. I am beginning to practice the skill of seeing everything in black and white patterns. Reducing the detail our eyes see to simple shapes is one of the most important steps in en plein air painting. I knew that. So the first step after setting up all the equipment is to spend the time gazing and simplifying. With notan the next step is to see the patterns in black and white, only black and white. This is not as easy as it sounds. There are thousands of shades and variations in tone and value, our eyes can see at least ten thousand at once. Reducing this to two takes practice. Once I have managed at least a partial reduction the composition of elements is much easier to see and to assess. Either the dark or the light must have a dominant role, fifty-fifty is boring. The shapes of the dark and the light must vary in size and in placement so that an interesting balance is created. There is usually a moment when a choice must be made whether to put this particular shape in black or white to improve the flow within the format. My brain is usually screaming at me, “But it is black!” It needs to be white… “But is it black!” It seems this argument comes up in other areas of my life too…. Life is good.