Little Things

Colors change as the day goes on. Katie, taking my order at Jake's, raises the richness of my palette. For others, Katie lightens their step. I talk about Jake's Bagel Shop a lot when I am trying to explain my painting methods.

Most people have their "Jake's" to start the day - a place, a person, a cup of coffee in a special cup. Little things that set a persons day. Little things set the tone of the colors on my palette for the day. The ladies at Jakes help me keep the tone of my colors high and very bright. I've talked about this in several of my blogs. I wonder what affected Rembrandt's painting? Was it an inquisitive man who brought him the coal or wood he used to heat his studio? Was it the sassy girl who said he smelled of onions, making him laugh? No matter what one does in life, what they do is effected by all the little things that happen during their day. 

One of my joys is studying the art of another artist. Trying to figure out why, what, and how they created their art. I let paintings speak to me. It took me a while to learn how to listen to a painting. Sometimes there are two stories in a painting; one, the story the artist intended the viewer to hear, and then there is another that the artist can hear. A lot of times that first story is blurred by the second story. Sales down, pressure from bill collectors or not being able to spend more time with the kids can darken a painting and make the hand less confident. I call it a story when I see an artists work that is not up to par, or better than anything he's ever done.

This is all in my head you understand, it is part of how I keep my own artwork on a high level. I study my own artwork for signs of where my head was, and needed to be, when painting the one I study. Getting a painting back from the gallery with a scratch on the $1200 frame means I pull back from painting so I can get fully back in a good place. I never find art boring.       

The Feelings I cultivate

Stopping into Jake's, not for coffee or the great bagel I love beginning my day with, but for the sense of being part of something. That "being part of the Jake's neighborhood" feeling. Nan, Joe, Katie, Char and all the people at Jake's are part of a feeling of family. The feeling I get at Jake's I  carry with me into the studio. This beginning of each day is a part of each painting. Mary, handing me my warm bagel wrapped in foil with a napkin wishing me a great day, lightens my step. As does Nan, making sure there is fresh German Chocolate coffee for my friend George and I. I pick up energy from the little things around me each day. From the teen rushing over to help me in the door when my arms are full, to my ducks greeting me as I leave the studio at night. I know it's the corn in my pockets the ducks want, yet still they bring me a smile. 

Studio painting carries me to a world that I want others to see. That landscape that lightens a collectors world begins with a feeling I have, that I cultivate. I no longer have to go out painting to bring the feel of the landscape to me. I still love going for walks in the woods and exploring farms with great country aromas. I need more exercise these days so I do more walking and less sitting under a tree painting. I take in what I see as I walk and hope to hold it in my mind till I need it. 

Others do not see what I see in my studio. For me it's a place where I can mind travel, and time travel. The lovely ladies that pose in my studio become friends resting under apple trees sharing stories with other friends, as I become a bird resting on a branch or a father looking down from the porch. I love taking these trips while painting. I smile as I bring Kim to life in my world. Painting is a total mind set for me; sitting in a park or in front of my studio easel painting, it is what is in my mind that affects my work most of all.

Kim, Jordan, Sylvia, and Chenoa have carried me out to other ideas of wonder, and respect. The respect is for who they are as individuals and where they come from. The wonder is from the dreams they share with me. More than beautiful bodies, these ladies are hopes and dreams inspiring me to capture more than their physical forms. These ladies add to the feelings I pick up at Jake's, I build on being a part of Jordan's family and seeing Chenoa's kids on Facebook. I bring everything to every painting and drawing I create. Jordan's daughter Josephine, hearing her first church bell, is part of the still-life I paint. Adrienne's musings and texts are part of the sketches I do, seeing her smile and seeing her at the bakery she works at is now part of my paintings. 

In my studio I plan how to create more than a painting, I plan out how to make every painting special, even those I have painted before.

--