I want to take my portraits to a different level. I draw and paint a likeness but they don't please my artist's eye- if I have one -some days I wonder. I want to have an art degree and 20 years worth of experience NOW, today, doing this portrait. It is frustrating. I know you've heard me say this many times.. but the things I paint are not the things I see. I
take many of my sketches and manipulate them digitally to try to achieve some measure of what I'm looking for - and then study why I like that look. I study other artist and why their art appeals to me .... but still the chase is on.....Somehow I know not to give up - that the prize is up ahead if I will just persevere and work hard. Each of us has a vision of our best self in our head- whatever it is- we must inspire each other onward to find that self no matter how far the journey seems. You do that for me everyday. Thank you.
Recently, I read this quote by Albert Schweitzer: " Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those have rekindled this light."
11 comments:
I love your work Peggy, keep on playing with paint and all art materials:)))
Before I left an award for you I knew your blog doesn't participate in awards. Still it's just for your info that I appreciate you and your special place on web:)
Loved your post and especially the quote.
Keep on doing what you are doing, it's great.
Ellen
That is a wonderful quote, and I must say -you help rekindle that flame for all of us here continually.
I really understand what you are saying about what is in your artists eye, vs what is coming out in front of you. For years I believed I simply could not work 2 dimensionally. "I am not a painter", "I can't paint"... helpful, eh?! It's only been in the past year, I kid you not, that I have banished that belief system. Daily practice, like scales for a piano lesson, shifted things for me. Somewhere along the way a change has occurred, and what's in front of me has more and more similarity to what's in my mind's eye. I have faith the same will be true for you. I happen to love your style, but I know if it's not what you are seeing within, it's not your truest vision quite yet - to be sure, we are seeing the energy of that vision, if not the actual physical form...
I don't know that 20 years of experience and an art degree would get what you're after ..... in fact I think you've already got it. Is it work or play? Is it acquaintance or true love? Is it a chat or a long walk and talk? Follow your heart ......
p.s. I was really struck by the 1st image. It looks like a reflection in an almost still pond. There's a ripple starting from somewhere ... is it someone fanning that flame you talked about?
Oh, I love that quote! Thanks for your very kind comment on my blog. I know what you mean about not always being able to realize the vision in your head. I feel that way about photos all the time. But I do think that a lot more practice and experimentation with post processing will help me move in the right direction.
Love all three of the images in this post, especially the first one. Beautiful!
When I get in funks like this, I keep reminding myself that the process is what's important, not the product.
I think what I like best about your work is that you do have a unique vision that is completely yours. That's what makes it interesting. I love your creativity. I think you're right, if you just keep plugging away at it, it will all come together. I think we all struggle with this.
sigh....wow, you sure are thinking about fun stuff lately ;)
practice practice practice...can it be said enough for me to get it? I doubt it, I get very discouraged at times but find that , if I paint enough, I have enough little wins to make all the mistakes worthwhile...does that help? when I have been away from painting for awhile, I find it much harder to get into the flow of it again but definitely, it's easier if I have kept at it most days...hope that helps...
I love your work, too. I like the freshness of this portrait.
It is hard, though, to feel like you're still starting over at our age. Of course Renoir, aged 90, with a brush strapped to his wrist (he was so arthritic he could no longer hold it in his hand) apparently said he was just beginning to paint as he wished... I wonder if we ever get there - it's all about going.
So keep going! And it's heartening once a year or so to get out much earlier work and current work and see how you've progressed. We may never arrive, but we DO go, and a sense of movement is encouraging.
Love this post. Will be back to this blog for more!
I think you are simply on a pursuit of becoming you... it takes a life-time, you know.
I come by now and then to see and grow -- your paintings and sketches always inspire, and your written sketches help me think.
I've heard it said Life is not a dress rehearsal, but I do believe it is a practice. Every day we practice being us until the day...
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