In their words

“You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
- What mood is that?
Last-minute panic.”

 

Calvin & Hobbes

I have said this. To my husband (often!), to friends and if I am honest here, I have said it to myself. I think most of us have. But, how many of us truly believe it?

Do you have to be in the right mood to create? 

Can you turn it on and off like a faucet? Or is the creativity there, always present and (as Picasso said) "it just has to find you working"?

I think it's a little of both. What do you think?

Study for Folly Island Marsh Scene



           "Folly Sunset"  5"x 9.25"               

Watercolor                            $125



Working on several small studies for a larger marsh scene I want to paint. The smaller pieces allow me to work out my palette and play around with different techniques and textures. I've kept my palette very limited at this point, with a cool dominance. Using: Winsor Blue (red shade), Winsor Blue (green shade), Cobalt Blue, Cerulean, Raw Sienna, Aereolin, Rose Madder Genuine - all Winsor Newton brand. I have not used masking fluid, but lifted or scraped in the highlighted grasses. No detail has been put in at this point. I'm really just exploring the subject matter and trying to keep it loose and suggestive, letting my impression of the scene come through. Thinking of trying out a slightly different color palette to see if I can get the feeling of more distance. Also noticing that the values are mainly in the mid-range and I will need to develop a full range of values in future studies.

In Their Words

"It seems to me that today, if the artist wishes to be serious - cut out a little original niche for himself, or at least preserve his own innocence of personality - he must once more sink himself in solitude. There is too much talk and gossip; pictures are apparently made, like stock market prices, by the competition of people eager for profit; in order to do anything at all we need (so to speak) the wit and ideas of our neighbors as much as the businessmen need the funds of others in order to win on the market. All this traffic sharpens our intelligence and falisifies our judgement."  ~ Edgar Degas, 1834 - 1917, taken from an early notebook.  


I am adding a new section entitled In Their Words located on the sidebar to the right side of this page. I also hope,  from time to time, to post what I hope to become a series of blog posts for discussion under the same title. The inspiration for this new material comes from a little paperback book I stumbled upon at a used bookstore. I have been reading (off and on for the past year),  Artists on Art, from the XIV to the XX Century by Robert Goldwater and Marco Treves. It's an anthology of writings, on the subject of art, gleaned from 142 artists throughout the centuries. A few of the writings are taken from more formal "academic" talks given by the artist themselves, but most are from personal letters or journals the artists wrote in their own hand. I love this book. It is a gem. It is direct and intimate, a view into the lives and experiences of the 'masters' and beyond, a view into the social and cultural values of their times and an insight into the difficulty of creating. It is also, in my opinion, a view into the present, as the journey we are on as artists, is not so different from those that went before us. I hope you enjoy these 'pearls' as much as I do and I hope they provoke some thought. ~ Nancy

The "Perfect" is the enemy of good.

"The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right, solely on the quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the 'quantity' group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B" and so on. Those being graded on 'quality' needed to produce only one pot - albeit a perfect one - to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all being produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seemed that the 'quantity' group was busy churning out piles of work - and learning from their mistakes - the 'quality' group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay."  - Excerpted from the book - Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles & Ted Orland

I have been making art my whole life. Really...well maybe not my whole life but pretty much since I was 4 or 5 years old..or so my mother tells me. My father, a very sentimental saver of all things that he deems interesting or important, has alot of my childhood drawings to prove it. To look at those 'works' is to see pure joy. Joy in the process, joy in the creating and joy in discovering. If you are lucky, as I was as a child, your 'works' are received with joy and encouragement and you continue to explore and create until one day someone calls you an artist. Fast forward 40 plus years (okay, more than that!) and suddenly the joy is replaced by hesitation...and doubt. What is going on, I ask myself. How did this happen? And why? I was enjoying myself, or so I thought. I was getting somewhere - making headway. For Godsakes I am teaching fellow artists, how can this be happening to me?!  How can I encourage them when I am suddenly so unsure of myself?

I  KNOW that inner critic. I have been down that road as a student of the arts and I know how to listen to that inner voice and have trusted it to help make me better. It has always been my trusted friend, the thing that I could count on for balance and truth, when the world around you is full of nothing but warm praise or the flip side of that coin, harsh criticism. What, exactly, is my inner voice trying to say? Why is it stopping me in my tracks? And......what is UP with THAT??

"We have met the enemy and he is us" - Pogo

"If you think good work is somehow synonomous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble". "...to require perfection is to invite paralysis." "The patten is predictable: as you see error in what you have done, you steer your work toward what you imagine you can do perfectly. You cling ever more tightly to what you already know you can do - away from risk and exploration, and possibly further from the work of your heart. You find reasons to procrastinate, since to not work is to not make mistakes." - the authors write, in the book Art and Fear.

Hmmm. OK. I get that, I see myself in that story, as I see much of the book Art & Fear. I am very much like the student(s) in that second group, who fear not being able to produce that "perfect" piece. Not so much 'perfect', as in no mistakes, but my own version of perfect that is measured by the criteria I have set up for myself, in my mind's eye. Procrastinate though? Yes, if I'm to be honest I suppose I do to some extent (although I have been calling it 'busy').

As I read further comes this pearl of wisdom that somewhere deep down I already knew but had buried deep:

"The seed for your next work, lies imbedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections (or mistakes, if you are feeling particularly depressed about them today) are your guides - valuable, reliable, objective, non-judgemental guides - to matters you need to reconsider or develop further."  (page 31, Art & Fear)

Imperfections are our guides to matters we need to develop further; they are our roadmap for development, for betterment as an artist, in honing our skills. I have always embraced this concept, and believed it to be true for all growth..no matter what you are doing in your life. We are human, we err; and if we are smart, we learn from our mistakes....we grow.  "That's why they put erasers on pencils", my husband loves to say! But I'd forgotten that and had become stiff and self-conscious, letting the door open, so that 'doubt' could walk in.

Self doubt -> Magic?

MAGIC

"There's a myth amoung amateurs, optimists and fools

that beyond a certain level of achievement,

famous artists retire to some kind of Elysium

where criticism no longer wounds

and work materializes without their effort."

- Mark Matousek
(page 33, Art & Fear)

Even as artists we buy into the misconception that art is Magic. And maybe, just maybe, that psyches us out just a little every now and again. We look around us and work seems to flow out of others. What is wrong with us, we think? Have we lost 'the magic'? But it is not magic. It is effort that draws on knowledge. Knowledge that is earned by doing, by experience. To believe that it is magic, is to invalidate the incredible accomplishments of the creative (and scientific) world, to invalidate what masters such as Michaelangelo, DaVinci, Bach & Beethoven have accomplished and to turn a blind eye to the hard work behind the theories of Einstein and the great inventions of Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright Brothers amoung others. Without failure, without mistakes, there would be no progress.

I begin to realize that the "Imperfect" is the ally of good. And the critic within me, can be again, a trusted friend.

Keep painting, friends, and keep making mistakes. Imperfect is the friend of good....

- Nancy

Following the Muse - Experiments with Gelatin Printing



gelatin monotype on mulberry paper





So,  I have been playing. And it's been contagious, because I have others playing now too. Truth be told, I caught this bug after doing some serious research on varied methods for experimental watermedia and it has been the most fun that I've had doing anything in a long time. (except for spending time with my sweeet sweet 5 month old golden retriever, Lily) I am refering to Gelatin Printing. There is something about this process that has just intrigued me. Maybe it's the unpredictable nature of the printmaking process, maybe it's the organic feel to the gelatin plate, but I am hooked, mesmerized and totally in love with the process. And me, a watercolor painter and a pretty representational one at that. Go figure. But art is not restrictive...shouldn't be. And so, the playing, the exploration of other methods and other mediums. Following the muse. 

gelatin monotype on mulberry paper

Now, I haven't done any printmaking since my college days, which was quite a few years ago, but I loved it then. I remember a whole year of walking around with black ink inbedded in every groove and wrinkle in my hands. Oil based ink in those days...hard to get out completely, so you just wore what wouldn't come off. It was ok. Was the badge of being a printmaker. Being more of an illustrator, I gravitated to lithography and intaglio back then. Black and white mostly, occasionally color. But, like I said, I loved it. I enjoyed the process of printmaking. Making gelatin prints is the same, but different. It's just as messy, but since you are using waterbased inks and paints, the clean up is better. Gelatin printing, in my opinion, is a much more organic process and the results are more exciting due to it's unpredictable nature. (as you get used to the process, you can manipulate the outcome a good bit, but the end result is still in large part a big surprise) There are numerous websites and YouTube video's out there on the wild wild web, but the one I found most useful is Linda Germain's website and accompanying blog. She gives full directions for making the gelatin plates (there are many recipes, but hers are the most sturdy, in my opinion). She also has a nice little video showing you the basics of how to go about inking up your plate and pulling your prints.

So. Ready to explore? Go for it. Experiment. Let your hair down and have some fun.

   

Dale Cochran - New Member at Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville

I'm excited to announce that Dale Cochran is our newest member of the Artists Guild Gallery! We will host Dale with a First Friday Opening Reception on Friday March 2nd from 6 - 9 pm.  Please drop by the gallery this Friday evening and join us in welcoming Dale!
http://www.artistsguildgalleryofgreenville.com/

Farmers Market Painting - Step by Step update

Continuing with the Step-by-Step blog entries for the Farmers Market painting demo for the Tuesday afternoon and evening class, but making a new entry today. To see the painting in it's initial stages see the following post: http://nancybarrywatercolorblog.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

The last 2 weeks have been geared toward completing the Squash paintings. Shown here are mid to late stages on most of the painting. Have begun to add most of the dark recesses behind and between the vegetables and have added several shadows which serves to pull the painting together and to pop many of the objects forward. Finishing details are still yet to be added.

Worked on the purple-ish stem on this particular carnival squash. Typical to the watercolor process, I added the lightest washes first, and then built up the detail and shadows. I might still add some textural effects by 'stamping' with my thumb or index finger picking up some of the ''palette wash' and applying it to the stem. The pigments I used for the stem included: Rose Madder, Burnt Sienna, Cobalt Blue.



I added a cerulean and burnt sienna wash to the top surface of the crate's sides to mimic light reflecting off of the dark black plastic of the crate. I washed in a cerulean underglaze on any of the surfaces that I thought would reflect light, particularly in the corners and crevices of the 'vents' on the sides of the crate and to the inner areas of the handles. After the underglazes were dry, I went ahead and mixed up a thick soupy dark mixture, bordering on the blue/black, and painted the remainder of the crate.  Pigments used to create the blue/black included: french ultramarine, antwerp blue, alizarin crimson and burnt sienna. Lastly, I shadowed the inner areas of the crate vents and handles (not shown in thie view)



To the stem I washed in a cerulean underglaze, let dry and then glazed over this with antwerp blue, rose madder genuine and/or aureolin yellow, depending on whether I needed a purplish or greenish wash, often mingling the 3 directly on the stem. (photo below) Since these pigments are all transparent, non-staining, they do not create 'mud' but a beautiful transparent jewel-like combination. After the second wash was completely dried, I began to 'lift' highlights and details with a clean damp brush. (not shown here)





Added darks between the vegetables using combinations of ultramarine, burnt sienna, and occasionally adding alizarin crimson and/or antwerp to punch up the intensity of the dark. Added shadows behind the slate chalkboard in the top right of the painting to pop the chalkboard forward and push the vegetables back in the composition. Worked on the stems of the spaghetti squash which I will post shortly. Still need to work on pushing several areas 'back' to create more depth and I need to complete the wood surrounding the chalkboards as they are still only showing the initial underglaze. Textural details to the skin of the squash, stems and possibly chalkboards will be added after a final evaluation.

Frame Warehouse Holiday Open House on Nov. 10th raises over 850 dollars for the Boys Home of the South!

It was a wonderful night at the Frame Warehouse & Gallery Holiday Open House in Greer this past Thursday night! Debbie Beauchemin's never tiring efforts raised over 850 dollars with the final count not in yet. As the economy and in kind donations to charities in general have taken a downturn in recent years, Debbie has risen to the occasion. Each year at the start of the holiday season, she chooses a local charity or organization in need for her Hudson Road shop to raise funds for. In years past, Debbie, who I have a special place in my heart for, has raised several thousand dollars all totalled for organizations such as the Greer Soup Kitchen, the local chapter of the National Association for Mental Illness and this years recipient, the Boys Home of the South. More than 16 local artists, including myself, participated in last weeks fundraiser by donating over $2,000 of artwork and merchandise to the event. Participating artists for this event were: Sandra Roper, Dick Mitchell, Tom Stewart, Edith McBee Hardaway, Michelle Giles, myself (Nancy Barry), Joan Zepf, Sherry Elrod, Stella Schaefer, Judy Taylor, Karl Voss, Andrew and Ruth Banovic, Susan Linn, Richard Campbell, Joanne Reed, Cheryl Bradfute, Danny Carnes, and Gary Roderer.

Artists from left to right: Edith Hardaway (red), Sandra Roper, Nancy Barry

Artists left to right: Danny Carnes (back left of photo), Stella Schaefer (facing)

Artists left to right: Joan Zepf (center)

Artists left to right: Sherry Elrod (back), Judy Taylor (center), Joan Zepf

Left to right: Andrew and Ruth Banovic (left)



Artists left to right: Edith Hardaway (rear left), Joan Zepf, Sherry Elrod and Bill Lester

 As one of the participating artists, I would like to personally thank all of my own friends and family and followers along with Debbie's loyal customers for their generosity and support. We could not do what we do without you.