Erika Allison's Artastic Blog

Breaking the rules… or not

Archive for September 4th, 2010

Did I fill the well?  I certainly hope so!  It seems that August came and went…and I didn’t produce much of anything.    But, the artist’s life isn’t ONLY about producing.  My last post was about filling the well.  And, I refer to filling the well often.    So, while I wasn’t doing a lot of painting, I was collecting, filing (mentally) and chewing on all kinds of thoughts and ideas.  Ideas are percolating, fermenting, whatever you want to call it – in the subconscious, getting filed away to be pulled up for future use.

I had a busy month, even though I wasn’t producing.  I celebrated a birthday.  I took a vacation.  And, I ventured to the arts district a number of times.  Just hanging out with other artists and viewing other artists’ works in galleries or their studios, is inspirational.  It gets the juices flowing.  It reminds you of how many different ways there are to see the same things.  And, the ways are endless.  That leaves a lot of options for the artist to experiment with creative new ways to present familiar material.  There is no end to the possibilities.  You just can’t run out of ideas.  There is really no excuse for not being able to come up with an idea!

I started a painting yesterday.  I’m excited about it.  I have covered the entire painting surface.  But, I don’t yet know where I’m going with it.  There are endless possibilities!  I’m at the point now where I’ll study it for awhile, seeing various options.  I envision some of the many possibilities as I look at the work in progress.  I  turn the work in all directions, for a couple of reasons.  One reason is to check the composition.  A good composition will work in any orientation.  The other reason I turn it is that often I see something different – different meanings, possibilities – when a different view is presented.   Eventually, I have to decide which way will be the top and where I’m going with it.

This is my painting in progress, after the first session.  I’m excited about using an unusual painting surface.  It was part of a fence intended for hiding stuff kept on a patio.  The surface is a challenge in itself.  Will it contribute to the painting – or detract from it?  Being “different” is not enough to make a  painting successful.  It could just as easily detract from it.  We shall see as I go along.

I have other surfaces waiting for me in the studio.  And, more ideas than I seem to have time to fulfill.  So – I guess the answer to “Did I fill the well?”  is YES!

If you have thoughts on filling the well, feel free to comment.  I welcome discussion.