“Circling Back” 8×8 oil on canvas
If you aren’t a painter, let me describe the typical process for you. 1. An idea! 2. A decent start with the first few marks of the piece. 3. Looks like trash. 4. Looks like the most glorious things you or anyone else has ever created 5. Looks like trash again. 6. Looks fine.
I don’t know why such extremes are involved, but I’ve talked with enough painters to know that it’s not just me, we somehow require them.
Today’s painting was extra extreme for me. Moments of glory and devastation all wrapped up into a tiny little 8×8 inch canvas. I’ve ended where I usually do: it’s fine. It’ll do. And tomorrow, well, tomorrow, there will be potential for magic once again. Rinse, Repeat.
The month is closing out more quickly than I could have imagined a couple weeks ago when time was moving slower than a herd of snails traveling through peanut butter. But here I am with only one day left. One more attempt to ride the waves of emotion that show up every time without getting thrown out into the abyss.
All 31 coming exclusively to my subscribers list Feb. 1 at 8pm. Make sure you’re on it here.
1 Comments
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
Written by Denise Hopkins
More From The Blog
On the seven hundredth day…
I do a painting a day every January to set the tone for my year, establish strong creative habits, and to make sure I prioritize my art which, over the years, has become synonymous with prioritizing myself. But when February (finally) came, as it always does, life...
Day 29. Probably had been for quite some time.
"Expanded Horizons" 10x10 oil on canvas This bird has been my mind all month, but I’ve resisted the urge to do 31 paintings of her. I’ve seen several since the start of the month: on a drive where she flew over me for at least a mile and I had to force myself to focus...
Day 28. For A New Beginning
"Courage Kindled" 6x6 oil on canvas Today’s painting did not come swiftly or easily. I scratched off more of it than I added. But, in the end, I really think this is the painting that wanted to be brought to the surface. This is the one that took all that scraping off...
I can confirm photographers have all those thoughts, too!