Random Acts Of Musing



A sign of things to come...




Here are some thoughts I've had about painting, life, stuff or anything else that came to mind while I waited for my studio to warm up enough to work in.

• I really feel bad for the rest of the country for the bad weather they had this year, but here in Maine, it's been a year for the ages;  The Winter was extra mild, and Spring came a month early.  The Summer was perfect, with temp's not too hot, or too cool and just the right amount of rain.  The only draw-back is that the fall colors aren't as crisp and bright as in years past.  But, I'll take a great summer over two weeks of pretty colors.

• Leaves are so much prettier on trees, unless they are scattered over an old cemetery.

• Every time I think I am ruining a painting, my brush work starts to get stiff and tight.  Ironically, I've never ruined a picture by having my brushwork be loose and painterly.

• I know I'm halfway done on a painting when I think I've screwed it up beyond repair.

• Most artists inspire me to work harder.  Some make me want to hang my brushes up, because I'll never be that good.  Jacob Collins, for instance, makes me want to quit.

• I waited twenty five years before I painted full-time.  Now, every day that goes by when I don't paint feels like a wasted day I'll never get back.

• The amount of candy you buy for Halloween is in inverse proportion to the amount of Trick-Or-Treater's you'll get. 

• Is having a stellar resume` really important as an artist?  No matter what great Master you painted under, or the multitude of education you've accumulated, isn't it really your paintings that define you?

• Is it strange that I get the same feeling of satisfaction from seeing those cool stripes on my freshly mown lawn, as I get when I finish a painting?

• If I don't think my painting is good, a thousand people telling me otherwise won't change my mind.  If I think my painting is good, a thousand people telling me otherwise won't change my mind, either.

My studio is warmed up now!  Well, at least to 55 degrees, and that's manageable.  But why is it that 55 degrees outside seems so much warmer than 55 degrees inside?  I guess I'll have to answer that question in another blog...