The difficulty of planning a large number of paintings for an art show is; how to begin? You realize two things right away, one being-why do I think anyone wants to look at all my art, and two-should it have an outline like a story or should every painting be in the moment? The more artists I interviewed about this process, the more answers I got. It didn't enlighten me. I finally, after cleaning out my studio, organinzing several trips, cleaning out some closets and repainting two rooms, stopped procrastinating and knew that I just had to get in that darn studio and start slapping things on those canvases! Inspiration would come, as well as organization, in fits and spurts. I found a few quotes that helped me which I will not take direct credit for and also, a book I am reading. "It's hard to pinpoint inspiration, but it usually begins with a feeling or observation, born on a trip abroad...., colors in a room, an art object..." This quote made me see that I need to relax and go with the flow. I notice things everyday that make me pause and wonder whether I can create a visual sentence describing what I see. I have been jotting little notes down on everything from post-its to napkins and stacking them under my favorite plastic yellow sun coaster. I also know that many, many artists have openings all the time and it is hard to strike an original note unless you put yourself out there. That is hard to do. You have to give yourself permission to do what you like and not what you think is in or will sell (but you want to sell, of course) Another quote fragment that struck me; " Pattern surrounds us wherever we look: from dappled sunlight shining through leaves onto a lawn or the regular repetion of bricks in a wall...." I love pattern. I alway have, always will. I love patterns with patterns and have to restrain myself in my house, but do I have to? No! I have permission to use all the ornate, convoluted pattern I want to in my series of paintings and the theme doesn't have to be about the patterns. They will merely be the vehicle that I voice my thoughts with. Lastly, I am reading a book right now that struck the perfect chord in my little organizational head. The author is an organized person ( she qualifies herself that way) and needs to have building blocks to tell her story. She has three sections, each with equal number of chapters and each discussing a different aspect of a similar thing. It sounds very architectural and I was immediately drawn to her outline idea. I love autoCAD drafting as well as pouring and smearing paint. I think I can see my way now. I will discuss my total theme in another posting. This has taxed my brain enough for now.
