You're Gonna Need a Bigger Brush

October 6, 2017

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Later Is Now, Again.

Notes on reviving a painting practice

Hey ladies! Gals from the 1940s through the '80s make it onto my inspiration board.

That’s a Wrap

The 30/30 challenge is over, and I’m tired. The founder of this event, Leslie Saeta, says that the point of it is to get into the habit of painting every day; realizing what it takes to find that time each day and that only through practice do we improve. For me, that meant some late nights, one very early morning, and ignoring chores. Not bad, and the challenge had some additional consequences for me. Planning my inspiration—and succumbing to desperation on occasion—made me think harder about, simply, what I like to paint. Which leads me to—

What’s Next?

First, it’s gonna be big. Literally large in size. After painting small for a month, I want to switch move my arms up and down across a canvas, maybe even make a mess. I worked pretty tight with my watercolors, and I want to loosen up. Second, I really like figure work, beach imagery, and finding good color combinations. I thought I’d use a swimsuit shape as a vehicle for testing out color and pattern. Why swimsuits? Because they are form fitting, they are like figures without the figure.

30 for $40

I’ve loaded all the 30/30 paintings onto my web site in their own gallery, where you can see larger pictures and shop. All the paintings are for sale for $40 each (plus shipping if necessary). Send me an e-mail if you're interested in one. Here’s my economy framing tip: Because they are small, buy a prefabricated frame and have the art or frame store just cut a mat to size. You can also ask them to add the hanging hardware, or you can do that yourself with D-rings and wire. You won’t have to worry about weight with these small items.

Winner’s Choice

Congratulations to Yasmin Dalal, a friend of mine whom I used to work with at the Chicago History Museum (I as an editor, she as an educator). Yasmin lives near me and came over last night to pick her prize in person: No. 17 Bucktown Skyline.

Blog Post

Painting by Memory 10.03.17
Artist and teacher Robert Henri (1865–1929) proposed that the best kind of art school would be one at which the subject is in one room, and the students paint in another. Students would take as much time as they wanted looking at the subject, then they’d have to use their memory of it to paint. After studying the subject from many angles, into the painting room students would go “carrying only what they know.” He went on to say that painting by memory “will make it possible to make your statement of something when it was the most beautiful to you.” I tried it! READ MORE