It is rare that I lack inspiration for a painting. In fact, I usually have so many ideas that I don't know what to do next. Or,  I move through something so quickly to get to the next thing that I muck it up! 

Right now, I have four soft pastel paintings started or in my head and they are of different representational subjects. I am dying to get into some acrylic paint for two abstracts. A canvas has been prepared with an acrylic background for a floral in oil. I'm wondering if an oil and cold wax painting is done. Three plein air paintings need to be tweaked or trashed.

I know that this sounds schizophrenic or perhaps I have an attention deficit. However, I think these experiments and the variety keeps me excited. It helps me to grow as an artist.

I can think of several artist friends who hit long dry spells when they could not paint or gave up painting all together. One artist always has the exact, same approach to painting.  The subject matter never changes. It is very predictable and she is bored. One friend envisioned the perfect outcome. Nothing but that vision was acceptable. One of my students only painted for other people even if she did not like the subject. She also put a lot of pressure on herself to have the perfect outcome.

What can we learn form this? Go with the flow! Give your creativity free reign!

It is only a canvas or piece of paper. Even if you want to stay with one medium, try many different subjects. Drawing or painting portraits will inform your landscapes and vice versa. You can also experiment with different mediums or tools. Wow, kitchen stores and hardware stores are great places for tools. While it is good to have a vision and a plan for the outcome, remain flexible. Use your intuition. Use the right side of your brain and let the painting speak to you. You may go in another direction.

Not every painting is a masterpiece. If the outcome is horrible, paint over it. If that is not possible, I have two garbage cans in my studio. It is only a piece of paper or a canvas. Try cropping works on paper. There might be a better painting within the painting.

Remember, every painting is a learning experience. Sometimes I keep things for years. When I have learned something new, it can come in handy and I rescue a previous work. Some paintings cannot be saved. Don't take it personally.

I love this quote from Bill Gates. "Reward worthy failure-Experimentation." This is a good life lesson. Variety is the spice of life. It keeps us interested and interesting.  New things keep us engaged with life. A willingness to take risk and to change is necessary for personal growth.

I will be doing the 30 paintings in 30 day challenge for September. It is always a great time for experimentation-no boundaries, great fun!

Well, I had better get back to that studio-so much to do and so little life.

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality

I love to experiment with art materials. Lately I have been working in oil paint with cold wax, acrylic, and soft pastel. I wish I had time for oil pastel. Maybe I'll try using that with the oil paint. Here is "Sunset on the Lost Prairie," "Negativity," and "Another Sunrise on Serpentine Trail."

Some studio organization was in order. There is nothing worse than grabbing the oil Titanium White when you are working with acrylics and you meant to grab the acrylic Titanium White. As the saying goes, "Oil and water does not mix."

I came up with stations for each medium: oil, water media, and pastel. In this picture you can see the closest table is for water media and that can include collage. The far table is for oil painting. The easel can be used for oil painting or soft pastel. If I am doing pastels, I separate the tables and that gives me access to all of my pastels. Notice the ergonomic mat. It is very useful for my feet and back. I could use another one. This area has natural daylight and color corrected light. I have another area with a dehumidifier and fan for drying paintings.

My supplies are separated in different bins or tool boxes. There is no confusion with color coding.

So, that is my organization. What do I mean about rhythm? Well I start my day by mixing acrylic paint. The paint should rest so that the air bubbles rise to the top. I give this several hours.

That is plenty of time to work in oil and cold wax.

That abstract needs to dry so I can work on fine tuning my oil plein air painting from this week.

When that is done, I could move on to this large sheet of pastel paper that is calling to me. Or, I can now go back to the acrylic paint. The air bubbles are gone and I can attack a larger canvas.

Instead, I have lunch and go to the store for art materials. I can never have enough and sale coupons are dangerous. More on that next time. I found something at ACE Hardware that will contain some of my mess! I ended up attacking a 16 x 20 in. canvas with acrylic paint. I'll photograph that when it is dry.

It is all so much fun that I want to do it all. I guess that is what makes me Sue and Suzy. Now back to the pastel.

Sue

Creating art is frequently a solitary activity. The artist is alone in the studio. No one is there for feedback or encouragement. I just had an unusual week meeting with with other artists on five different occasions. I realized just how important it is to be with others.

A week ago we had a figure drawing workshop at the Center. Jeremy was a great model. He was able to remain in one position for 20 minutes and then after the break resumed the same position. We had time for some quick gesture drawings and for two long poses.

Monday found me at the LaGrange Art League. I'm on the hanging committee. We change the art in the gallery every month. Members of the league can show three painting at a time. The committee is small but efficient and fun to work with. Check it out at www.lagrangeartleague.org.

On Tuesday, we had a break in the hot and humid weather in the Midwest. Our schedules were open so I went to Lake Katherine with my plein air painting friends, Judy and Arlene. There were a zillion teenagers roaming around from a day camp. Several girls enjoyed watching us paint. They were complimentary and I hope we encouraged them to continue to pursue their art. Fortunately, it sounded like they had good parents who encouraged them to follow their passion. This is the scene I painted in oil.

Wednesday I went to the Art Connections' meeting. This is a local group of artists who meet weekly to make art. All of us are very different in our styles and mediums. This is a very talented group of people that is supportive in many ways.

I'm still on a high from yesterday's abstract workshop at the Center. I didn't take one photo of the session because I was so busy. A great group of ten people came with positive attitudes and they were willing to try new things. Three artists worked in acrylics, one in gouache, one in oil, three in watercolor and two in soft pastel. Several were using their medium for the first time which was quite a challenge.

I presented my method of choosing a design strategy for abstract work and a method for choosing colors. One student said it was a way to "harness" her palette of colors. All of them tried new things and I think that they learned a lot about color.

We had fun! It was energizing being around creative people who are willing to experiment. We inspired and encouraged each other. I find that most artists are willing to share their techniques, failures and triumphs. We are all the better for it. Here are some of the paintings I used to demonstrate my points.

So, I encourage all creative people who are alone in their studios to connect with other artists. If you find the right people, it is uplifting. We are not alone on this journey.

Peace,

Sue and Suzy, the artist with a split personality