It’s the week after New Year’s and I’m still trying to get back into some kind of rhythm in the studio. This week is filled with several distractions that keep me from fully investing mentally in the work and, as a result, I find myself working on smaller tasks that need to be done around the studio easily. I keep putting off the full jump back into painting, avoiding the total immersion for a few more days. This is not unusual for me at this time of the year and has become a behavior that I cultivate now for the effects it produces in the aftermath.
Normally, this extending of the time before I jump back in is a very fertile time, with ideas and glimpses of where I want to take the work simmering at first , finally coming to a full boil when I ultimately make the move back to painting. This stewing period often sets the tone for the next several months and I’ve learned that it’s better to just go with the flow during this time instead of worrying about not being at the easel.
Another result of this time is that I find myself mentally chaotic and unfocused until the time I am painting. It’s probably evident in this blog. But I wait patiently now for that moment when I’m back in full rhythm, a moment that bursts upon me without notice of any sort. One moment I am feeling as I do now, unfocused and a bit anxious in my waiting, and the next I am back in full painting mode, mentally attached to the surface before me and clear in my thought process.
That is the patchwork of my days now. By the way, the piece shown here is another little canvas, a 3″ by 5″, titled Patchwork Days. It sort of represents for me the path ahead that I am trying to follow and the distractions that keep pulling at my attention, represented by the smaller field segments of differing colors. This small piece has a very nice rhythm and feel.
Redtree Times 