Dreams and goals

Up On Lighthouse Hill

Original oil painting  22x28"

by Susan Roux

I love this time of year.

In Maine the weather's raw, the snow is bright and glorious and my focus is to jump head first into (no not Sebago Lake with the other Polar Bears...) my art! There's something cozy about winter after the holidays. The house is warm with the smell of wood wafting each time the stoves are loaded. You could cozy up by the fire with your favorite drink or... spend relentless hours in front of your easel.

I usually choose the latter.

It's also a time to look at life and your current direction to see if you're staying on track. Goals have been made over time and if you're like the pack, the end of a year has us thinking about them more than usual. With it also comes the feeling of time. A whole new year ahead of us, much like a blank canvas, to be filled with something new. Endless possibilities. What will you fill your new calendar with?

Are you looking for gallery representation? Perhaps you'll peruse new opportunities for artist? A competition? Will you be taking a workshop or two? Maybe your contemplating teaching, sharing your skills? Will your focus be on marketing yourself? There's a certain excitement in knowing you have a choice to plan and choose whichever direction you want. Sure it will take a lot of motivation and hard work, but you have a whole year ahead of you! Piece of cake.

As for myself, yes I have approached a few new galleries for further representation. To be honest, it's still scary. The first time you put yourself out there to be judged can be terrifying but for those of us who've been out there awhile, it still holds a level of anxiety.

The anxiety goes both ways. You feel like you're holding your breath waiting for their response. You're trying to brace yourself for the rejection. Are you standing firmly enough or will it knock you right over? Those nagging questions circle in your head. I like to think I'm sturdy enough to have it bounce right off of me. Shake it off like it wasn't a big deal. But we all know that those rejections can be crippling.

Then there's the other side of the pending anxiety. What if they do accept me??? It will be very affirming and a wonderful boost. Complete joy! You can just imagine your creative energy escalating. Escalating until you get to that point when you doubt yourself and wonder if you can continue to create a level of quality that satisfies your new gallery? Ouch. The things we do to ourselves.

Art has to be one of the most difficult ventures. I know we can't help ourselves and the desire to create can consume us. But the reality of it is we are drawing from within. Exposing ourselves in our most naked form and the fear of being judged and then rejected is terrifying. I don't care how long you've been doing it. It's as terrifying each and every time. The better you get, the higher the bar you're reaching for. Will you grab and slip and come crashing to the floor? Or will you reach to a comforting hand that pulls you upward towards your dreams?

I've been looking at your blogs and I love your goals. It's so inspiring to read. My favorite is those of you professing to paint 30 painting in 30 days. It's a huge commitment. I think of it differently than the daily painters. I imagine normal size canvases with full fledge paintings. I don't think I could keep up that momentum. I'm pretty prolific but that would do me in. I applaud you for your gumption and drive.

Whatever your goals are, I wish you the tenacity to push on no matter how terrifying it might be and be successful in achieving them.

What are you dreaming for this year? What bar are you reaching for?

Art Takes Time Square

Buttercups

Original oil painting  16x12"

by Susan Roux

I suspect by now many of you have heard about Art Takes Time Square. It'll be an exhibition via the big screens in Times Square. Imagine your art popping up for thousands of people to see. The rules for this exhibition are rather unique and because of that, I need your help.

Artists have set up their own page. This includes your artist photo, a statement and up to 9 images of your work. At the top of each page are three icon links. One is for Info, the second is Collect Me and the third a Share button. Each artists must collect votes through the Collect Me button. An artist needs a total of at least 77 votes to be part of the exhibition. I currently have 61 votes. 

Please click to get to my page where you can then click the "Collect Me" button. I'm just 16 votes away from being part of this unusual exhibition! Your vote counts and could help me visualize this big event.

The site is through Facebook, so you'll be asked to sign onto your Facebook account. 

I thank you for your time and your vote!

I'm not sure if the exhibition is still taking new artists, but do check and let me know if I can help  you by giving you my vote! Good Luck to all.

Note: Buttercups is at The Wright Gallery if your interested in purchasing. Charlie will take very good care of you!

Word verification

Coastal Simplicity

Original oil painting  14x18"

by Susan Roux

Is it just me or are you annoyed by the new word verifications too? I'm finding myself commenting less and less since the change to the double word. Many times, the verification is longer than my comment! It's becoming tedious and frustrating.

I suppose I could write to blogger urging them change it back, but something tells me that would be an impossible feat. After all there must be some reason they suddenly change it in the first place.  Who am I to tell them to revert to the old one?

No. It's not my approach. Instead I prefer to appeal to you. All you lovely artists bloggers. Do we really need the word verification anyway? Who among us will spam comments? I think it's safe to assume that that really isn't an issue here. Perhaps if we were targeting the masses, it might be an issue. I know we like to think we're reaching all of them, but seriously, who are your comments coming from?

Other artists.

I thought I disconnected my word verification back last summer. Recently I was in my settings and realized it was still turned on. I apologize for making you type all those unnecessary words for so long. Apparently I mustn't have "saved the changes" when I made them. Now I believe it's really disconnected. If you still have to type their crazy letters here, please let me know.

You're already aware from my last post, my eyesight isn't great. Even with my glasses on things aren't perfectly clear. (maybe it's time to visit an eye doctor, but I just don't want to) I suppose if the new letters in the word verifications were clear and straight, this wouldn't be an issue for me.

However they aren't.

I find myself wondering if it's an r pushed into an n or if it's an m. Today I came upon a double o. You'd think if I discerned the first o the second one would be a snap. No, it wasn't that easy. The second o looked nothing like the first one. It was all dented and bumpy and attached to an l. So was it a d or another o???

If I would have written like this in grade school, I would have flunked penmanship.

So please everyone, be comment friendly. Go to your settings and change that nasty word verification to a "no". And please be smarter than I was in July and remember to click save changes.

I blog with morning coffee. It's a nice way to wake up. Unfortunately lately, frustration builds with every comment I leave, making me start my day on the wrong foot! I hope you'll join me in simplifying are comments. Let's take matters into our own hands and annihilate the word verification from our blogs. Please pass the word around.

(If we begin to have problems with spam comments, we can always turn it back on...)

Thank you and happy commenting!


Note: Coastal Simplicity is a scene from Monhegan Island, Maine.

Playing with mud

Morning Fog, Monhegan

Original oil painting  24x18"

by Susan Roux

When Don Hatfield came to teach his workshop here a few summer's ago, he showed us how he mixes paint on a glass palette. Forget the palette knives. He took his stiff bristled brush, dipped in several colors and turned it in circular fashion in the center of his palette. With that mess which appeared like mud, he showed us how he could move the puddle from warm to cool and back again by simply adding a new color to it. As he continued to demonstrate, the mud puddle grew and grew. You can mix anything in here  he told us. 

Much to our surprise, he demonstrated portraiture using this puddle of mud!

Since then, I have to admit I've learned to embrace the puddle. I even have my students using the puddle. There's something interesting about mud. All those neutralized grays... Subtle in their own right, yet clearly distinctive added to the canvas. It's amazing how many different shades of neutral gray one can make. 

Hatfield (that's what he likes to call himself) told us of his early studies with pastels. He learned to add color to a gray toned paper. It worked beautifully. In time, when he began to paint, he brought this knowledge to the canvas. I've never seen anyone like mud as much as he does. Where many fear creating muddy colors, he becomes the master in control when it happens. And just as with pastels, colors sit beautifully on mud. 

As I painted Morning Fog, Monhegan it's all I thought about. Mud. So much mud. I was painting an entire scene with muddy colors. I found myself lost in the slight variations I could create. I was being seduced by it. I was pulling and pushing shapes. My first strokes for the flowers were a simple diagonal swish of hot pink. It was a flat area of color. As I worked in the flowers, I was making decisions about which one's came forward and which ones would recede. And when they did recede, which flowers would be furthest back.

I watched my canvas evolve as I played with mud on my flowers. I felt in complete control. If I wanted a flower to push further back, I had the ability to do it in a instant. Frankly I'm surprised I finished this painting. I was having so much fun being the master of my flowers, it's a wonder I finally stopped. 

It's easy to paint drama with strong sun/shadow patterns. It's also easy to create drama with dark and light values as seen in my previous painting. What I was after here was to see if I could create some drama without any of those things. No sunshine, no high contrast areas, just mud and a bit of pure color. 

Do you ever try to challenge yourself with something new? If so, what? Do you enjoy getting out of your comfort zone? I do. It can be lots of fun. 

Note to Don: My deepest condolences for the loss of your dear sweet wife, Janey.