A Painting Artist

Artist Linda Norris in her Pembrokeshire studio

I’ve been blocked in my painting practice, and it’s nothing to do with the fact that my materials are in storage!

Although packing up the house did mean having to pack canvases and paints away, they were within easy reach, and I could have taken paper and paints out at any time, laid the plastic sheeting over the floor, and done some process work, the work that keeps me sane. But I didn’t. Instead I kept the painting space free in my head, and periodically I’d wander in there, sit down, and think about mixing colours, getting messy, all the tactile aspects of painting that I love so much. But the images weren’t clear enough to paint. The ideas were forming, new work was in process, as I was in the process of leaving my womb-like nest, but I wasn’t ready to reveal that even to myself. But I was giving myself a very hard time about not painting, and felt something was wrong, my head was full of ‘the shoulds’ … and that always chafes my creative spirit, makes me rebellious, ‘oh fuck it, if I feel I should, then I won’t’ kind of thing. So I continued to feel stuck, until I met Linda Norris again, the Pembrokeshire artist who paints emotional responses to landscapes.

I’d discovered her work during a writing sabbatical several years ago, and knew I’d found an artist who had something powerful to say, not only about her connection to the Pembrokeshire landscape, but about life, living, and our engagement with that. There was a fearlessness in her work, a wild spirit that she had also managed to contain, to frame within the context of paint.

I re-entered her gallery knowing that I would see something that would inspire me to pick up my brushes again. Fortunately she was in residence this time, and offered me coffee while I looked at her paintings and prints. As ever, they moved me to look deeper. Yes, to see the craggy shorelines, but to also be reminded of those rough edges within myself, and the layers that have to be peeled back if the work itself is to be any good. It’s not good enough to hide behind certainty and safety, you have to go out beyond the tides, and to also muck about within them, explore the deep and the shallow. I saw the familiar prints, and some of her new work, but it was the conversation with Linda herself that moved me this time.

For about 18 months I’ve been feeling inhibited by my technique, feeling I’d reached my limit, the edge of my boundary, and was hungry, no desperate to be find my next technique that would allow me to express my voice in the paint. Linda helped me to see that while technique is useful, sometimes knowing ‘how to’ can inhibit creativity. No-one can teach creativity, and she encouraged me to celebrate my willingness to engage with that. Doing so gives me the precious metals of my ideas with which to paint. Suddenly I felt free, no longer inhibited and I couldn’t wait to get painting again.

Linda runs a couple of courses each year, and I’ll definitely be booking myself onto one of these.

The images on Linda Norris’s site don’t do her art justice, but if you can’t get to see them in person as I did, you will be in for a treat!

http://www.linda-norris.com.

Mark Rothko said: ‘anyone who eats food at these prices, won’t look at my paintings.’ It was this statement which preceded him giving the money back – returning the $35,000 paycheck he received to paint four canvases which were to hang in the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram building in Manhattan.

This moment forms the basis of John Logan’s outstanding new play, RED which opened at The Donmar Warehouse in London on Dec 2. I saw the play on New Year’s Eve, which felt like a fitting way to end the last year of the decade. “What do you see?” Rothko repeatedly asks his assistant. Indeed, what does one see? It’s a searching question as I reflect on the last decade, which has seen a full quota of red …

As Rothko said, knowing what has gone before us, what our cultural ancestors did, who they were, and what they aimed to teach us in literature, art, music, history, anthropology … gives us a presence of mind and a context to live within, to redefine ourselves by. History informs the present, and those lessons we learn from it enable us to take the next step.

Photograph published in The Guardian, May 21, 2009

How often do you look at a painting and really see what’s there before your mind kicks in and you start analyzing what you think is there?

I was reminded of this question again as I stood gazing at Howard Hodgkin’s new prints, As Time Goes By.

The easiest way to discover what a painting is about is to follow Howard Hodgkin’s advice: look. Just look!

                             ‘Rough Around The Edges’ on Indian Khadi paper

I began creating small paintings of ‘emotional moments’ a few years ago on Indian Khadi paper. This roughly textured paper absorbs paint and water like a sponge, making it easy to make small paintings quickly. I treated these like I would a diary entry in my journal, and sometimes created a whole series in one evening. They were incredibly therapeutic to make because after short bursts of energy I would end up with half a dozen takes on a feeling or an image I had in my mind. Creating these images was and is still like a meditation for me, and painting in this way allows me to produce work easily without over-analyzing and obssessing about ‘what the market wants.’ This keeps my creative fire stoked, and can often lead to ideas for other images.  This was before I’d even heard of Duane Keiser’s method of a painting a day.

What do you create daily?

Leave me a comment and tell me.

Amanda

I wrote a story yesterday about my friend Judy who has been diagnosed with a recurrence of her breast cancer, and how sad I am about this. In writing this, something profound happened. Not only did it tip me into my own grief about the recurrence I had four and a half years ago, but judging by some of the comments I received on Hub Pages, people appreciated my honesty, it touched a nerve. There are plenty of resources on this hub if you or someone you know is going through this.

I want to thank and acknowledge my friend Birte Edwards who encouraged me to write this story and blog about it, and has asked me when she can see my paintings live as the flat screen doesn’t do them justice! Well Birte I’m going to work on that.

I was sharing this with her during our weekly Mastermind group. We are both members of a very special online community called WEST, which stands for World Entrepreneurial Success Training. Nothing is off limits in this group and one of the many benefits I get from being part of this community is the chance to brainstorm and get my questions answered by experts who have become friends.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and comments.

Why, How, and Where You Should Sign Your Painting

Here is an article recently read on Ezinearticles.com and I have found that it is pretty good. Take a look.

One thing that gives pleasure to an artist is completing a painting. Sometimes this is because he or she feels satisfied and that the work is complete, and other times it is because they may be tired of working on it and want to move on. Either way, artists should always sign their work. It is not a requirement that paintings be signed, but the question is – Why would you not sign? If the work is good enough in your opinion to be given or sold, then take credit and let the world know you created it.

How you sign a painting is totally up to you. When I sign my work, I use my three initials. The reason that I do this is because my name is slightly long and I don’t want to plaster the work with my name. If you want to use your full name you could use a marker pen and write small if you are concerned about this. You should try to stick with the same type of signature for all of your work so that as people start to recognize your work they also recognize your signature. So decide if you will use a full name, first or last name, nick name, pen name or initials and claim your fame! As mentioned, you could use a marker pen to sign or simply use whatever medium your painting is to sign. It is always a wise decision to include your full name and contact information on the back of the painting as well.

As far as color, I choose to use a somewhat neutral color to sign my work. For example, if I am doing a scene with a hay field in the foreground and there are earth tone colored grass in my work, I might use that color or a variation for the signature. This way the signature blends in without being hidden. Don’t ever be afraid to let the signature be seen without overpowering the painting.

Where you sign your paintings is also up to you. Traditionally a signature is put towards one of the bottom corners. The signature should flow as part of the painting and not detract from it. I have seen portrait artists’ sign quite boldly, partially on the face or body of the piece. My opinion is that if I were the customer, I wouldn’t like the signature to be there. The signature should be towards the bottom, but not too far down so that framing or matting hides it.

Signing your work is a simple thing, but you should be consistent and careful in how and where you sign.

Julie Shoemaker is an avid painter and hobbyist who regularly gives paintings as gifts to family and friends. To read more articles like the one here, and to see more free art tips, tricks and techniques and free step by step lessons Learn Painting Techniques or visit http://www.IamPainting.org

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julie_Shoemaker

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