Archives - 1986 - Hydrangeas - Watercolor
I am aware of a certain phenomenon developing but I don't know quite how to judge it. I'll attempt to sort it out here.J and I were born in the late '30's... we've had a good life full of fun and adventure plus the usual dips and surges. But for the most part, luck and timing were with us and we weathered a lot through the years. Three kids and their families we are super proud of add to our joy of life, but you knew that. So... I guess it's expected that at this stage of the game we would be content with our memories and just coast, right? Maybe take cruises like several of our friends and relatives? Ummm... doesn't seem to be working out that way... other than an occasional art or swim meet trip, road trips usually just involve family. So... here's what's evolving:
First there was the repurchase of the little lake house we lived in back in the '80's...Then we found the exact same little sailboat on eBay that we'd enjoyed on that lake...
And then, Lo! a ski boat enters our life again! After much $$ thought, we figured it a bargain not to have to self launch every time we wanted to go out (a good hour of energy waste!) so we arranged for storage at the same marina we'd used years before... that's a good looking wake! Just needs tubes, skis and g-kids!
Do you see a pattern here? We're reinventing ourselves... moving back in time 25 years! (Heaven help us if the RV camper bug resurfaces! But that's where I firmly draw the line!)
Now... here's the ART connection... during that period of time we seem to be recreating, I was involved in two mediums... serigraphy and watercolor. I've no desire to screen print again, but I keep seeing subject matter in watercolor! I want so much to be able to control a deep clear wash again, to layer and glaze, to splash and bloom, to work around negative shapes, to bring a subject to life without detailing it to death... not on canvas, not geometrically abstract, not by not by my usual proceedures. Watercolor doesn't just happen, though the best look as if that was the plan... a good watercolor is the result of hundreds of previous efforts that came before. It's a thought that's hard to shake... stay tuned...
7 comments:
Life is at its best when you love what you do, where you are, who you are with and have the finances and health to keep doing it. You bring all your earned skills plus joy to the table. Why not reinvent an old skill? It is never exactly the same anyway. Wishing you joy continuing. Lyn Wolf Jackson
Thank you, Lyn... always good to hear from you. I guess thinking it through is the first step... then making the time to follow though. Don't know what ever happened to spontaneity!
Hi KJ. I'm aware of a pattern like that in myself, too. I call it "reaching back." It's a sort of going back in time to retrieve some part of myself that I left behind and now I want to revisit. Or reclaim. It's often something I felt that I had to give up or surrender in order to have some other thing. Neat to hear that you do it too.
Watercolor! Sounds wonderful.
Glad you know the feeling, Annie... no reason why it can't happen, but there are a few priorities I need to work out... giving myself that silly notion of "permission" for one...
Life sometimes has a way of interfering with the simple things you once loved doing. How wonderful to have the chance to explore them again, and with a new appreciation I'm sure!
I am curious to see what your water-colour work would look like at this point...
very odd to be re-creating your past so exactly! Have always loved your grasses series in all their forms - and find them as relevant today as when they were painted. Know what you mean about getting out and involved to spark the creativity again. I am in self-exile, hoping for a creative buzz of my own when I return.
Post a Comment