Arty Life sez:
If life was a canvas you could just slap some gesso over the poopy parts and start over again.
But don’t go squirting your husband or kids with gesso. Puh-leeze. No matter how much they misbehave. Arty Life, AKA Moi, was speaking metaphorically. Although I did gesso FirstBorn once, quite by accident. Something involving an open jar, a sudden movement and a toddler with a face full of the stuff.
Fortunately the advice nurse at Kaiser was married to a painter and understood.
But I digress. Back to painting. I often gesso over what someone else might think is a perfectly good painting. But if I feel like it sucks then it’s buh-bye. I don’t care how much time I’ve put in to it. In fact the more time I put into a painting usually means the more I’ve over thought the process. Which means the more it sucks.
Because…..Over thinking is the death of creativity. You can quote me on that. In fact, please do. Just go ahead and quote me everywhere. I’d like to be famous some day. And I promise, I’ll remember you when I am.
But don’t quote the part about the kid and the gesso, okay? He’s bigger than me now and I’d like to think he’s forgotten all about that little incident.
Back to my love of gesso and painting. It plays into why I wasn’t here last week. I was BUSY. Had a show to hang. A show that turned out to be a little more than I’d signed up for. I thought all that was needed were the two pieces I juried in with.
These two. If you’re a regular reader of Arty Life you’ve seen them before. Here. And umm…somewhere else. Top: In the Beginning. Mixed Media, 16×20 inches. Bottom: Over the River. Mixed Media 40×40 inches.
Well, guess what…turns out I had a WHOLE wall to fill. But I didn’t find that out until Christmas night when I went through my SPAM folder. Who goes through SPAM on Christmas? Really, who???
It was Christmas, y’know. And I was just checking to see if GMail thought some dude who claimed to be giving things away FREE to EVERYONE was a Spammer. Because Santa sure didn’t show his ass around here. OK, so Mr. Spouse and I agreed we didn’t need or want anything but I didn’t cut that deal with Santa. Did not did not did not!!! So there I was Christmas night, desperately seeking holiday spirit in my SPAM folder, wading through IMPORTANT!!! letters from the FBI, heartfelt financial missives from my long lost third-cousin-twice-removed-Mister George, and many many MANY helpful pharmacies promising me lots o’hair and a stiffy.
But not a hairy stiffy. Go figure.
There was also One. Very. Important. Letter.
From ten days earlier. Uh-oh…
It was… About. The. Show. And how many pieces did I plan on hanging. Because I had, like, a whole wall to fill.
Oops.
Now a visitor to my studio would see a whole lot o’ paintings. More than enough to fill a hall let alone a wall. But I got it in my arty little head that this was a challenge. Go for it Susan, create a whole new body of work in two weeks.
So I did. Sorta. I always have a number of canvases under construction. A number of them primed with layer after layer, just waiting for the Muse of Completion to arrive. Or a manic phase, whichever comes first.
I’m still not sure if it was muse or mania but I spent nearly every hour of the next two weeks rockin’ out in Studio Grande. And this is the result:
Dreaming of Bears. 40×40 inches. I’ve had a couple of bear dreams recently. They’re all over the place around here. It gets dark early and I move around the property wondering if Smokey is behind the next tree. And if he’s going to jump out and eat me or if he’ll run away when I scream like a girl. I did tree a bear once by yelling but the 105 pound dog in furious pursuit got all the credit.
If you have the time and are so inclined see if you can find the bears in the painting. Hint: there are three. I only painted one deliberately but the others acted like real bears and popped up unexpectedly. That’s bears for you.
Taking Flight. 24×24 inches. Like most of my mixed media pieces, you really need to see this in person to appreciate the depth and layers.
Feelin’ the Love. Mixed Media. 24×36 inches. This has got to be one of my all time favorites. Absolutely.
Eddy. As in, y’know, water swirling around. 40×40 inches. These were some layers, many many layers, who told me they were quite happy as is, thank you very much. And so I paid attention. I am not only the canvas whisperer, I am the canvas listener.
After the Rain #2. Mixed media 40×40 inches. This is similar in feel to an oil and cold wax I sold during the studio tour, even though this is acrylic and collage and twice the size. Another absolute favorite of mine.
But where is After the Rain #1? Well, this is where the gesso comes in. After the Rain #1 began life the usual way, via layers. And when I realized I needed to make more paintings for the show it began to take on the feel of Over the River (way up above). It was a river scene with critters and people and quite frankly, it was crap.
Contrived.
Over thought.
When the muse says this is NOT something you’re happy with, you listen. Pay attention. You being me in this case. So I slapped the gesso on before I could change my mind. And then I dove right in with the paint. Right into the wet gesso. And I rocked it. Oh man, I ROCKED it! Didn’t come up for air until it was done. And then I stood back and said holy crap, I am in luvvvvvvvv… with the painting, with the muse, with LIFE!
And that is what painting should be. Absolute sheer mindless creation.
I was on such an arty high I grabbed another so-so meh piece and did the same thing, using the same paints. That’s the one you see up above, After the Rain #2. What you don’t see in the photograph, because it’s not a great photograph, is the wonderlicious crunchy texture, the bumps and bruises from collage and scraping back collage and taking all sorts of mark making devices to it.
You also don’t see After the Rain#1 because I FORGOT TO PHOTOGRAPH IT!!!
The only photo I have is the one down below, taken as we were setting up the show. Not a great pic but enough to give you an idea. After the Rain #1 is on top. It’s 30×40 inches.
OK, enough about me. Now it’s your turn to go out and paint. And remember, gesso is your friend.
And so am I. Always and forever, my best best BEST beloveds. So you’ll quote me, right? And hit all the social share buttons to help me grab the big brass ring of cyber famousness. Because that’s what friends do.
And while you’re doing that, I’m going to email my long lost third-cousin-twice-removed Mister George. From the Nigerian side of the family. See if I can get him to buy a painting our Uncle Pablo Picasso painted last week.
Love how you write, always makes me laugh Susan!!
“Gesso is my friend” and “Over thinking is the death of creativity”
Gotta remember those!
Lots and lots of luck with the show, my fave is also Feelin’ the love.
Off to carry on sewing leather on an owl , as you do!!!
melanie maddison recently posted..Coming out
Remember them and sprinkle them around the universe like a first grader with glitter, Melanie!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Susan, as always I love your beautiful art work. Your sense of humour in your writing… you crack me up every single time. Love it. Thanks for the great tips with gesso. Glad your son is fine today and not traumatized by the incident. I spread your blog post a little online. 🙂
Suzanne McRae recently posted..Nominated with a few Awards recently
Funny you should love my art, Suzanne, because it turns out that my art loves you too! Loves you so much it wants to go home and live with you after you win the lotto. Remember that 🙂
FirstBorn’s run in with gesso only served to toughen him up for kindergarten. It could also explain the white face Dracula look for Halloween.
I’ll keep that in mind with the lotto winning for sure. 🙂
Suzanne McRae recently posted..Surrendering Into the Energy of 2013
Susan: I love you! Well, not YOU you … But I love your work (which I guess is YOU you, in a sense), especially After the Rain #1 & #2. And, after discovering this blog – particularly this post – I’m in love with your written works as well. If I wasn’t already married to the most perfect-for-me-guy-in-the-whole-wide-world, I would marry you so that I could sit and gaze at your paintings and suck the marrow out of watching your process (okay, that sounds pretty creepy but, truly, I mean it a pathetically-worshipful-but-definitely-NOT-creepy way). Could you use a personal assistant? That might be a simpler way to get access than a marriage proposal … Of course, my commute would be ridiculously long. Any interest in moving to Colorado? I’ve got a really big house, and the light here is incredible …
I do wish I could see the two After the Rain paintings in person. Even in a photo, they are utterly captivating to me. Lucky person, whoever you are, that got to take them home … I sure hope you have just the right place to hang them. They really deserve to have just the right showcase …
“Over thinking is the death of creativity.” … an important lesson for me in that, and in the value of gesso as an avenue to unlocking a creative vision that’s gotten all tied up in knots (or maybe “nots” — as in not quite right, not really what you envisioned, etc.). Even though I’m currently only working with digital media, there’s definitely a place for me to embrace virtual gesso, even though digital media allows for preservation of multiple iterations along the same inspirational thread …
BTW, I quoted you on my Facebook page because I definitely want credit for having recognized your talent, wit, & wisdom when you’re ridiculously famous, like invited-to-the-White-House type famous (because, of course you’ll bring me as your +1, right?!?).
Ah, Lyndy…I fear you’ll just have to worship me from afar. Mr. Spouse has grown rather fond of me, although he’s often said he’d love me more if I had hairy ears like the dogs. Do you have hairy ears? Because if you do, it’s all over between us.
But but but but BUT this still could be your LUCKY DAY!!! Neither one of the paintings you so admire have been sold. They can BOTH be yours for a small fortune. I’m sure they’d look lovely in your really big house. You could gaze adoringly at them and think what might have been between us.
Thank you for quoting me on your FB page. I will remember, yes indeed…you’re already on my list. Now go play with some digital gesso and get those knots out!
Brilliant post, brilliant paintings, brilliant writing – all as per usual. I did a small collage piece on the weekend at an Art workshop, and I DON”T LIKE IT! Now I’m going to take to it with Gesso, and CHANGE it! Well, not right now, but when I get home from work.
I could find the big bear, and 1 little bear, but it’s hard to see on a computer screen. Well done for taking up the challenge!
hugs
sue:)
What? You mean you can’t do art while on the job, Sue? What kind of job is that???
Oh yeah, a real one…
I’ve discovered two more bears since I wrote this post. Hope you’re up for the challenge! 🙂
Hi Susan!
Ohhhhhh, I sooooo love the artwork- the colors you use and blend and create are absolutely beautiful! They make me feel very calm and at peace!
Thank you!
Amy Kathleen
Thank you, Amy. To know that my work makes you feel at peace is what it’s all about.
Susan, LOVE how you say it, love how you paint it. Gesso love rocks and so do you. 😀
Thank you Suzi! Heart emoticon here!!!
I SOOOO needed to read this today! I am about to gesso a canvas right now, thanks to you. 🙂
Naomi recently posted..When you open your heart
Go for it, Naomi!
Susan,
These pieces are FANTASTIC, holy cow, you knocked it out of the park. But on top of that your post is too funny. I would love to meet up with you some time. Now I will have to try out this whole gesso thing. I tried out my first acrylic painting this past weekend and oh yuck! I will need that gesso to cover it over for sure!
Cover it, scrape it back, paint into it…just forget everything you know about painting and play with it Sue. And give yourself the time and space to learn 🙂
I missed you.
Glad you are back in the forum, posting your stuff because I forget to check otherwise.
Feeling the Love is feeling my love. It is so fabulous. I just love those animal shapes. So unique and very very cool.
Amy Putkonen recently posted..Practicing Non-Action and Non-Doing
Good to see you again, Amy!
Feelin’ the Love is one of my all time faves. The figures, all of ’em, just appeared and said Here. We. Are. I painted them just as they appeared to me. 🙂
You are an inspiration! These paintings are beautiful and to meet the challenge of creating/completing all new for the show in such a short period of time is incredible. I just know you are going to be a huge success and I’m so honored to know you won’t forget about me 🙂
Michele Bergh recently posted..Killing Me Softly with CRAP
Always, Michele…remember you, that is. You are my tech guru 🙂
Love this post. Can see the ‘ you ‘ in this. And I love your work too !
I’m still smiling at how this was written. I’ll be back for more.
Great, Sandy! I’ll be counting on seeing your smiling face more often around here 🙂