About THIS PAINTING - I began this work as an abstract "start". I love the rich colors and interesting texture. While some abstract starts have a definite orientation - i.e. I know which end is up - this one works in many directions. After a few months of turning it around and visiting the page, I began to see the finished work. It's a floor level view of dancing boots. Can you find hemlines, boot tops, legs, and the moodiness of the dancefloor? I've been adding whispers of these -not too much!- so you can see it too. The idea of adding this story level is to provide the viewer with an organizing way of looking at the work, but not so much that it detracts from the beauty of the start.
About this PROCESS: Sometimes - ok, OFTEN- it's fun to start painting without having a vision for a completed work. Playing with color and texture, focusing on composition, I find that the work is very interactive. I do something and the painting provides surprises in response.
As an artist, I expect to be "visual", and I am in my way. I thought I could anticipate "what happens if"....but for me I have to see it and experience the impact. Much more fun. Acrylics let me add and subtract, model the paint, and do lots of other techniques if I only keep moving and stay in the flow of the work. If I stop, the inner critic comes in and paints with me, introducing right/wrong questions which are totally unwelcome at this stage.
This sort of exercise is one we play with in Dancing with Paint, and is a healthy break for many artists. Check out Pat Dews' work to see much more of it.
Have fun! Live Artfully!
Rainey
