Painting done for a belly dancer friend of mine. December 2013

Sound and Vision #1 "Whispering Waters"

HuhZah!!! The very first entry for my new Sound and Vision series has been uploaded!

"Whispering Waters" was inspired by a stay Kelley and I had at a resort in Traverse City by the same name.  If you get a chance, GO THERE! The owners were wonderful and the setting/accommodations were fantastic!

I painted this first and wrote the music afterwards.

I hope you enjoy!

Sound and Vision --a new project!

In addition to being a visual artist, painter, comic book creator, etc., I am also a musician. In fact, I made my living as a professional musician for several years and music has remained a passion of mine ever since. Recently, I have been doing some recording with my youngest son, Ben, in our basement studio  and absolutely loving it!

Then an idea popped into my head. (cue the ominous music)

When I listen to music, I see things in me head. When I look at visual arts, I HEAR things in me head. Why not put together presentations of my new work in video format accompanied with music expressly created for the piece? Not necessarily a "how I painted this" video but more a video exploring the artwork itself. Of course, i can do this the other way round, as well; a presentation of a piece that was inspired by the music!

And, thus, the Sound and Vision project hath been born!

Now I'm all excited and really looking forward to hearing the music that comes from the painting and the painting that is inspired by the music. I hope you enjoy it too! Keep checking this blog for updates and/or follow me on Twitter.

Cheers!

Progress pics - Whispering Waters, Angel

Slowly but surely...

My day off to just paint wasn't quite the intensive, art-focused day I had hoped it'd be. After going to see a movie which my youngest paid for INCLUDING popcorn (how could I say no?), we got home just in time to go shopping with Kelley. Made a great steak dinner and then vegged out until it was time for bed.

I did get some work done, tho.

A little more detail work on "Whispering Waters" and began blocking in "Angel".

Rainy, studio day.

I took the day off work so I could indulge and spend some time in the studio. 

Despite my last post, I haven't been totally non-productive; I've actually been working on things. Right now I have several pieces in the works.  The above shot of my messy studio shows (from l-r) a landscape, a surrealist piece, a portrait, and, on the drawing table, an angel I just began. All of these bits are in various stages of creation and I find I like to work on more than one piece at a time so I can keep the creative juices flowing while I'm waiting for a different piece to dry.

Of course, like all days "dedicated to creating art", I find I'm increasingly distracted by little things that I need to attend to.  I might not be able to focus all my attention 100% on the artwork today, but at least I'll be able to make a little more headway!

BTW, if you actually read this blog, let me know if you think I should post "work in progress" pics or if I should wait until the work is finished before I snap the photo and post here or anywhere else.

Cheers!

Art and Fear

Been hitting some major "artistic blocks" lately. Artistic blocks are different from creative blocks. To me, a creative block is when an artist is at a loss for ideas. An artistic block is when an artist is having trouble working on these ideas.

I have TONS of ideas I want to work on. I'm just having problems doing it. Just can't seem to force myself to go to my studio and slop paint. sigh

So, I picked up a book called "Art & Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland. I found this at Barnes & Noble and straight away it seemed to address exactly what I'm going through. Yay! At least, I'm not alone. Although it isn't written as a "self help" book, I'm hoping to gain a better understanding of my situation and to be inspired to accept it and work through it.

By the way, due to this block, I missed the deadline for the show I was hoping to enter.  Oh, well.

Paint first, show second.....or third...or not at all.

Regrouping

Haven't posted in a little while. Been busy with life as well as dealing with some artistic and creative issues.

I am contemplating submitting some pieces for another show but it will really depend on whether or not I can get anything finished by the deadline. I'd prefer to submit a minimum of three pieces rather than just one. Increases the odds, doncha' know!

However, I'm also dealing with issue of painting for something instead of submitting work that I've done that appeals to me and I think may appeal to someone else. I find that painting things with a "show goal" in mind tends to remove me a bit from the free flow of creativity and slaps a vague criteria on the piece. This can lead to "artist's block" and, worse, despair.

So, of the four paintings I'm currently working on, three are possibilities for submission but only if they speak to me first. And I won't know that until I finish them.

Soooo... Paint first! Worry about shows second!