In the space between work times & all of life’s responsibilities I have come back to my art making more than I have in recent years. When teaching classes I encourage people to slow down – observe, make art – slowly. To do it for making art for art’s sake, this all contributes to our practice even when we are not creating ‘finished’ pieces. I encourage exploring different mediums even if it is not your usual medium – all of this helps develop our visual language. So, in the spirit of taking my own advice I am exploring paint and doing many little painting sketches. There’s no plan to exhibit these, it’s the practice of looking and painting and exploring colours.
The paintings I most admire are ones that are exploring the medium of paint itself, often from life. Or an expression/ impression of a moment/ concept. In my own practice I often find that I go to photographic realism which is never something I like to look at even by other artists. Even less so the more saturated our lives are with doctored imagery conveying the current ideal. I don’t find value in it, especially in the art space. I am not the art police, I am just speaking to my personal exploration of viewing and making art. But a copy of a copy of a copy is not for me. I feel it subtracts from the artwork and art.
It is surprising how hard it is to come out of a way I am used to painting, and how hard it is to do successfully. What I mean is somehow I got it into my head that to be a proper painter I had to paint realism and the result of this was mainly producing images I had no interest in looking at. Then I began to notice what sort of artworks I do respond to when going to exhibitions and I have been slowly trying to untangle the ways in which I make. I am aware that my practice is known primarily for drawing and drawing has and always be my primary love. But I have also always loved to paint and in the age of Marketing Our Art and being just One Thing, all neatly packaged – I get lost with it and if I can’t tell it or exhibit it what is the point in making it?
To be very clear, these are just traps I have fallen into all by myself. No one has ever made me make art in a particular way other then – Lily, make art. Which has always been left broad by others but trapped in my mind box all by my own making.
(I have probably referenced this before but..) in an email by Milton Glaser to me “Don’t be worried about being taken seriously.”
Here I am trying to unravel myself from what I think is expected but I made it all up.
Lastly, look at my cat 🙂
