A Big Mess

I’ve got a lot of mess going on in my studio right now.

But that’s a good thing. After moving to a different house in a different part of the country and months of figuring out where to buy groceries, gas, art supplies, etc.; and doing the necessary things to make our new home “homey” (painting, tearing out pyracanthus, hanging blinds…), I’m back to making art. Whew.

And I’m stumped by an acrylic painting that has been on hold since early summer. I’m working on it again and trying to figure out where to go with it. This is the second painting with a checkerboard and a modified “Z” composition. Even though I’m struggling, I appreciate the challenge in solving the problem I’ve created. In retrospect, I think I could have saved myself some angst by doing a few thumbnails of other imagery to add (thumbnails are a valuable tool I got to practice at a painting workshop with Gwen Fox in September). Yesterday, I added a gesso float over the better part of the canvas to calm it down. I’m playing with some shapes along one axis of the “Z” to see if I can fit them in. Hmmm……..

Oh… I want to make a pitch for a Brooklyn Art Library Project that I’m participating in. It’s called the Sketchbook Project. Artists all over the world sign up to fill a small sketchbook (lots of topics!) and send it to the library. It becomes part of a traveling collection that is available to view in a variety of cities. The project I’m part of ends in January, but the library is launching another go-round for 2012. Check it out. I think it’s a great way to share ideas and some handmade art!