Saturday, January 18, 2014

Forever on the drawing board

Forever on the drawing board.  That actually sounds like the story of so many of my paintings.  Right, anyway, this is a studio in-process shot of a small watercolor on my drawing board.  The painting was originally intended for the Santa Monica Museum of Art (for "Incognito").  But now they are asking for a square painting.  Really?  I need to figure out how to paint like a square...?  Tough luck.  Meanwhile, here's Forever...
 
(click to enlarge)
 
 
Someone recently asked me why I go to so much trouble to meticulously paint text that looks exactly like it was just jotted down in seconds using a pencil.  I suppose it's sort of like paying for a custom license plate that just has a random sequence of numbers and letters on it like every other car has.  Well, the truth is I kind of feel like I'm paying for that custom license plate all the time, each day when I pick up a paintbrush.  To be an artist requires some stubborn instinct to swim against the current for no obvious reason.   But the question is how far to take this...  Should I really wear myself out with monumentally laborious and possibly futile tasks?  I think perhaps the only possible answer for me is yes.

No comments: