More on strike anywheres

Yes, painting still more matches...

It seems like every watercolor I've ever worked on (which I'm guessing number somewhere from two to three hundred total at this point) has gone through at least one phase where it seems like it can't possibly work out, and you find yourself thinking it's never going to look anything like you want it to.  Usually this crisis comes somewhere near the beginning, but often there's a final struggle near the end as well.  I think I'm near one of the early doubt attacks with this one.  What to do?

Simple answer...  Change the water and keep plugging away.  It always gets worse before it gets better, and sometimes it's awful before it's excellent.

Strike anywheres

Spending a quiet, cloudy Sunday afternoon painting matches...

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.

In the studio

I found these studio photos from a few years back...
This was a watercolor called "Ride" in progress:



Some days and many brushstrokes later...



Detail view of the nearly completed dragonfly...

Betta site

Some in-process photos of a new-ish watercolor:
"Buzz," 25 x 18 inches...

(click on any image to enlarge it)

  

Almost done?  Is anything really ever done?

Shag story

We went to an art talk and slide show by Shag (Josh Agle) in the back yard of an artist neighbor's house and got to talk with him for a while beforehand... He turned out to be such a charming and likeably unassuming individual. I've long admired the slick retro style and wit of his work, but now I suddenly find myself liking it ever so much more after hearing his tales of growing up in Hawaii and becoming obsessed with old tiki bars and mid-century modern style and architecture. I suppose it's the back story and human element that adds...


Shag (Josh Agle), The Cutter, acrylic on panel, 20x27"
Copyright © Shag 2012

Visit www.shag.com to see more...

Eating midnight oatmeal with an unfinished watercolor painting...