One of my pet peeves is the common misconception that artists are eccentric, emotional or sort of crazy. If you think about what it takes to produce art while working a job and, for some, raising family, you realize that only a generally stable person can maintain the discipline and cheerfulness required to keep going. Some think artists are like Van Gogh, the crazy genius. But Van Gogh could not paint during his fits. He was terrified by that loss of control. And, toward the end when he produced his greatest works, he had room and board provided by a mental institution. Sometimes I wish I could live in a mental institution, too! These days, to make work and survive financially, most artists have to be very disciplined and levelheaded.
Like most artists, I have a job that covers cost of living. In order to help me paint on a daily basis, I began to paint watercolor during my lunch break. Sometimes, I go to the same place for a few days in a row. Most of the time I begin the watercolor, take a photo and finish at night. This winter I enjoyed painting the effects of long shadows and snow. And one can get wonderful and surprising results when the watercolor freezes then thaws. On the coldest days, I will bring boiling water in a bottle and use it to mix color and as a hot water bottle in my coat to stay warm.
These paintings are daily chops, like practicing scales. It is good for artists to work everyday, not just to be productive, but also to keep moving forward. You want to enter a stream of working and let it carry you. Many days I do not feel like painting. I’ve learned to not give that feeling much importance. It doesn’t lead to good art, and the act of painting always dispels the resistance.
I also find it helpful to not think of myself as a painter, per se. After art school and living in NY, I noticed the idea of “painter” carried a lot of pressure. I don’t want to impose on my state of mind any ideas of what I “should” be doing. I just do the best I can with my time and resources. And I intentionally work to diffuse the vulnerability that comes with making something by putting things in perspective. None of these paintings will come with me the day I die. They will all eventually deteriorate. And, most of the time, no one really cares anyway. This kind of brutally honest approach is actually a relief. It enables me to engage painting as an enjoyable practice, and as a way of living.
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