Saturday, February 13, 2010

Artists' Block

I am working on a piece, or wanting to work on a piece, and it may be the subject matter that is tripping me up...the classic, mother and child. It seems so long ago that I painted something topical or relevant to the world. Since I have been busting my butt all last year to just "Paint!", I feel like I've gotten out of practice in "meaning". Partly, this is my fault, as I needed a break.

I am not one of those people who can ascribe meaning into an abstract painting, anyone's abstract painting. To me, abstractions just are; no more, no less. They shouldn't take flowery, poetic words to explain them...otherwise, why not paint that subject, itself? The hardest thing for me is naming those circles paintings....a phrase or a meaning seems to ruin their purity, and what they are about (largely technique and color).You will see that with my circle paintings, I've used numbers, or one-word titles. If I find a phrase I like, I am definitely using it for MORE. (note: I use the word "abstract" to convey my own circle paintings. In general, I feel "abstract" is used as a description far more than it should be. An "abstraction", is an abstraction of something else, and that something else should be recognizable within, otherwise, is it really an abstraction of that something? Think about it.)

So I am stuck, because I've been doing abstract nothingness for a year. I feel that part of my mind is weak, in fact. I never actually considered it, or thought it could happen, but there it is: "fluff head". After this little sojourn, seriously, no one can ever tell me again that painting a subject is the same as painting abstractly. One involves two parts of the brain, the other just one, the intuitive side. While I occasionally enjoy some fluff and my own intuition, I'd like to get back into things that really matter to me.

Curse this block!

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