Time Crunch

Recently my schedule has had to change. My time for painting has been cut drastically. I made a choice not to accept this change with resentment, but to take advantage of the forced opportunity to make the most of my creative time.

This past winter I began small studies, both watercolor and oil, in order to form new patterns for using color and for toning my drawing skills. I have not worked from reality for several years.

While at the grocery store, I gazed in awe at the pile of Bartlett pears. I questioned why they inspired me so much more than the Anjou pears I had painting the week before. The shape is relatively the same, yet not at all the same. The slight bulges and irregularities of the Bartlett acted on my inspiration as do the lines and movements of the human figure. The shapes begin the movement and take me into that space where anything can happen and everything does happen.

At that point I abandoned my cart and lost myself testing my emotional monitor with every fruit and vegetable on display. With so little time to paint, I see no need to draw or paint anything that does not make my monitor soar. There is no shortage of shapes that make me catch my breathe. There is also no shortage of shapes that leave me in the dark. There's too little time for me to waste any of it painting in the dark.