There is magic in a snow day. I could probably get my car out of the driveway this morning with some effort but I don’t want to. I want to savor the snowy white peace. I live on a hill so from every direction it’s like I’m perched in a little snowy treehouse and as much as I often miss the ocean, there is a tranquility and inspiration in this scene. It is quite literally a winter wonderland today. So obviously I’d paint spring flowers.
I’ve written many times about process. How sometimes the paint flows, the paintings tell me what they need, what they need removed (more often the case) and then there are the times when painting is patience and work and a jigsaw puzzle to be figured out. Those are the nuances of art that I am just really beginning to catch glimpses of and almost enjoy. Almost. When you’re up until midnight on one more iteration, one more layer, one more, one more try, one more go around until I go to bed and then one more, Min, you need to leave this alone and start again tomorrow, those are the one more tries that make it worth it when you finally do catch a glimpse of the rubiks cube clicking into place.
This morning, instead of warming up the car and praying that hill had been cleared, I did not head to the gym or errands or anything that would take me away from work. I stayed. I stayed for one more. It took several hours and I could work on it for several more but I’m stopping. I’m trusting the jigsaw piece fits and I’m using the other side of intuition and letting it be finished.
I used to rail against the process. Why does it work? Why doesn’t it? Why is this painting so frustrating? Why is it easy? There’s no one easy answer. There are several solutions though. Stay. Stick it out. Don’t give up when it’s an ugly monster why bother who do you think you are stage. That’s when the going gets good. Because just on the other side of that mountain there is relief and something will pop. In this particular case, the background color changed radically, I reshaped the vase, several blooms were eliminated and I got looser. I moved into the intuition and let go of the structure. Is it a masterpiece? No! But it’s a great lesson and helpful reminder to myself that art making is a marathon not a sprint.
Snow day it is, no leaving for me. Putting this one aside to glaze and will start a new project. Standing at the base of the creative mountain all over again. xo
“Snow Day Floral” 16×20″
SOLD
