Thursday, September 4, 2008

"The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that outlasts it." William James


I like to collect quotes, don't you? It all started with a sixth grade teacher, Ms. Lanham, who would write a quote on the board every day. Did I write them down? Of course not. But I do remember thinking about some of them and who said them. Who writes all this stuff down? If I say something "profound", who will ever know it? My cat? She's like the Bush beans dog, she "ain't tellin". :)


This one speaks to me as an artist. Hopefully, the "good" ones will live on and I can mercifully get rid of the "bad" ones while I am still around. All forms of communication: writing, songwriting, painting, etc take some thought, some editing, some twinking before they are audience ready. I like to have my paintings around for awhile in the studio and sneak up on them sometimes to see if there is something not quite right. A color? A value? A kissed edge? When you self-critique, you should first say what's good about it. What did you do well? What did you learn from this painting? Then, look at what can you improve? What didn't work? Would you attempt a "do over?" Why or why not? Unless you are Margaret Mitchell, you probably have more than one story in you. Keep going!


Happy Painting!

Durinda

1 comment:

VickiRossArt said...

You go gurl! I love quotes too, but never seem to latch onto them and quote them.

Had a stinker day in the studio today. Days like this make me wonder why I spend so much time trying to create something as elusive as a good painting!

AARGH! I'll be back at it tomorrow...

vickilou