Finding YOU

I love abstract art!  I also enjoy creating, teaching and painting abstract paintings.  Yet, I have come to realise that I am a landscape artist, leaning towards semi-abstraction.  For me, I feel an emotional connection to the landscape whether it is an abstracted one or not.  I need to feel even just a hint of representation to produce my best.

This came to me after years of experimentation.  And after many years of searching for what I love to paint which gives me comfort and happiness, I came to realise that I am a landscape artist.

My paintings starts of like an abstract, but something happens and it get's morphed into what looks like land, then water, then trees emerge as the sun sets.  Voila... a landscape!  I work on three to five paintings at the same time, sometimes with different colour palettes, usually starting with dabs of paint slathered with ink, alcohol, water, sometimes manipulated roughly, with nowhere to go.  Working with some sort of guide, a sketch or a photograph, but usually at this stage, I am not sure where I am heading to.

Classical music helps me to connect with my soul... helps me also to keep calm during the screaming stages when things go into the blur between logical reasoning and abandonment.  As a painter, you just have to learn to trust yourself.  Trust your experimentation and to not be afraid of destroying what you created.  Arthur Bernard quoted; " A painting is destroying and building, destroying and building, over and over again. A good painter must be able to do this and not be afraid of this."

Cheers,
Marissa

"Summer of Sixty Nine" 10" x 10" Mixed Media

March Break

I had a good 2 weeks off teaching and it feels good.   Not having to rush to the next workshop or prepare for the next project gave me time to find some balance in my day-to-day.  I got to catch up on administration shtuffs like updating my website, my blog ( yup!), do my taxes, work on a project and got to spend more time with family and friends.

Although being an artist may be worthwhile and rewarding, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is easy.  Anyone who has ever actually tried to paint a picture, play a song, or write a novel knows that creating art is often a lot harder than it looks.  It is often a long and frustrating journey between knowing how to do something and being able to do it well.  Long moments of thought, practise, creative thinking, practise, trial and error, practise, working through problems, practice, and more. There are a lot of things that have to get done towards being productive and successful.  Not only are YOU your own business, you have to produce to make a living.

Being an artist is not about lightning bolts of inspiration.  It is about being willing to dedicate yourself to practise, to keep growing, to keep learning - to explore. 

I am fortunate to have many friends who are artists and that we can share our little adventures in the business of art every time we get together.  Having a support system outside of family is also enriching. 

"Somewhere North of Bancroft" 8" x 8" Oil

Aside from working on my own projects, I am very much enjoying facilitating workshops and teaching. It seems the more I teach, the more I learn.  I have been blessed with having great students who have become friends and collectors of my paintings.

As I said before, being an artist is not easy.  But there is no other place I'd like to be.