I loaded the cd player (shown to the left) with five Art Ensemble of Chicago cds and hoped some of their magic would rub off on me.
And I remembered another painting truism. The further back I stand from my painting, the better it looks. And I don’t mean just because I can’t see it as well. When I catch myself hunching over the canvas I know I am in trouble. I am better off hanging onto the end of a big brush and standing as far back as I can. This way I can keep the whole painting in view while I paint a small section. When I start obsessing on the parts I would be better off walking away. “Walking away” seems to be a useful technique as well. When I come back to it, I usually find a clearer picture of the real problems.
5 Comments
i love reading all the working-out-a-painting comments. fascinating. rich got me a bridget riley book, and the text is so good. believe it or not, her ideas for all her paintings r based in nature, especially rolling hillsides. when u look at her paintings tho, u would never guess that that’s where they all begin.
you got any heat there man, do you always wear that many clothes indoors? oh and hi andrea baby
how do I apply those painting tips to writing? If I stand too far back, I can’t read it.
I count 21.5 eyes in that shot. I’m waiting for that self-portrait to see how you might view your own.
Rich,
I’ve been writing something that I’m afraid to think too much about. So I don’t read anything I’ve written and I try to write each section quickly and then just as quickly close the doc. I think that’s my version of standing back or walking away.
Of course you could just set the font size to 72…