An Artist Making Art
First, a quick recap of my creative week, including photos of my entry for the display competition. Then, I share progress on my paintings, a digital illustration, and a new endeavor on the horizon.
I’m not going to lie, it was a long week. One of the reasons was the disappearance of the sun and the arrival of rain after a five day stretch of sunshine bliss. Sunlight is like a drug up here. When it first reappears after a winter of gray skies and bone chilling dampness, you feel like you’ll never be unhappy again, you’re so damn high. I had more energy those five days than I did at any point these past few months. Its first reappearance is simply a nibble, however. It will not stay, but always slips back into one more cold plunge before the spring is here for good.
Wnen that happens, you wake up a completely different person than you were just a few days before. The depression is palpable in the public spaces: faces downturned, mouths in suit, less small talk, less patience. It’s as if the world is on mute, emotionally and physically. It’s a ride, for sure.
That was one reason the week was rough. The other reason was my ambitious display for the merchandising competition. I know it won’t come as any surprise to you that businesses across the country are slicing hours and asking their workers to do more with less. So, adding an extracurricular activity on top of that means more work, with little to no extra time to do it in. My normal duties suffered. I didn’t perform as well as I usually do. There are things I would do differently.
All that being said, I did the damn thing. I made the display into what I had envisioned. J and I blew up over 120 balloons, some with a hand pump, the others with our own lungs. We watched King of the Hill and laughed a lot. I hand painted the cardboard tree trunk, complete with a carved heart and the target brand’s name inside. I got pictures of it looking perfect and pristine. Next came the effort of keeping it looking good through the weekend. That’s when the real struggle began.
Balloons are a difficult material to work with. They are not stationary objects. Balloons are sealed latex vessels containing gas at a higher pressure inside than is outside. Latex is not impervious. It has imperfections and tiny, tiny, tiny holes throughout its weave of molecules. The smaller gases in the balloon want to escape to the lower pressure outside and eventually they do. What this means for my display was a sort of degradation as each day passed. A shrinking. A withdrawal. I had extra balloons, but not a lot, so I had to be strategic in their placement as holes and gaps began to appear. I used a lot of duct tape. Saturday, when I left work, I had bolstered it as best I could for the two days I will not be there to maintain it. I don’t have high hopes for its survival. However, I did do the damn thing in the first place, so there’s that. Here’s some photos of it looking its best:
This was a big creative leap for me. I’ve never really done anything like it and I’m pleased with the results, even if the longevity needs some improvement. The display was effective and I got an incredible response. I won’t find out if I’m one of the contest winners for another week or so, but I gave it my best shot and I can be proud of that. I also learned a lot (especially about balloons).
This next weekend I will be focusing on finishing up my Oregon coast triptych. I didn’t paint as much this week as I would have liked because of the display competition, but I’ve got several layers on the canvases and I’m happy with the direction they are headed. Here’s a peek at my progress:
This might be surprising, but the orange you see in the paintings at this stage will be barely visible in the completed versions. This is the dynamic color I picked for the underpainting of the clouds. It will create a vibrancy and energy within the composition, even as it’s painted over.
I also made some fun digital illustrations this week. I’ve started compiling a list of prompts to draw from so that when I don’t know what to do for my daily doodle, I can pick something off of it. This has helped me stay consistent even when I’m not naturally inspired. About once each week, a doodle will inspire a longer composition and I’ll create a completed image. Here’s a digital illustration that was inspired by my daily digital drawing practice:
In other news, I added my name to the waitlist of my favorite ceramics studio here in Portland. Its northern location is on the way home from my day job, so once I become a member again, I’ll be able to stop in and do some work quite easily.
I’m really excited to pick this practice back up. It’s one that gives as much as it gets. It’s therapeutic in some wonderful ways and I’ll be returning to some ideas that have laid dormant for over a year.
While I have you here, I wanted to ask: do you have any creative projects you're looking forward to? Is there a medium you’d like to work in that you haven’t tried yet? Tell me about it in the comment section. I’d love to hear what is inspiring you right now.
In next week’s newsletter, I’ll be sharing a delicious recipe that’s easy to whip up and digitally illustrated images to go along with it. Plus, I’ll share the progress I’ve made on the Oregon coastline paintings and reveal my next selection for the landscape series.
Until then, thank you so much for being here.
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