An old adage is 'life is what happens to you while you are making plans'.  That certainly was the case for the last few weeks.  I kept planning to paint and life had other ideas in store for me.  So I went with it.  There was some time off which was very refreshing and stimulating.  It always amazes me to do some people watching and observing while traveling.  When you are open you can pick up ideas from anything.  There were bolts of stimulation from everything from hotel lobby art to tourist t-shirts.  It all found a place in the back of my mind.
Another spark of creativity came from a casual assignment at an artist society meeting.  We were asked to do a quick sketch of a barren tree.  Yeah, right. Not something I would normally do.  Hello! Me abstract artist.  My drawing skills only go so far as stick figures or smiley faces.  Well surprise, surprise.  One dreary and rainy day I rummaged through an unused pile of old supplies and found a box of colored pencils and a scrap of sanded pastel paper from years gone by.  Put on some music and basically doodled.  Did not really think.  Just let the pencil go. And Voila!  After an hour there was a really nice tree, with some character, too.  Point being, just do it.  Sometimes we need a push.  So don't fight with yourself, let go and see what happens.

Most of what we feel as anxiety is fear.  You might not think so but I think it is.  Consider the small anxious moments of everyday life.  You are late for work, you forgot to fill up the car, a first date, the list is endless.  We are actually reacting to fear.  Afraid that we might loose our job, run out of gas on a dark street, or fear will she/he like me, think I am too fat, too bossy, too old.  If we let go of the fear and live in the moment it will melt away.  You know you do a great job and you won't get fired.  You have plenty of gas to get to work or shop and fill up the car.  You are also beautiful, inside and out and it really does not matter how others judge you.  In our art we have the same fears.  Be it a blank canvas or page, or a work in progress.  The inner critic will eventually pop out.  Your work is too big, too small, not enough contrast, bad composition, unbalanced layout, or more.  If we put the critic aside and free our minds just for a moment and let the color, the feel, the sweet moment of being right here right now at a time of creation the joy will come flooding in and the paint or words will fly.  Take my word for it.  Smile, be grateful you are a creator, feel the joy. I love feeling like a giggling six year old when I am in the flow.  It is the moment.  Cherish it.  There should be No Fear in creating.

The past few days the ideas were surfacing; however, needed supplies were still in transit.  Funny how you can wait for the juices to flow and look for inspiration in books, nature or galleries, then it hits and your excitement grows and you really, really want to act and the canvases are on a truck most likely somewhere on I-5. Well then; tah dah, here is the result. Musings on creativity in art. But this brings forth its own issues to consider. There are fundamentals we as artists are asked to remember as we work. The famous BUMPERS comes to mind:  Your art should contain Balance, Unity, Movement, Proportion, Emphasis, Scale and Rhythm. Got to have them.  And while we are at it there is Design, Variation, Dominance, Contrast, Dimension, Space and Division to consider.  Let's face it. I cannot even make an acorynm out of that one let alone remember all of them as I dip brush into paint.  Yet somehow, if it is going to be a great piece most of them will be happily cohabitating.  Left brain and right do not work or play well together while creating.  Some artists listen to music to quiet the logical side.  Others use it for more graphic work.  We all strive to get it done.

On a spectacularly bright and chilly day in Ashland, Oregon the eye of muse has found me.  Creativity is an elusive state of being.  We all inhabit it at all times.  Being aware of it and engaging fully with it is the catch.  My goal with this blog is to share my musings; with all who dare, on a new life started in the Northwest dancing with art.  Please join me!