Last fall, Maggie Price asked me to participate in a book she was editing. Exciting! The book's subject: strategies for breaking artists' block. Would I like to participate, did I have any favorite strategies, could I meet deadlines with iterative demo photos, copy, and delivery according to North Light Book's specifications? This was new to me, but of course, I agreed to the challenge. I learned a lot in short order, and, thanks to a couple of friends with the right photographic capabilities, it all came together.
"Birds of a Feather" is the result of my first painting demo. My strategy was to paint in a different size than you're accustomed to. The size needn't be drastically different, just different for you, which results in a different energy, different relationship to the edges, and the underlying diagonals. I paired several vintage props from my studio with the Winslow Homer postcard including the pair of friends. The complete demo, including photos from thumbnail sketches through completion will be available in the book "Creative Freedom: 52 Art Projects, Exercises & Techniques to Overcome Your Artist's Block" available in spring, 2013. More news when the release date gets closer.
This cast iron rooster is a favorite of mine. I picked a couple of garlic cloves with which to pose him. I like the juxtaposition of organic against man-made; though poultry isn't man-made, this miniature certainly is.
Autumn is cooling off. Great day for painting, lit the wood stove and cranked the music.
Thanks for looking.
