In my last blog I featured a little painting called "Rock Band". MY painting method got me out of the creative dry spell I had been in -  thick, fast, and loose and not much attention paid to details. In fact, I literally "painted what I saw" without much regard to what each shape and color was. I am telling the truth when I tell you that, until I was halfway finished with the painting, I did not identify the guy at the keyboard in the center of the painting as my own son John!

This is not a bad thing. As many agree, a bad painting habit can be to get overly caught up in details without letting the painting do the deciding, and letting the creative side of the brain take over. And, here is another example: my original purpose for writing today's blog was to extol the virtues of painting a series on a single subject, or of a single style or atmosphere. And, actually, I do think that this is a fine idea - to thoroughly explore whatever it is that has caught your attention as a creative person. After viewing "Rock Band" last week, several people asked me if was going to paint more works in my "new style", which they said they loved - loose, liquid and swooshy. And I will, and the attached painting "Cowboy on Bourbon Street" is the first of a series I am calling "Night Lights". Two or three more paintings will probably be in this series, and I am tweaking my materials or methods or subject matter each time. It's a learning experience for me and very enjoyable.

But my secondary purpose for this blog has turned out to be an encouragement to artists to allow themselves to veer off the path most traveled (by them) and to experiment with letting their "fingers do the walking" to see what happens. It might be a happy surprise!

I was just going to say that I "worked hard" in getting myself out of a dry spell, but that is almost the opposite of what I did - I actually worked around it. My studio never looked neater than now, I have lists of things to do and people to contact and upcoming shows and blogs to write, and on and on. These are things that needed doing, but tended to get shoved aside for the greater pleasure of slapping paint on a canvas. Can't tell you how many times I have heard women artists say they wished they had a wife to do all of the above, as many male artists have. Maybe that is a good thing after all.

After a couple of days of puttering, (and one has to be careful not to get carried away in that mode and get stuck there) I got a small canvas and a favorite easy subject and painted. And, hurrah, it felt good and the painting wasn't half bad. Started a second canvas from a photo of a rock band - "Dead Western Plains" (don't ask, I don't know) sent to me by my son several months ago. Good time to try it, I thought. Had...a...blast!!

Going to keep that attitude. Yes, making good art is work, as we all know. But if you don't love your work, it will look like it.

I felt like Van Gogh all last week - not the style or his type of talent, just the despair. Well, really just crankiness. For the life of me, I just couldn't paint anything! Canvases were flying off my easel ... and ultimately turned toward the wall, trashed, or scrubbed squeaky clean with turps. 

Took a break for several days, tweaked my website at www.mungerart.com, signed up for Open Studio Tour in November (surely I will be on track by then), cleaned my studio and stacked bad stuff in the corner to be gessoed over when the temperature drops in AZ and I can do it outside. Also, a funny thing: I found some not-so-old paintings that were kinda hidden in the closet, and I found that I liked them! Going to hang those puppies up! Feeling better, taking a deep breath (as all the politicians say), pulling out a glistening fresh, medium sized canvas, selecting subject matter that always makes me happy...maybe a Flamenco dancer...and I am going to have some fun in the studio today. Maybe I can post the results in a future blog! Soon.

May my muse return...Please? 

Testing, testing.

Despite the colorful background, the young lady's expression adds another layer of meaning to the title of the painting, "A Blue Note." The use of curved and swooping, brushstrokes contrasts with the very static, somber look of the letter in the center of the painting. She might need a sip of that glass of wine. Five inch wide black frame with narrow gold fillet.

Whether or not you are an artist, have you ever created something that you pretty much liked, but ... there was just something that was missing? This is my most recent experience.

About a year ago I commemorated the first ballet recital of my granddaughter Chloe by painting six little dancers, all in a row, each in her own little world. The dance instructor had taped a line onto the stage floor to get them organized, and I suspect she was in the wings calling out the steps they were to be doing. As I remember, this particular instruction was something like "Put your right foot forward and tap, tap, tap." The little girl on the far right seemed to be close, the one next to her had the wrong foot, two others were oblivious, and the girls with their arms in the air had already sped way past that part of the choreography and were already into the "Ta Da!" part of the performance. How adorable!

Unfortunately, I was not as pleased with my painting of this event. Loved the little figures, but something was not right. For several months I couldn't see what I needed to do - until last week. To my eye at least, even if the image was accurate, the background was just too dark. I warmed it up and lightened it with a bluish green and I was transported back to that audience, applauding the dance divas of the future.

To see the original painting before tweaking, scroll down to the next entry.

This is the first version of this painting that I referenced in the blog "A Eureka Moment" blog above.

I often wonder why artists gravitate toward certain subject matters. I am sure there are many reasons, such as a love for the outdoors inspiring landscape paintings; a love of sailing leading to a love of painting seascapes; western subject matters for the cowboy enthusiast, and so forth.

Or, sometimes, the artist just finds he is having more "fun" when painting a certain type of painting. For me, it's color and motion. More exactly, I love painting people in motion (sometimes animals are exciting also). And, since I particularly love painting dancers, I almost always have the extra benefit of luscious color - in the dance costumes, or in the decor or lighting. Maybe it's the influence of the many dance contests on television.

And since I have found that people enjoy my paintings of dancers, it is a win-win situation. The image for today's blog is my second painting of a particular dancing couple (see previous blog for the first painting). I love their dance positions, their facial expression, and the color of the clothing. Fun for me, and, I hope, fun for the viewer.

OK, that is not a quote from me. That is what the young lady at UPS said when she saw this painting, which I had just handed to her to ship to a California buyer several months ago.  I guess that comment meant she liked it, right? Actually, two buyers wanted to purchase this one. I am very grateful and I would love to be that lucky again.

I love painting dancers, tango dancers in particular. The exaggerated and elegant movements are glorious to watch and great fun, if somewhat difficult, to paint.

So, I am painting the same couple again, in a different dance position. I will put it on my next blog in a few days

Just finished a new painting, displayed with this blog entry. I am continuing with my efforts to loosen my brushstrokes, experiment with colors, and resist the temptation to fiddle too much (my natural tendency as an ex-portrait painter), while still enjoying the process. In a previous blog I opined that we may as well enjoy our efforts at painting just now, since most of us are not enjoying the process of raking in money in this time of consumer frugality.  Don't they understand that art is a necessity!!

Contrasts: warm vs cool (colors); light vs dark; loose realism (figure) vs abstract (suggested forest greenery in the backgroup, just blocked in as abstract shapes).

So little time, so much to discover. Play on.