Love these words from Lottie Anderson

I believe that we over analysis

the process to determine the product.

I have watched far too many 

artists be frantic about

where to place the next mark

or the next patch of colour.

I have seen many a workshop leader, 

be dragged by the hand to view a work in progress, 

"What should I do"?

Just do it my friends.

Close your eyes, 

take a very deep cleansing breath, 

exhale, 

and do it.

Make your mark, 

add that colour, 

scrape away, 

layer it on.

Then do it again.

You already know what to do.

It's in your gut.

Don't think too much about it.

Just do it.

By Lottie Anderson

( taken from 'I love the smell of wet paint' blog)

Those Wretched Negative Thoughts

Well it has been over a week now at the Residency.

I  experienced one of my negative mood shifts this morning. It is hard to describe. Like the anchor on my boat gets severed and I drift off into deeper, unchartered waters where a pending storm is threatening and shadows are falling. 

My shadows or inner critics are a force to be reckoned with. Lurking around in the back of my mind, they turn up as uninvited guests when I least expect them.....like on this beautiful residency. They are mean and nasty and full of lies. They are out to destroy and gnash their teeth with an entourage of negative thoughts that can literally wear me to the ground. But that is all they are 'thoughts'

I've had lots of experience with these negative thoughts in my head. What works for me is to expose them, bring them out into the light, take note of them and then, thank your critics!

"Thank you for your accusations. I have taken note of them. None of them are the true, as you know but if I have any doubts I will consult with my loved ones and those who care. You can go now...I've got things to do. Goodbye!"

 

Not always that easy, but it worked today. 

Here are a couple more charcoal sketches.

Number Five of Daily Series

    Sea-urchins drifting

    Back and forth along the shore

    Never seen blue ones!

Human Expression Out Of Charcoal

Felt the need to work with charcoal today. Had planned to just get the feel of the charcoal on plain white paper. I found myself instinctively wanting to draw the outlines of figures. The charcoal is so soft and and bold at the same time. So instant and so messy, but I loved working with it.

I didn't have a model and have never learned the portions of the body so I was drawing completely from my memory.  I wanted the bodies to express some deep emotion like grief or pain but a couple of them just look like they are sleeping. I liked the way I couldn't remove all my mistakes. The viewer can follow my journey and struggle as I seek to place the lines where I want them to be and give the image expression.  

I think I will take some lessons in life drawing. The human body and all the emotions it holds has always been something I have wanted to study but I thought it would be too difficult to master. Guess I just have to start at the beginning and see how I go. 

Is Art A Luxury?

Art is never a luxury

Life has an inside as well as an outside. 

Consumer culture directs all resources and attention to life on the outside. 

What happens to the inner life?

Art is never a luxury because it stimulates and responds to the inner life.

We are badly out of balance. 

I don't think of art / creativity as a substitute for anything else.

I see it as a powerful expression of our humanity - and on the side of humanity under threat.

If we say art is a luxury, we might as well say that being human is a luxury.

Jeanette Winterson

     Print on paper                by J Pfeiffer 

Time For A Coffee Break!

Today is the first day that I have not been nodding off every time I sit down to read, write, meditate or paint. I guess it has taken some adjusting from the hustle and bustle of city life, and everything that goes on all around us and that's not including what goes on in our mind all day long! 

I am loving this time and space to just 'be' and go with whatever captures my attention. Simple things. I was drawn to my coffee bags. I love the neutral colours and patterns created.

Below is number 4 painting using the same 3 colors and only the tools shown in the photo.

Number 4 abstract painting. I'm calling it 'Trinity' because I had been looking up the meaning of different religious symbols around the world just before I went into the studio.

I haven't written a Haiku poem for it yet.

In The Studio

  
                         

I set myself a small challenge for each day during my 3 week stay. 

I will create one painting a day using exactly the same materials and the same tools each time. I'm painting on a 30 x 30 cm canvas. I have a limited palette of 3 acrylic colours, Ultramarine Blue/Yellow Ochre/Titanium White. My tools are a palette knife, 3 different sized paintbrushes and a graphite pencil. I begin by squeezing out a small amount of paint from each tube straight onto the canvas and then I will see what happens!

When each painting is complete, I meditate on it for a while and then write a Haiku-kind-of-poem. These works will go in a final exhibition at the end of my stay. 

These are from my first three days..

                               

                                    Sold

Straight from the paint tube

Colours snake on the substrate

Palette knife blends

Blue, Ochre and White

Brush strokes soften hard edges

Scratching the surface

What is it about?

Inspired by desire

To create something new

Calm chaos revealed

Child-like graphite lines are drawn

Come explore with me

                               

                                   Sold

Neglected farmhouse

Hides away amoung the mist

Where someone once lived

                                        

          

The painting is the same size as the others but the photo has downsized!

Time for a landscape

A recognisable theme

Relax and enjoy