Straddling La Dolce Vita and Chaos
Plus a watercolor workshop in September
I wrote an article for you about embracing a lazy girl summer; it was filled with ideas for slowing down, reading books, making love, and tuning out the chaotic news cycle.
But I was too busy and caught in the endless press cycle to finish it. (Insert nervous chuckle here.) Throughout the half-finished articles, I have been painting!
When I settled into the studio, right away, I put together a mood board of imagery that spoke to me and picked up on the theme of the romance of Italy and Italian art. It all feels very La Dolce Vita, living the sweet life. I also added some of my petite paintings to my new sturdy mood board to flesh out the overall feel a bit. Somehow, I ran across this quote from author William Somerset Maugham,
"We wandered through the lemon groves and vineyards, noisy with cicadas and heavy with the hot smell of the sun, till we came to the top of the cliff down which ran a steep winding path to the sea."
With this quote tacked next to my canvas and some views of the Mediterranean, I painted this new 30 x 40 painting.
The truth is that I am on the cusp of something fresh in the studio, and I can't quite wrap my brain around it. If I am really truthful, it scares me a little bit because I am not used to lingering this long over work. I am asking myself what I want out of my work, as in, where do I want it to take me? This sort of questioning can work for an artist or against them. It forces me to push myself outside my comfort zone, but it can also freeze the fluidity of the work. It's a tricky balance. So, each day, I ponder, make some marks, lay out some ideas, sketch, and then nap (or work hard to resist naps, which is killing me!)
Just take a summer nap already.
I am attempting to sit with the next batch of ideas that are forming out of this and allow the conversation to roll out easily.
Here is some summer takeaway advice (not that you asked, but it's not bad advice!)
*Turn off your kryptonite (the internet, the news, you know what yours is!) and make a peach and burrata Caprese salad (like this one), which is just what we did last night. Finish off with a glass of Rose.
*Slow down, make love, and focus on the sweet life.
LOCAL ARTISTS: I am teaching a workshop at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society on the 17th and 18th. Sign up here. The workshop explores botanical abstraction.
If you have any questions about collecting art or the workshop, just hit reply, and I will be more than happy to answer them!