Monday Art Salon - July 27, 2015

"Flying Free" mixed media on cradleboard, 8" x 8"

This is the summer of letting go.  Parting with things no longer needed or used, places I was accustomed to and habits unhealthy or stale.  The summer of loosening my grip on children now grown and on parents passed on.  And somewhere along the way this summer, I fell into a similar theme in my art.

Loosening up, which is roughly the complete opposite of my mark making (tightly drawn circles and tiny squiggly lines, closely gripped finely nibbed pens) and letting go of intentional lines and marks was decidedly challenging, at first.  Opting for primitive instead of polished, textured instead of smooth, splotchy over pristine.  Intuition over intention.  Painting over prior pieces depicting tight control and order.  Using my hands and fingers and wrong ends of brushes, wet into wet and charcoal on paint over tissue over more paint over whatever was underneath.  Initially, my shoulders were tight, my teeth clenched and my brow deeply furrowed.  Until...magic!  Emotion!  Simple faces and concepts overwhelming me right in the heart, emerging from paper and board and canvas and paint-smeared hands.  Letting go, it seems, is glorious and exhilarating!

This piece is the result of a studio play day.  Loose.  Unintentional. And yet I love her little face and wide forehead.  Her pencil-scratch hands and scraggly hair.  She emerged on her own, wanting to be created.  And I have already forgotten what was underneath.

This piece is available.  Inquiries: imajenation@gmail.com

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