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"Confidence and Illusion" - oil on crescent board, 14 x 19 inches. This item is sold unframed. (click on the photo to purchase)
Ah, the expressive brush strokes of Van Gogh, and oh, Chagall’s dreamy scenes! Celebrated artists throughout history have produced some of the world’s most ravishing works, executed with an unparalleled mastery of light and color, line and space. But let’s face it: they also turned out their share of duds. We’re not talking about paintings intended to capture the grotesquerie of human life, but artworks that evidence clumsy mark-making, questionable choices, or a rudimentary hand. Even the most adept of painters, it seems, have their off days. -ARTNEWS, Nov 2023
Confidence and Illusion
Masterpiece or hot mess? https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/bad-paintings-by-famous-artists-2397184
Artists have a lot in common with Oz's wizard.
We're behind the curtain, making things appear to be enchanted, magical, effortless, charming and more. But really, we are messy, clumsy, mistake-making, blundering adventurers who sometimes happen to land on a formula that works.
Well, I am, anyway.
But I suppose it is part of our mystique - our je ne said quoi -to keep the curtain closed, the fog machine rolling and the pile of mishaps shoved under the table. Because there are many.
We're behind the curtain, making things appear to be enchanted, magical, effortless, charming and more. But really, we are messy, clumsy, mistake-making, blundering adventurers who sometimes happen to land on a formula that works.
Well, I am, anyway.
But I suppose it is part of our mystique - our je ne said quoi -to keep the curtain closed, the fog machine rolling and the pile of mishaps shoved under the table. Because there are many.
The ballgown bots are something I stumbled upon that delight me and seem to feel effortless under my hands. But it is a rarity, this sense of ease in the paint. As I gaze upon the pile of canvases and boards to be painted over (my share of duds) I am decidedly grateful for a wizardly moment with the paint.
About the art: this is a paint-over of a very old acrylic piece on crescent board. Though I chose the underpainting because of its color and depth, ultimately none of it remains in this new painting. The focus of this piece is that small section of skin against the dark background - a wee bit of humanity within the monstrous. After a light pencil sketch, I began layering the darks, painting around the form until the shapes were just so. Resisting the desire to overly define the skin shadows, letting shapes speak instead. Layers and layers of pink and gold for the dress, wet into wet so the edges slightly blur into the dark background like gauzy silk. Mixing the darkest darks for bodice and underskirt (while avoiding actual black) and then a slightly gray-brown dark for the background. Playing one dark against the other. Allowing a small shape within the headpiece to say "eye" and a dark shape to say "ear" and leaving the rest to the viewer's eyes. This piece makes me smile. She's a badass for sure.
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I love this series and this painting in particular. Thank you for sharing about the duds and paint over pile. It’s a lesson we all need to learn in our own way. When I painted only on Sundays due to my work schedule a bad painting could ruin my day or the week ahead. I used to put so much pressure on myself. Now I know if you are going to explore sometimes you get lost. I recently had a dud in a demo I was teaching a class with. I decided it was actually a gift to my students. I let them behind the curtain as it were and let them see they don’t all just magically flow out of my brush. I simply said I can’t paint my way out of this mess, but that I had learned what approach not to take. I then took out a fresh sheet of paper and started over. 🙂
I am smitten by this badass's body language. You have captured SO MUCH just in that space between neck and waist, that small section of skin against the dark background, that collarbone, those shoulders. WOW!!!
And let me just say your dark (notblack) against dark (also nonblack) is BRILLIANT—you have found the magical imperceptible difference between those two darks that still allows for contrast. Masterful.
Being behind the curtain is a perfect way to describe life. So much of life is about what we choose to reveal to others. It's a bit like social media. People show you what they want you to see and it gives the impression that life is easy for them. We don't often show others the struggle, but I truly appreciate when people do. I always feel less like an outsider when I know that I am not alone. I think there is beauty and inspiration in showing the imperfections. A lot of people think it shows weakness to reveal the mistakes, but I think it shows great strength.
You do make art seem effortless! I am always so excited to see your remarkable new creations/pieces of you. So many incredible and inspiring paintings! I think even if you have some you consider duds, they are still worthwhile. There is always something we can take away from things that don't work out as intended. Everything is so subjective too. One person's "dud" may well be considered a masterpiece to the right person.
And you are a shining example of sharing your vulnerability and strength on social media and in conversations...making others feel less alone, seen and validated. It is a rare and wonderful talent you have!
Effortless-seeming is the goal, I suppose? Nice to hear I might just be pulling that off. And you're so right about the duds. One thing I've learned in the last decade: my job is to make the art, not to judge it. If it flounders and flails when shown to the world, I can retire it or paint over it. Often times people DO enjoy the things I just kind of shrug at. Which just tells me that piece emerged exactly for them, right?
Thanks SO much for your encouragement and for being so open and brave in the world! xo