A Year of Making Art, Day 100: Art as Problem Solving

July 28, 2007  Day 100

Today I realized that one thing which is consitent between my drawing and painting is the idea of problem solving.  I get some paint on the canvas, or some lines on paper, beginning not exactly randomly, but without a lot of care in their placement.  Then, at some point, I need to coerce, cajole, or charm this beginning into a form that works.

In this morning's drawing, the thick vertical blue and green lines formed an armature for the rest of the composition.  In many of my drawings, I create a strong central core that radiates out and becomes lighter at the edges.  Some of the paler random lines add a texture and counter-balance to the more deliberate lines placed later on in the process.

   Drawing 101  11" x 14"

Next I did some preliminary painting on canvas 16, which I now have to let dry in order to work on again.  Normally I would just paint over this immediately, but there was something about the shimmering orbs of yellow, orange and red which intrigued me.  We'll see if I can make anything of it tomorrow.

  Canvas 16  36" x 36"

(Note:  There is a gap between the dates I'm writing and posting because I had to give myself time to get ahead in case we travel and I'm not able to post.)