In Remission

If I blame my disorder... my 'multiple creativity disorder'... for having so many different media and disciplines to work in that I can't decide what to do, then I blame my year-long absence from creating art on the remission of said disorder.  Either way, I haven't been prolific with art-making.  In fact, I didn't do a single piece in 2014.  I wasn't even aware of it, so it wasn't a conscious decision on my part.  I did do some creative cooking, beadmaking, and such... but really no worthwhile projects were generated.  So I'm thankful to have relapsed, and am back on track.  In fact, the main point of my New Year's Resolution is to produce a number of good quality art pieces this year and start submitting again to galleries, shows, etc.

So, the Auld Lang Syne was no sooner sung than I had plans to start my first piece of the year.  I officially started working on it by mid-month, and finished it this very day, February 1st.  It measures 11x14 and is titled 'Diane and Playboy'.  It's graphite and watercolor on a clay-coated panel.

I used my mother-in-law as a model, posing with her new Quarterhorse, TJ Playboy.  I shot several photos of the scene, as well as a few close-ups.  Including photo-processing time, it took me exactly two weeks of very intense work to complete this piece.  So, I have just entered an exhibit with this and two other pieces which were done in 2013.  (I won't know if I'm accepted for a few weeks.)

In order to achieve a subtle color effect in my work, I apply a very quick, sloppy layer of watercolor on the paper or panel that has only been lightly drawn with the basic details.  Then after it's good and dry, I start drawing with many different graphite leads.  The watercolor part might take just a few minutes, but the graphite part takes dozens, sometimes hundreds of hours!  For that reason, I call my work 'drawings' and not 'paintings'.  Sometimes I even paint the entire background with a flat acrylic paint, but that still doesn't constitute a 'painting' in my mind.

Okay.. back to work.  I'm serious!  I'm not taking much time off between projects anymore!  You'll hear from me soon!