The Laws of Nature

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Patience

"Rome wasn't built in a day" and neither are my paintings. Years ago, I was very impatient to quickly execute each piece and move on to the next. Although this helped me to gain proficiency in handling a brush, it did very little else. These days, I purposely compose complex paintings that require deliberation over each aspect of the composition before the first brushstroke. Patience is a great teacher. When I allow time for analysis, my work advances. When I don't, my work becomes repetitious and flawed. It's easy to develop bad habits by working too fast without critical analysis along the way. This painted panel on the left (oil on board) is only a third of a triptych posted earlier on this blogsite. It was a challenge to work out each panel as an individual work of art, but also to pay attention to the overall composition of the entire triptych. It's kind of like solving a jigsaw puzzle. I like the challenge, and (here's another adage) the harder I work - the greater the reward.

7 comments:

-Don said...

Kathy, First of all, thank you for your encouraging words and taking time to share your selection process with me. They are well received...
Secondly, your patience and analytical evaluation show in your work. I think it's the complex nature of each painting that draws me in as a viewer. Your color choices and the compositional structure are so well thought out and executed that I HAVE to look. Think about it, why else would I stop and look at a bunch of broken eggshells? :)

Unknown said...

the colors are fantastic...rich and elegant...cant wait to see the rest!

DZ said...

Hi Kathy,
I have been enjoying your blog, and seeing your beautiful paintings! Although I know you already, I feel that I'm getting to know you better. PS - It's taken me weeks to figure out how to post a comment on your blog!

John Hlavinka said...

browsing your blog - excellent work

Elizabeth Seaver said...

I love the glow from inside the eggshells; it's very intriguing. So, intriguing that I want to be able to look more closely. I wish I could!

http://www.onpainting.wordpress.com said...

Lovely painting but I'm worried about your cholesterol levels.

RH Carpenter said...

I very much enjoy your previous posts about the process, the thinking, and the filtering of an artist's life and work. So true and so hard to come to this place where one can be strong enough to accept criticism and intelligent enough to ignore that which isn't given for growth or in honesty.