PART 2
OK,..so a little more detailed...
ROOM
ok.... this is a little more user specific. every artist has their quirks..... I know some folks that paint in organised chaos. Cheryl Clifford paints at a tilt table, surrounded by half filled jars..coffee cups..good wineglasses... dog food tins,full of mixed colours....with brushes sticking out precariously close to elbow space. It made my eyes wince watching her catlike motons around the "accidents waiting to happen" but ironically...she never spilt a dot of paint. The extreme care was her "mode" if you follow. Im more "mr neat" which is more of a common neurosis. Ludij Peden told me, she cant paint unless the phone is on answering machine...all the washings done...all the bills are paid...and her relationship with her family is in perfect harmony. many artist paint in studios, littered with books... and paint smudged photographs....jars of stubbly brushes....turpentine rags a radio with coloured fingerprints on the dials.......and somewhere a very nice window emitting light from the upper left hand side, so as to not shadow the subject with the artists hand. Lighting is arranged above and away so theres no direct reflections bouncing off the wet paint.
FIRST
the first thing you do, is make a cuppa. then you run your hands over the canvas to make sure its not grimy or littered with insects glued to the drying paint. Sit and stare,.....just for a minute.....go do some laundry. No detergent. Go to Woolies. Car wont start.Hire car. ATM is out of service.... build trailer for pushbike.....and so on. when you're worn out from all that, and satisfied with a day well spent being productive then you "afford" yourself, the luxury of wasting time, at the easel.
PUT COLOURS OUT.
a small dob of each colour on the spots where they always go. Even if you dont use the paint its better to have it ready when you are. then some "medium" eg:- linseed...in a small cup or jar, ready for dipping into. open the turps jar.(coffee jar etc) clean Vaseline off a couple of brushes you have selected. Change the radio station to something that doesnt yell at you. In the beginning. you start by listening to more agressive music..while you cover the canvas with colour in the "block in" during the rendering.....more spacial music suits. I spend hours getting videos of movies and TV documentaries.... 2 tape decks..a CD and Minidisc player....and a mixing desk....and creating these long entertaining recordings of a wide mix of music and film. I can then be occupied, mentally... while I paint phyisically. its usual to play just one CD, over and over for the entire time a picture is in progress.
AFTER
when youve finished painting....its time first to stretch. normally... while enjoying a wine, or whatever. Tired?.. mmm nope. kinda wound up , like with any job. good time to go walking / swimming. /finish building the bike trailer/ run for local government. OK... I think thats about covered the questions on this one... all else I can think of...is the smell thing... yep. the paint smell permeates a room pretty completely. Its bad for your respiratory system and your eyes....so ventilation is a must. painting on a deck, or outside in the yard....is optimal.
Tell Di and Rick I said HALLO. I really hope you can find a place in yourself to continue thus. remember.. creativity isnt about control, but about yeilding. first task. GIVE UP. then maybe you can start. it seems you need to know heaps to satisfy your perfectionist disposition. but perfectionism isnt a good tool for creativity. Simply being a human , is all the qualification you require for the best creativity. We are amasing machinery. all you do is put in some basic information.... leave it alone to let it brew, and when it is cooked.....it will tell you its time to let it out. close your eyes....listen to it. Then ..... write. The reader wants to go with "your" flow,.... NOT with your control. ANYone can do the control thing. and its not entertaining. TRUST YOUR MACHINE. Thinking as only a tool , that we use to get in touch with our feelings. Thinking is the tool. Feelings are the goal. feelings matter,... thinking usually just gets in the way. So which one will you write? I hope all this is useful Mel. 20 years in,.. Im still learning this lesson .
Take care..
Greg
PS... its absolutely OK to pass on numbers and addresses.thanks. Buh bye now. PPS... what I said about yeilding....when you respond to that with "yes... but thats not the way I work...etc. thats how we ALL start... well those of us who are any good.(you're already in good company) keep going gwasshoppa.