Life got a little out of control with a flurry of medical appointments, moving everything out of the kitchen for the big project starting on Monday, and the need to keep the cat calm during some loud demolition work.
But now, the only place to hide from the noise is upstairs at my desk/art space, so I have been able to get back to my gouache improvement project of painting little square views. This was one of the fastest ones I have done yet.
This one took several days of short worksessions to come to completeion, or actually abandonment, because I was not happy with the greens or the path. I just sort of gave up.
Sometimes, it is ok to stop trying to fix a creative work, If you can name a few things that you have learned or improved upon, the effort has provided some value and you don’t have to fell that you wasted precious time. I feel like my effort with these gouache squares is helping me get more comfortable with the medium. They are not masterpieces by any means. Some are good enough that I might create larger versions in acrylics or oils. For now, with everything going on in the house, gouache is the easiest opaque medium for me, despite its trickiness.
Additional Thoughts on one of my older newsletters.
In Walden Zones I talked about creating a space in your home and reclaiming time for creativity. I realize that we also need to create some internal headspace that nurtures our creativity, using our imagination. In the everyday hustle, we can use image or memory to put is in that mindset that gives us the words, the sounds, the visual memories that could be our next painting, poem, story, or sketch. For me, several memories come to mind:
Lying in the grass in my grandparents’ backyard looking up at a magnolia tree in bloom
My first sight of the Rocky Mountains on a family vacation when I was a child
The first gaze exchanged with my just born sons
If I had to imagine a space to create it would be a cozy attic dormer with a windowseat and a view of the mountains and lakes, in a room with a cozy chair, a fireplace, stacks of books. No TV, phone or internet. A cat or two.
How about you? What memories can become your portable haven for planning and mentally creating? What imaginary place would you create to nurture your creative muse.
A Few Lessons from my Inbox
I agree wholeheartedly with what Shinjini wrote here about following your curiosity. This is why I don’t do many challenges and paint-alongs anymore. In fact I am thinking of capping this gouache exercise at 20 squares, instead of the original 30 I was aiming for.
Chris Guillebeau said it best here in a post about self-sabotage:
"Constantly seek perfection in every aspect of your life. If it's not flawless, it's not worth doing. This mindset will ensure you never finish anything and always feel inadequate.”
Maybe I need to stop being a one-medium-at-a-time painter. I really force gouache to do things for which it is not really good (at least in my hands) James Gurney turns out another great painting using gouache, watercolor and a pencil here.
Reclaiming Creativity is a free newsletter. Coffee donations are greatly appreciated and motivate me to keep writing. And thanks to those who have donated, if you are still reading. Sometimes it’s hard for me to trace you over to your substack id from Kofi.
I love your little gouache squares, Jo. I agree with the need to sometimes abandon a work. I have a few of those lately, especially as continue exploring watercolour/gouache (having only used acrylics prior). It can sometimes be hard (for me) to figure out that fine line between intentional abandonment and giving up too early though!
Thanks Rebecca