Sweet Distractions


Woke up this morning all energized to hit the easel and finish off the half dozen oils I have in progress right now. I'm excited about all of them. 

Pulling on my socks though I turned my head to gaze out the window on the fog wrapping around my favorite maple tree. Damn but it was lovely! Came within an inch of dropping everything and starting a new painting. 



But I didn't. 

Sometimes I see paintings in museums by famous artists (whose work I usually admire) that seem unresolved to me. I always wonder about that. Once an artist has become widely recognized and widely collected, the prices for their paintings can skyrocket. And even unfinished work that only collected dust in the corner of their studio can become monetarily really valuable. 

Whenever you see a work where the artist managed to bring their vision completely to life it's thrilling. All artists, even the most talented, get stuck. If they're smart that's when they put their work aside for awhile and go on to other pieces. Eventually they'll get an idea for how to fix the troubled work-in-progress and return to finish it off.

Most artists of any accomplishment have lots of work like this lying around. They're waiting until the muse "whispers in their ear" and tells them how to fix their troubled incomplete pieces.
At a certain point, the artist either has to get them finished or failing that, paint over them. I'd like to leave a legacy of lots of fully realized paintings. And those six pieces I need to finish are calling to me.

To the woods outside my studio this morning I will have to say thank you and savor the memory of how they made me feel. That's good enough. Those six in-progress works are clamoring for the brush.



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