Time to Think and Reflect

This week my husband and I rented an oceanfront condo in Carlsbad, CA to celebrate our 36th anniversary. It has been a very relaxing and peaceful week overall. We spent some time in antique shops looking for still life objects and in general driving around checking out the area. A highlight for me has been my daily walks on the beach. It is definitely cooler here than in Scottsdale, AZ so even in the bright sunshine in the first half of the week the walks were quite pleasant with the breeze off the ocean. However, the second half of the week we have been pretty much socked in with marine layer (fog) all day or most of the day. This made for very interesting morning walks as I found I even needed a jacket. But.....a plus has been the fact that such an environment of few people, inability to see very far in any direction, and the sound of the ocean leads to introspection. I found myself doing a lot of thinking this week. I thought about how I came to painting after retirement totally enthused about plein air painting. I thrived on being outside with friends painting the landscape. I have worked with some of the top plein air pastel landscape artists in workshops. My inner soul thrived on being out with Mother Nature......but my frustration with my painting was a constant. Although I saw great improvement and I certainly learned a lot.....I never felt that I had met my potential for a painting. Interesting enough I had done some still life in classes....but saw them only as a stepping stone for better landscapes. I also was not driven to paint in the studio....only to be out with friends in the field. I was collecting a large number of unfinished paintings begun in the field and never finished. Then I signed up for the Art Challenge with the Arizona Pastel Artists Association. In previous blogs I talked about how you receive an object and must somehow incorporate it into a painting. My object was a glass goblet.......how do you incorporate a goblet into a landscape meaningfully??? I didn't......I set up a still life to simply fulfill the task......and this has changed the direction of my art totally. It came out so good I wanted to enter it into a show....so I did a second one for the challenge. I loved that one.....and it got into an International Association of Pastel Societies show. Suddenly I found myself planning my next painting as I was working on one. I found myself eager to get into the studio and paint. I think I have found my niche. I still love being outdoors....but I am not driven to paint it.....I am driven to paint setups that I create. I have total control over setting up a still that speaks to me and calls for me to paint it. I think part of it is the fact that I like to paint realistically and to a level of detail that creates problems in landscapes. I was constantly working to paint more "painterly". But I am a "type AAAAAAAAA" person (that is not a typo)....very organized and detail oriented. This is an asset in still life. I do not have to try to change what I am but apply my innate way of operating to the principles of a solid painting. Thus the comfort level and inner satisfaction. Yes....reflection and thinking is good....it helps you to see where you've been, where you are.....and provides goals for where you are going. I am going to miss the foggy walks on the beach as I head back to my beloved Scottsdale, my 2 little Italian Greyhounds (Emily and Jasmine), and my studio with a half done painting calling for me.