Of Faces, Textures And “Terrible” Art

So, I haven’t shared much of my art recently. It’s not because there hasn’t been any. It’s more that I am at that awkward stage (again,) where I’m learning something new, where I can’t match what’s in my head with what I put on paper/canvas, where I have so many different projects going, where I practice more than I finish ...

You know that stage? Yes, not exactly the kind of thing you feel inspired to share with the world at large.

There has been a lot of frustration, but also a lot of joy as I seem to be “getting” something, even just the smallest thing. For me, faces (or any other detailed extremities/body parts) are such a challenge! The proportions, the shading - it just doesn’t come naturally to me - at all!

Every once in a while I think “By George, she’s got it!” only to find that it was an isolated incident!

For example, remember this face?

Yes, I was so pleased with this one, I didn’t even bother to finish that canvas for quite some time, going straight to the next face and everything that just simply flowed in the last canvas, just went nowhere. *sigh*

So, I went back to finish that one and I just realized this morning that I never shared the finished product with you! Once again it is hard to photograph because of all the reflective shimmer paints on the canvas as well as the wire flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, for the last few weeks, I’ve been doing faces. Big ones, small ones, sketched ones, scribbled ones, with pretty much every medium I have. And I’m still working on faces! They are all works in progress! Here are a few of them:

 

 

 

And the journey continues!

Kari, an Artist friend of mine, wrote a pretty great blog post on “The Value Of Terrible Art” the other day.  And the quote by  Ira Glass bears repeating and remembering!

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

 

So, I guess that’s where I am. And it seems that it’s not just once that you hit that stage. It seems you hit it in an overall fashion, AND every time you learn something new and leave your comfort zone!

 

Having said all that though, I have also really enjoyed myself with art in the last few weeks! I am still slightly obsessed with textured canvases, following the Gesso Stenciling method. And those pale, shimmering, shabby-chic kind of colors!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven’t decided what to do with them yet, but something will set off that spark of inspiration at some point!

 

What have you been inspired by, obsessed with, frustrated or amazed by in your art?