This weeks painting, "Sympathy" and last weeks painting, "Persimmon" are both 18"x24". That's quite a bit smaller than the 30"x40" or 36"x48" that many of the paintings I've posted here so far have been. With the larger canvas sizes I always begin with sketches that I later enlarge on to the painting surface. What the smaller canvas size I'm more comfortable planning the composition right on the canvas itself. This makes the process much more intuitive and immediate. So when I started "Sympathy" and "Persimmon" I sat down in front of the blank canvas and made a few lines in pencil and built on whatever came out. I had very little or no preconceived idea of what the figures themselves would be (although I did have a very clear idea of the colors I would use). For an artist like myself who often has a very clear and precise vision in mind of what the final painting will look like before even beginning it is very frightening to just start with a line or two, go one step at a time and trust that the final product will be worthwhile. A film maker friend of mine told me a story once about Salvador Dali. To tap into his subconscious he would hold a wooden spoon in one hand while painting. When he would start to fall asleep the spoon would fall the sound of the spoon hitting the floor would wake Dali up and immediately he would start painting again. I'm not interested in depriving myself of sleep to tap more deeply into my subconscious. However, I do think that, as an artist, I need to find ways of silencing the whirring gerbil wheel in the head and just express whatever needs to be let out. Planning a little less and working more directly is, for me, a step towards "getting out of my own way" and letting a more of my subconscious seep out.
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