You Are Not Alone

After completing my first (in a long while) painterly painting (shown above), I figured I'd try another. I have a few snaps that might turn into paintings someday. I'll keep creating folk art assemblages and such, but this new curiosity adds another layer to the mix.

'Away From It All'       Acrylic on Canvas               ©robinrkent

My paintings are intentionally soft because I use the same brushes (and paint) on canvas that I use when painting wood sculptures and assemblages. The wood wrecks the brush point, and I like the effect. I bought new (sissy) brushes to be used only on canvas and am waiting for their arrival.
Found a kindred spirit. Alanna Martinez has similar views to mine on painting. In her short article on 'Blouin Art Info,' she sums up 6 painting instincts while viewing the Matisse show at the Met. She hits on many of the 'no-nos' I was told, turning them into 'yes-yes'. Here's the link: http://www.artinfo.com/print/node/854181

True Love

Here's my problem with my love interests. I love doing funky, fun whimsical pieces where I can add my own narrative. But recently (well over the last year now) I've been tempted, dared, and coaxed to go back and try my hand at the serious side of painting.

The header piece (above) is for our local Guild's www.brandonartistsguild.org upcoming show "VermontScapes." A landscape might work as a subject.

On the dock (r) with friends. Sporting stylish canvas sailor caps
and bamboo fishing poles. Chris (center) shows her catch.

I decided to paint the boat dock.
It was the place, as a child, I'd lay and look through the slats at the cool green water and its fish below. Lamenting the thought of fall's onset, my departure, and school's fast approach.
While painting, I recalled all this: the fresh water smell, the sound of water lapping the posts, the give and sway of the dock.
It occurred to me I haven't seen many wooden docks still in use. It became a worthy subject.
My surprise Valentine: a gift to myself from one who was there. Fond memories revisited in the form of a wooden dock. Maybe I'll paint this way more. And make some folk art assemblages for the show, too.

Making Sense of It All

I've always had people around me. I see them in faces in leaves and in folds of curtains. New companions join me even today: faces in the bathroom floor's marbling, and many crowded in my pile of wood scraps. They seem to be involved in whatever they're doing and don't mind me observing them.

Woman with windblown hair

Sometimes I keep a sub-section in my wood scrap pile of pieces that remind me of certain things. Usually casualties from projects that hit a bump somewhere in the creative process and got tossed aside. But even then, when I look through that pile, I see something else yet again.

Bird waiting to fly

For example, this piece (left) started as the head of a woman in the wind. Was she going for a motorcycle ride?
But when I rediscovered her (right), she had turned into a bird.
When giving it a little thought, I wonder if it was some unspoken message. Was I missing the birds this winter? Or was I observing a fairytale: did she wish to become a bird and was waiting for the chance to fly.