The end of January is creeping up, and it’s time to check in on my first month being guided by my word of the year, Cultivate. I’ve been tilling the soil and getting it prepped to receive some exciting seeds during the coming year.
So far I have finished the first two books on my reading list and have started the third one. In the first book, I was reminded about the importance of value: get the value correct and the painting will take care of itself. Getting the correct hue was the second-most important priority, and drawing was last. I found that interesting because I always thought that drawing had to be the bones around which you built the painting.
The second book was all about composition and shape, and though it contained nothing I hadn’t heard before, a refresher is always helpful. I then moved on quickly to the third book on the practice of drawing. I am having a hard time concentrating and keeping the narrative thread. I’m not sure if it is the rambling sentences or the typeface that I have trouble keeping in focus that is the issue.
I will take my first class this Thursday on wildlife photography, with a field trip to the Denver Zoo on Sunday morning to practice what I learned in class. This is one of those wonderful moments when the stars unexpectedly align. The same day I signed up for the photography class I found out that I had been moved from the waiting list into a Melody Randol class on dyeing and using silk organza. The gods were smiling on me that day!
I have also sent in my registration for a three-day workshop at Art Makers Denver with Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson. One of my students turned me one to her, and I fell in love with her work. She is working in a paper collage technique that I can see easily translating into fabric collage. We have a similar love of color. Go look at her work on her website.
I’m quite happy with the way things are coming together in 2014. With all this prepping going on, I have still had time to work in the studio, and we will look at the new series coming together in the next post.