WAIT UP!

24x36" oil on cradled hardboard
SOLD

Meet Max and Jake Buzz. They're brothers. Max is always trying to ditch Jake and Jake is always trying to catch up. I'm developing a real affinity for these furry critters, especially since it finally dawned on me to paint them on a smooth surface. Um...duh!

Time for a list. I'm callin' it The Obvious List. Just a few things that were starin' me in the face, keeping me from seeing the oft-mentioned forest for the trees. Like painting highly detailed subject matter on a smooth surface instead of course cotton canvas for example. Here are three really obvious things that I've learned in my seven years as a full time artist:


1. A FOOL PROOF WAY TO MAKE YOUR BRUSHES LAST FOREVER:


Don't use them! There you have it! I've tried everything from tenderly washing, conditioning and gently blowing them dry to chanting incantations over their lifeless little bodies, their once lustrous uniform hairs pointing everywhere but north. I've rinsed them in safflower oil or not rinsed them at all. I've spent countless dollars on conditioning soaps, brush-washing machines, and so many chemicals— a lab coat was required. Then a few days ago, I needed a nice crisp zero for detail. My eyes went immediately to the "new brush can." There, glistening in the sun was an entire collection of brand new brushes. I thought I was saving them for that special painting but that wasn't it. I was just saving them! From the inevitable! If someone dipped you in oil paint, dragged you around a canvas and submerged you into a variety of mediums so harsh they require face masks and air cleaners for general use, and then washed you vigorously every day, how long do you think your "do" would hold up? It's a lost cause. There is no way to make them last, period. Use them until they look like crap and then move on.


2. HOW TO HANDLE IMAGINED CRITICISM & MEAN SPIRITED COMMENTS LIKE A PRO


Ignore them! Period. I've been defending my preference for using photos for reference over live models and still-life set ups for a while now and I suddenly realized that that was the problem! I needed everyone to agree with me and instead of seeing my inability to embrace my choice and not worry about it, I saw everyone who didn't as the problem. And as far as mean spirited comments, they say everything about who is making them and absolutely nothing about my work, except of course when they come from moi, which is most of the time. And they can be helpful. You can't get angry at something you don't believe in.


3. SELF REJECTION


Stop it! I don't enter competitions or approach galleries so I can't wax poetic about that kind of rejection, but I'm really accomplished at the other kind. We were watching an NFL show the other day and one of the well known coaches has a segment entitled..STOP IT! He reviews whatever a player, coach or owner is doing that he doesn't agree with and just looks at the camera and delivers a snappy...STOP IT! How simple can it be? Feeling inferior Suz? Feeling a lack of creativity? Depressed, lost, wallowing in self-pity? STOP IT! I know, I know... but really, it is that simple! I can curtail the time I feel badly by deciding not to. I have emergency plans in place and the minute I feel myself goin' down the rabbit hole, I revert to plan B. It really is all up to me. The call is coming from inside the house!


I'll be adding to this list as the obvious dawns. Clearly, that doesn't happen often.

Thanks so much for stopping by!