The Chase

http://tomsarmo.com/

After a packed couple of months, my m.o. has always been to go fallow. Not on purpose; it just happens. I shut down creatively and productively for awhile. That time period varies, but it drives me crazy. Because of that, I'm always looking for quick ways to re-ignite the art-fire and get back to The Chase.

One time it didn't come back for a few years, and I'm not gonna lie--that scared me. It happened after a large show for which I had to create many works in a few short months. After way too much fallow time went by, I took a student's advice and changed media--I started working with clay, engaging in a different sort of chase. Eventually (nearly 5 long years later) I began to produce illustrations again. In the meantime, I learned a lot about ceramic clay, and I made some cool stuff.

http://tomsarmo.com/

This year it's happened again, and I decided to not only change media, but to suspend my inner-critic and experiment with media. Thanks to a bunch of un-critical fellow illustrators, I'm able to do it and also have a good time. The painting above is one recent experiment with life painting using acrylic. The life painting sessions at Helikon Gallery are a blast--mostly because the gallery director and fellow participants are chill and unpretentious. Some artists might need a competitive atmosphere, but not me--I want to enjoy camaraderie and the freedom to do the art I need without feeling like anyone's sneering at my efforts.

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Above are some recent experiments with water-soluble oils at relaxing plein-air excursions--again, with friends who are lots of fun to be with...

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...one of whom had an interesting encounter with an avian critic as we were leaving the field.

 (And yes, that experience seemed to get a bit of creativity going again.) 

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Being able to hang out at weekly drink and draw sessions with a great bunch of artists also helps. Again, these sketches don't feel like my best, but they were experiments with unfamiliar media in an informal setting.

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Just the kind of thing I need right now--the chance to explore, experiment, talk art--and get the field planted and producing again.

http://tomsarmo.com/

And because of all this, it's not taking me 5 years to re-plant the field. And I have to keep reminding myself that it's not about chasing success or contentment, it's about feeling success and contentment within the chase.

Thanks for reading!

 

Illustration Construction: Part Three

Don't yet have a title for this in-process watercolor of the artist in his studio.
It's a section of one of three slightly different interiors based on the sketches of the previous two posts.  http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/2013/06/illustration-construction-part-one.html

Took it into my head to work the same painting using three different media: Watercolor, oil, and gouache (or maybe acrylic?).  I reasoned that it would be good for me to focus for once, and believed I must finally choose a single medium in which to work. (Occasionally, self-delusion and irrationality visit my studio. They tend to hang around awhile, too.)

Some details of each prep-drawing follow.

Ended up tweaking every drawing, so they are slightly different. Sort of like that "Doublecheck" activity in Highlights magazine--sorry 'bout that.

This is a detail of the artist done on gessoed hardboard prepped for oil. It's brush and india ink.

 This one is a detail of the artist done on Crescent watercolor board, in sepia ink. Already begun to work the color  into it (see first pic above).

 This one is a detail of the artist in preparation for either gouache or acrylic (can't decide), again using india ink. (Btw, the ink has to be sealed prior to acrylic being applied.)

This is the artist's assistant (he holds the lantern-stick) in the oil painting. Good thing oils allow mistake-fixes.

This is the assistant in the watercolor version.

The assistant turned into three birds for the gouache/acrylic version. There's boredom in action for you.

It does seem a bit absurd to do a similar pic three times, but it's what I've set my mind to do.
 With many other irons in the fire, it may be awhile before these are completed. Oh well, wish me luck.

And thanks for checking in!

Talking to Myself

A page from one of my sketchbooks.

Sketches--mine (yes I look 'em over often) and those of others--fascinate me. My favorite shows at art museums are the ones that exhibit sketches. Unfortunately, not many of those happen in Denver, so while I don't get to see sketches in person, the internet provides plenty of peeks and inspiration. The variety is amazing, and the use of sketchbooks has changed quite a bit recently, as they seem to be morphing into something more finished in look--art pieces in their own right.

Not mine though. My sketchbooks are still random and thoughtless--meaning I don't think about them as finished artworks to be viewed. I use my books and my sketching as exploration of technique, as problem solving, as practice, or as a repository for the imagery that needs releasing from my head.

 

And I use them for preliminaries.

Yes that internet is great--much of the time. It provides inspiration, but also tremendous opportunities for self-doubt/comparisons. 

I admit it, I look at some of the sketchbook pages of artists and I become troubled by the roughness and absence (of what--finish, class, artistry, pure magnetism?) in my own. Ugh.

 

So part of my life as an artist entails talking to myself. Being reasonable about what I do instead of engaging in the pointless--yet somehow seductive--act of comparison.

 

The most effective words to myself?  "Get to work!"

 

So I will. 

Thanks for reading!