It is difficult to judge the value of one’s own new, creative work most of the time. Some of my now favorite paintings almost ended up in the trash right after I finished them. I look back on periods of intense work that at the time I thought weren’t productive, and see paintings that I now regard as some of my best work. Here are two examples from March of last year, painted within a day of each other, Hawk Blue & White and White Heron Blue Abstract:
I love those paintings now. At the time, they weren’t what I was trying for. Now the original ideas I had in mind are long forgotten.
The two new paintings in the last week — Seascape, an abstract, above, and Old Blue below — don’t feel like they quite hit the mark. They are both a little too heavy, a little overpainted. But I won’t really be able to judge them until I gain some perspective with the elapse of a few months.
In the meantime, I want to move more in the direction of looser, more relaxed watercolors that are transparent, ephemeral. More like sketches with watercolor that look relaxed but are actually controlled and thought through.
The two artists I turned to this week for inspiration:
Alex Powers: Portrait Artist; Abstract Artist
Animated Filmmaker and Artist Gianluigi Toccafondo
. . .
If you are not subscribed to either or both Heron Dance Art Studio Substacks, you can do that here:
Nurturing the Song Within, a chronicle of one artist’s efforts to evolve.
A Pause for Beauty, a celebration of the beauty and mystery of the natural world.
Recent Projects And Random Thoughts
September 2nd, Heron Dance will launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of Meditations on Nature: The Beauty of Wild Places. There will be a number of premiums associated with this campaign including signed first editions of the book, art prints and other bonuses. You can keep up-to-date on developments on Kickstarter here.
The new art journal, Nurturing The Song Within, explores the inner work that underlies creative work, and creating a unique life.
The art and words above are selected from the first draft of the upcoming Heron Dance Press book, Meditations on Nature: The Beauty of Wild Places
Above, a mockup of two-page spread from the new book I’m working on: Meditations on Nature: The Beauty of Wild Places
Below, spreads from Nurturing the Song Within Art Journal and the related Diary Planner, the last books published by Heron Dance Press (May, 2024)
