Out in the Gladesacrylic on board, 5"x7"
Summer time on Marco Island gets pretty quiet without the fresh influx of visitors and guests, so the artists were delighted to have a great turn-out for the Art Walk last Wednesday. Congratulations to Tracy Gudgel who was this month's winner of the People's Choice. Artists Betty Newman and Tara O'Neill were tied close behind, only two votes separated them from the winner.
Although I paint almost every day, summer is a good time for me to really get my head behind my brush for some new work. It's a time when I experiment and learn. It's also a great time to paint large, since without so many people around, or shows to be dragging paintings to, there's a little more space to spread out, and have a nice triptych of Jane's Memorial Scenic Drive in mind.
It's my experience that the business of making fine art is as much in the head as in the brush. Both must work together for an artist. A thinking, learning, experimenting artist has a lot more to offer than someone who does the same thing over and over just because it's easy. Styles and techniques should expand and grow, and once you learn how to solve a particular art problem, it's time to move on.
So I'll be experimenting with new palettes, new colors, and new forms. And between the mosquitoes and the summer storms I'll go out into the Everglades again to see the way the light plays on the prairies and to absorb the essence of the landscape itself. Without connecting with my muse, the painting part just won't work at all.
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