more or less me

I keep struggling with less is more. I put on more paint than I need to. Kind of like makeup. Makeup is because you think your cheeks need to be redder, your lashes longer, your face stronger. You are not enough as you are. I dont wear makeup on my face anymore but I still struggle with not blobbing it on my paintings.
akkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!
More ... or less... as progresses....
xo

A Serious Topic in the Midst of Holiday Merriment

Some quotes and thoughts on the topic of "pain":

• The state of pain is the best location in which to discover your true self. It is the best place to discover what things don't really matter to you, what things matter most, and what things have been getting in the way.
• Pain is the most valuable tool for getting the truth from yourself.
• Pain renders the fat from the beef. Pain is an integral part of pruning. It helps us let go of the unnecessary & the excessive.
• Pain anesthetizes the unnecessary so that surgery may be performed within the core of our beings.
• A scar is the sign that there has been pain, healing, and a new life.
  
• Only scarred lives can nourish others. Only scarred lives can save.
• Only a scarred life can wait patiently holding the hand of another one in pain.

My wish for my loved ones: if we do find ourselves in pain may we be thankful for this opportunity to find the wealth that lies within. And may we all find nearby the hand of a scarred friend.

Craig Hawkins Interview

Cool! Check out the interview of one of Harry's old students, Craig Hawkins on MyArtSpace:
http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2008/12/art-space-talk-craig-hawkins.html

Paint and Painting and the Difference

The more I paint, the more I love the paint.

Here is my desk - you can see I am studying Cy Twombly. How does he get away with all that scribble scrabble?!!

Sometimes I stop and look at what I have painted and am bummed cause I had much more fun painting than success with what it looks like. Maybe that is why some painters seem to refuse to say they are going to paint in the studio. Instead they say they are going to work in the studio. That way they aren't disappointed when their product does not turn out as delightful as the activity.

Does anyone else wonder about this? [clik on Post Title to leave comment or email me your comment and I'll post it for you: s@suzanneally.com]

So here is how it's been going the past few days:
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images!

Where the Bees Bizzy & the Brids Fleogan!

Don't you hate it when blog authors apologize for not writing regularly? Me too!

So Hi there! What in the world have I been doing? Some of you have been so caring to ask. Bizzy bizzy bizzy bee! I have been moving honey from hive to hive trying to find the sweetest selling spots! That is, I have been moving Harry's paintings into some new galleries. The Craighead-Green in Dallas and the Soren Christensen in New Orleans.

I have even been working on some paintings myself. None finished yet but here are a few studio shots:
As you can see the brids just don't want to fleogan out of my paintings so I agreed they could stay as long as they didn't leave too many droppings. Truth is, the white gloop leaves a lot of white droppings itself, so it's hard to tell the difference between brid poop and gloop poop.

Anyway bear with me as I get warmed up. I have to get cozy in my blogging nest before I can really tell you what is on my mind. You ought to know that by now.

While I was in Dallas at the Craighead-Green Gallery I got a rare opportunity. The gallery agreed to look at my work with the possibility of rep. As I brought my paintings in and lined up in the presence of the other works there I instantly knew what my paintings lacked. Helen and Scott gave invaluable input as well. I think the bottom line is I need to unearth my true self more, quit whispering and be brave to say [paint] what I mean.

Please do click on the images to see a much larger image & take a better look. I have the older fleogan painting with the blue background and two red birds hanging on the wall behind the two paintings in the photo here. I like the new ones better because the brids have more gesture, more life. The new ones shed light on the stiffness of the older one. I have always been fascinated by gesture work & the delicate balance between slopping paint around and capturing the essence of a spirit. I don't care so much about painting the exterior skin or feathers of something as much as painting the core of the being, so that's what I'm after. Please let me know if you see it, I'm rather insecure about whether I'm communicating as you also know.

The paintings with all the white are at beginning phases. The ones with brighter color are about mid phase, and then finally the brash color gets softened again with translucent white and nurturing touch. etc.

I am pushing myself to do larger pieces. The largest one so far is 40x40". These babies are so heavy with all the texture paint, I don't think I can lift anything bigger which is a bummer. And I do need to lift these around quite a bit as I paint. Sometimes working flat on a table, and sometimes propping against a wall to check the long view. I love to work up close and tend to forget I need to make sure the far away view holds some sort of power to invite the peeps to come closer and indulge in intimacy.

The last photo shows some smaller landscapies. Some brids may visit them, or maybe even some roamers. We'll see who alights or roams by.

Finally I want to say something about the economy. Don't neglect the economy of your soul. You are capable of creating atmospheres by the thoughts you entertain in your mind and the beliefs you hold in your heart. When one economy fails, it gives opportunity for us to create a better economy. Let us rejoice at our new opportunity, not destroying anything maliciously, but allowing the useless to drop away and the truth to prevail.

Paintasophically Yours,
suzy