Procrastination is a feeling of not getting to what you want to do. According to the oxford dictionary its
“The action of delaying or postponing something”
Why would we want to delay something that we love to do? What is causing this feeling of a need to postpone? As artists we live and breath art, don’t we?
I have a studio filled with tables of projects in different stages of progress. Some say it’s a wealth of clutter, others say it’s a sign of an artistic mind. So which is it? Of course I am going to believe that my mind is artistic vs. clutter. Right?
So what’s with this procrastination and not finishing up a project?
Alan Lightman writes in his book “In Praise of Wasting Time” he describes the benefits of giving oneself unscheduled time to simply think, play, or let ideas incubate.
Ah…. Incubation! I like that! My studio is filled with incubating ideas!
Am I wasting time, postponing a project for another day? I think not. There are days, when I have spent time cleaning up, or moving things in the studio and pick up a half done project, not knowing what to do with it. The time from when I first worked on it till now, is not wasted, cause I now know that some day an idea will hit me.
I love it when an idea comes. Bam and off I go. That’s incubating an idea! Who cares that it took 1-3 years for that idea to hit you. It did and that’s what counts.
The strike of the Muse
I think that when we procrastinate in our studio, we do not fear the act of peril, it’s that we are waiting for the muse to strike us! Artists all have a muse, he or she has ideas and throws it at us and we are to catch it or not.
Read “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert to find more creativity beyond fear.
We all can attest that when we find an idea, we are creating like a Tasmanian devil working till it is completed. I hope you have had this experience once or twice. I have!
When we don’t catch the idea from our muse, than another person somewhere in this world will catch it. Have no fear; the muse will keep tossing ideas to us. Maybe it’s the puttering in the studio procrastinating in which to catch it?
Other artists tell me that we just need to ‘show up,’ and not worry about the muse. Go into your studio or where you feel creative and be content.
So when the sinking feeling of procrastination is upon you, embrace it. You just need to think or relax and let your muse toss you an idea.
March 20, 201Some of you think these two words are opposite from each other. Using the different hemispheres of the brain, how can this be? One is analytical, the other is interpretative.
I studied chemistry and received a BS in Medical Technology. So what does that mean? Lots and lots of chemistry! In my past life, I was fascinated with everything regarding chemistry. I learned how all the organs work together with chemistry to be a well-engineered body. Balancing chemical structures and formulas is Nature at her best. How does she mix the acid and bases of life and what are their chemical properties. How does she make nature all work together?
Yep Chemistry!
In the last 5-6 years of being a painter, I still get fascinated with how certain properties of paint mix. How is it that you take one pigment of yellow and red and get different oranges? You can do this with all of the primary colors.
Artist and chemists have their own languages
I spent a whole year trying to figure out how other artists pick two or more paint hues and are able to get what they see. I asked art friends, some with BFA or MFA (or not), but they don’t answer my question. They just know it or learned it over time.
They also tell me that I am using the wrong hemisphere of my brain and thinking too much! REALLY? Now school was hard, and I spent many long hours studying to get that degree and I am proud of myself for earning it. So if they learned it, there must a book on this, right?
In today’s climate of everything at our fingertips with the Internet, I searched and searched, taking a year or more to finally find the answer and guess what!
IT’S THE CHEMISTRY!
My old, long friend, chemistry will help me after all these years! Now hold on, let me explain and I hope to not loose my right-brain friends. (The left-brain friends will understand).
While I was studying oil painting and learning the techniques, I came up with part of the answer. Tubes of paint are made from pigments or mixture of different pigments with a suspended material to make it oil, acrylic or any other type of media. For oil paints, linseed oil is added to pigment.
Pigment the answer?
The pigment used is a key. Each manufacture must specify which pigments they use. Luckily there are societies and associations that have developed a color Index that covers pigments, solvents, dyes, inks for all different industries.
Think of all the chemists who helped!
Now back to the chemistry of paints. So there is an Online Colour Index that has 13,000 generic names with corresponding constitution numbers.
This numbering system is the fingerprint of pigments. Therefore you can purchase a tube from one manufacture and see if it’s the same as another by this system. Check out “Color of Art Pigment Database”
Pretty cool huh? This seems similar to the elements in the periodic table. This database tells you many things; to answer my question, it informs me that not all names on the tubes of paint are the same. You need to make sure your cadmium yellow tube has only ‘PY35’ number on the tube. If it has the code index of P1, then it’s a cadmium yellow hue. Which means it doesn’t have the same properties as PY35. Finding parallels!
True pigment vs hue
Experience artists know that when a paint tube states hue, its not a true color and wont work as the true color. Thereby when mixing colors of true colors together you will have consistency! OK now I am getting somewhere.
Getting that constant color each time you mix
With this knowledge, I will need to use the same code index tube of paints to get consistency in my mixture. (Cad Yellow; PY35 plus Cad Red, PR108 will make a bright pumpkin orange)
Now this doesn’t really answer my question on why you mix a Cadmium Yellow of brand X and Cadmium Red of brand Y, you will get the same orange hue as if you used Cadmium Yellow of brand Y and Cadmium Red of brand X.
Earlier I stated that pigment is the key. So how do my art friends know to mix certain colors together and always get their color they want!
Color Theory can be bewildering!
When I was learning color theory, I found my answer. Artists always describe a color as warm or cool. Well ok, my analytical side of the brain thinks temperature. But that really didn’t help on mixing…mostly if you mix a cool with a warm, its still confusing…. aaargh!
Color Bias is your friend
I dug deeper till I understood that colors have biases! Wow, what’s this? My instructor convinced me that using the Munsel color wheel is very important and I agree. Click below to read further
Hues (colors) on this wheel all have a bias or influence on each other. Wow, how funky is this! Are we talking about the chemistry of colors? The elements in the periodic table? Humm this sounds similar?
A red-blue or green-yellow or orange-red are a few names that artists describe a hue. There is so much more you can get reading on your own on biases. Carol A McIntyre, color maestro explains it well.
Therefore, nearly every primary tube of paint carries another color with it; artists say they carry a color bias. Thus there are very few pure primary colors, Red, Blue and Yellow. You can say that every chemical in the world consists of one or more elements on the periodic table!
Have I convinced you that chemistry and painting are similar?
As an artist I get to spend my day with a dog buddy, “H.B.”. He is hilarious and he makes me laugh, without fail, every morning.
We go through our morning routine, my shower, belly rub, getting dressed, belly rub, make the bed, belly rub you get the drift. At the end of the last belly rub, I whisper to him that if I don’t stop, we wont start our day together! He groans while I stand up and begin the day.
Once in the kitchen, I start the coffee, mix his yummy meal with rice, veggie’s and some sort of protein on top of his kibble. He is the first dog that I have had that doesn’t go for it right off from the start. Oh well, I know he will get to it sometime during the day. It’s always a clean bowl when his next meal comes around.
After our breakfast and reading the local paper, we then go for our walk. Good weather days, a beach walk; weather not so good, a trip around the yard or neighborhood.
Dog is my copilot
HB is always my copilot when we drive around our little hamlet by the sea, Homer, Alaska. I still consider this place paradise on earth. The view everywhere in town reminds me of why I live here. Having a dog by my side confirms that I have found my peace.
View of Homer Spit in Kachemak Bay
Familiarity is supposed to breed contempt, as they say. Homer and Alaska still moves me and I think it always will. I will never be complacent about it. I learn new things each day.
Once all errands or tasks are completed, I get to come home and enjoy my new studio and decide what to work on today. What has enticed me, while driving around or walking on the beach? What project is stimulating me to complete it today?
Inspiration and Zen of Creativity
These and others thoughts ponder my brain. I am relaxed and content in my studio. Sometimes if nothing grabs me, I clean or pick up stuff till inspiration hits.
Boy when it hits, time will stand still till I get hungry or thirsty to remind me that I am human. This stopping of time is what some artist states as the ‘Zen of creativity’. To me it is the ultimate feeling of surrendering within my surroundings.
This is why I love being an artist. We all need to find a place where we can encourage the zen in our lives.
“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”
Betty Davis
Hey all, no its not Betty Davis, sorry. But welcome to my new web page!!!! Yes its taken me a whole month of learning and tweaking and there is still more to go, but I am going live today. Cross your fingers and toes!!!! It’s not like Willie Wonka where we will go up in the air… Or if you do, let me know!
I want to reconnect with fond friends and make new friends. So lets start with a question “Do you think you are an artist?”. Please give me feedback on why you think you are or are not an artist. Trust me, we are all creative people. I will try to convince you that you are an artist in some form or fashion.
Please leave me comments on how you like my website…. It’s a slow growth and an uphill battle, so please stay and follow me….
Friends, I am working on get a web presence! Better late than never huh?
Since I have grown my art in Homer, its time to get it out to the world! I will still have my work in the local co-op gallery, Ptarmigan Arts. My work is under Purple Crane Designs and will sell with that name.
So lets get started! I want this to be about all who has supported me as friends and some commerce and I thank you all.
Like my logo? Subscribe to this site! Leave a comment and I will be able to send you new posts and art items. Lots to learn, so stay patient with me.
