“Blue Jay Bridge” contemporary figurative painting. acrylic on canvas. 20 in x 20 in.

“Blue Jay Bridge” contemporary figurative painting

I see a blue jay flying over a river on its way back to Mississippi.

I seem to be experimenting more with methods that are new to me instead of painting in ways I’ve started to understand.  The quest seems to be able to paint completely from my imagination without the use of models.  I know that this will require the discipline to do things like abandoning spatially-constructed scenes and distinct figures, but I am reluctant to do so as of yet because I feel like I have just begun to explore what is possible with more conventional art.

I could paint every waking moment, and not begin to exhaust all the ideas I have.  What I like least about this situation is that it forces me complete canvas after canvas instead of focusing on one piece for a longer period.  I’m not sure if this is a bad thing because it forces me to learn to work on instinct instead of endlessly revising and fixing mistakes, but it also makes me feel dissatisfied with most of everything I’ve done.

Experienced artists say this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Most serious artists spend a lifetime painting and repainting the same themes.  Perhaps most of my work is merely a study for subsequent art.  If so, that doesn’t make me fell bad.  I recently gessoed over many old canvasses.  I was reluctant at first, but once I got started, I couldn’t paint over them fast enough. It was a great feeling to see all that clean white blotting out all those old mistakes.  I certainly like this painting more than the two underneath its surface, even though it was completed in much less time with much less stress.