It has been a while.... and I must admit that I've been off my creative track a bit more than I'd like. Living the creative life hasn't been working out as well as I had hoped. BUT-- today, today, I took a few hours to draw, spent a bit of time really thinking about the direction I want my paintings to go, where I want to go next creatively, really.
I've been struggling a little bit with how to really speak about the visual life that makes up my daily ritual because things are much more complex and I haven't studied enough to be ableto really speak about my surroundings from memory yet. So-- I've set out to work a bit more on studying.
The thing that I love about being here in Boulder is the overabundance of wonderful residential architecture. Because there is an ordinance that prevents expansion, this city is crammed, jammed full of wonderful old houses that have each been individually transformed into personal works of art. There are so many unique houses and each set against this fabulous backdrop of the flatirons and the foothills-- it is about to make my artistic heart burst. Every time I even make the .2 mile drive from work back home, I can hardly believe my incredible luck at being given the gift of such a beautiful home. Truth be told, every time I find myself being called back to the northern or eastern side of the state, a little part of me grieves as I look over my shoulder before getting in the car. I am becoming quite spoiled and snobbish, I must openly admit.
All this to say, being so close to the mountains and being bombarded with so many wonderful houses to look at, creating a painting that really captures it all without more careful observation and study seems impossible. So, as the weather is getting to be so wonderfully beautiful and plants are popping up everywhere, my goal is to get out more and draw-- maybe even just for an hour or two a week. One or two drawings a week would be a great accomplishment for me now. In the meantime, as the Colorado weather is in the process of making up its mind, I have taken a few hundred photographs that ought to serve as some great resource material. I know, I know, this is breaking two cardinal rules-- drawing from observation and from a photograph, but hopefully it will provide me with a bit more visual insight into what we are dealing with here in order to really speak clearly and beautifully about the environment with all of its homey neighborhoods and wonderful wildlife from a more emotional or intellectual perspective soon!
I've posted a few of my favorite images from the day.
