Category Archives: Art Works in Progress

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress


A: I’m making slow progress on “Apparition,” 58” x 38,” soft pastel on sandpaper. There is still plenty of work to be done on the details.

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

A: I continue working on “Maestro,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20.”

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress


A: I am working on a small, as yet untitled, pastel painting.

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Ready to begin!

A: I’m ready to start a new 26” x 20” pastel painting that will be number 28 in the “Bolivianos” series.

Comments are welcome!

Start/Finish of “The Moralist,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20”

Start

Finish

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

A: I continue working on “Narcissist,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 20” x 26”.

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

A: I continue working on “Apparition,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38” (left) and “Narcissist,” 20” x 26,” soft pastel on sandpaper (right).

Comments are welcome!

Pearls from artists* # 576

In progress: “Shadow,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20”

*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.

A word derived from Latin, persona, originally referred to the masks worn by actors in ancient classical theatre. In Jungian psychology, this term refers to the inner character that we use to face the world. Drawn from societal expectations, cultural norms, and natural attributes, it is the person we want others to think we really are. Our persona is our brave face, our false front. It is the ongoing project of building our ideal self.

… the persona is our somewhat embellished view of ourselves, the shiny face that we want the world to see. It’s opposite, everything we reject about ourselves, is called the shadow.

… our shadow is the pain we’ve forgotten about. It is a complex within us, a split-off part our consciousness loaded with emotional weight. Our persona is what we want to be seen to be; shadow is what we least want to be.

Gary Bobroff in Carl Jung: Knowledge in a Nutshell

Comments are welcome!

Q: What’s on the easel today?

Work in progress

A: I started working on “Narcissist,” 20”x 26”, a few days ago.

Comments are welcome!

Pearls from artists* # 568

Working on “Raconteur”
Working on “Raconteur”

*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.

Some people say they work best under pressure, but working under pressure is a bit of a fallacy. It’s not waiting till the last minute that gives you the good work; it’s the focus that’s required when you wait till the last minute that brings about the good work. So think of it this way: your focus is the center of your brilliance; why not avail yourself of that brilliance on a regular basis? Everyone has her own rhythm, but if you don’t like the fact that you procrastinate, one way to get out of it is to think what the alternative is. The alternative is, instead of trying to do a month’s work in a few intense days in the studio, to give yourself the pleasure of yourself in flow, in focus, on a regular basis.

Anna Deavere Smith in Letters to a Young Artist: Straight-Up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts for Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind

Comments are welcome!