“Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye
Paint
quotes
Trying other things
“God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things.” Pablo Picasso
If the little kererū looks familiar, that’s because I sketched him earlier in the year with ink and watercolour. I’m not entirely sure how the magenta got into the trees ~ except that I was using it for the wings and when I wanted to make the greens pop, it was there on my palette and so I tried it and now I really like it. Note to self: keep trying other things.
Limitation
“Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.” G. K. Chesterton
Wednesday
“They didn’t want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.” Robert A. Heinlein
I tend to thrive on deadlines, creating them for myself even if I don’t have to because it makes me more productive, but this month I have no projects demanding urgent attention. And I’m still managing to get a few things done.
Here are three little drawings I’ve just finished:
Originality is overrated
“We think of genius as the ability to dream up something never seen before. But originality is overrated. What matters more is reacting and responding and refining and adjusting and tweaking and struggling and sweating and polishing and finishing and delivering and making a difference.” Danny Gregory
‘Tasman Bay’ is my latest creation, inspired by (i) recent conversations at The Christchurch Art Show, (ii) my memory of seeing Kaiteriteri Beach for the first time, and (iii) a Google Earth perspective of Tasman Bay, overlooking Takaka Hill with Nelson in the far distance. You can probably see the influence of Mr Vincent van Gogh in the hills and houses too ~ hardly surprising as I’ve been looking at a lot of his work lately.
The work in progress photos show the painting from initial composition, through the refining of colour and exploration of patterns in the landscape to what I think may now be the finished painting. I’m going to leave it alone for a few days and then come back to it and see what I think.
P.S. While originality may be overrated, that doesn’t mean that stealing is okay. Stealing is not okay. Stealing is bad. Influence, on the other hand, is inevitable.
My thanks to Danny Gregory for the original quote.
Endless possibilities
“We live between the act of awakening and the act of surrender. Each morning, we awaken to the light and the invitation to a new day in the world of time; each night, we surrender to the dark to be taken to play in the world of dreams where time is no more.” John O’Donohue
Anna Cull ~ Art & Music 