No.9 The Forces That Push and Pull
In which what I want to do and what I feel I should do continue to battle it out
Scarcity mindset: a familiar phrase? It’s a very self-help- sort of phrase that pops up everywhere— and a dreadfully accurate one for what it describes: an outlook that assumes a lack of resources which therefore must be conserved and used strategically.
I’m sure I’m not alone in falling prey to this mindset when it comes to the resource known as Time—particularly time off; time not at my job (I work full-time as a creative director)—days on which my time is my own. An unfortunate side effect of feeling this way is that one puts too much pressure on oneself to use the time well; the pressure to be ‘productive’. It’s not the sort of weight I want on my free time or my art practice, but it’s difficult to shake off.
It’s the reason I wind up having lists for my free time; for my art time. The photo above includes a number a etching plates, two sketchbooks, and a handful of pieces ready for sale— all of which want of my time and attention. But life is a push and pull always. And an art practice necessarily involves more than just ‘making art’ if you’re selling art, submitting to shows, looking to expand your sphere of influence, &c. In art as in life, there winds up being a lot of admin.
In art as in life, there winds up being a lot of admin.
After a day spent playing with ink and water, I need to spend some time photographing works to add to my shop. This sounds simple enough but after shooting the photos, there is also color correcting, cropping, exporting— and of course writing descriptions, tagging, etc.
But if I can be expedient at that task, I’ll do some more sploshing with ink. Hopefully with better results than my tame endeavors yesterday, like the one below, in which I learned nothing, only made a pretty scene. (In fairness, though— I did try some experimental, bold painting in the same book Friday, and learned that the paper in it is rubbish if it gets really wet. So ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Speaking of things that push and pull
I’m trying something new this year— I’ve devised a Creative Brief for my work in 2024, using my own recent works, a moodboard, and some written exercises. I’ve decided to embrace conflicting or contrasting forces, and put them center stage like twin protagonists with opposing plans. Maybe this is my way of wresting some control out of the inevitability of the push-pull. I wrote down that I want to make works that strike a few balances, in any or all of the below:
Restrained v. expressive
Representational v. abstract
Light v. dark
Emptiness v. fullness
Delicate v. rough
These are two images from my sketchbook ink play on Friday afternoon. These hit closer to the mark. I’ve been enjoying the use of a dip pen, especially using it over areas of ink to add subtle texture and depth. I’m also interested in getting more variety in my mark-making, and scaling up, which will require scaling up my tools and gestures as well. I’ve never started off a year with a creative direction for my work, and I’m excited and curious to see how it goes.
Well, those pieces aren’t going to photograph themselves, so if I’ve any hope of having time to paint today, I’d better get on with it. In the meantime, let me know in the comments if you’ve set any sort of creative direction or challenges for yourself— or anything else you’d like to say. You can also just hit reply to the email if that’s how you’re reading this :)
Thanks for joining me here.
‘Til next time—
~Liz
It's time well spent, though...I recently ordered a lovely print from you, and it was like a dose of much-needed magic in these gloomy days.
Great post, I can certainly relate. I have big painting plans for my 'free' time that includes lists of my goals but it doesn't always work out.